based on input provided by Mr. S. Webster and Mr. D. Taylor,
Directorate General – Energy and Transport, European Commission and Mr. Michel Raynal
Directorate General – Research, European Commission
The “nuclear package” [12.7], in particular the proposed Waste Directive [2.6] and the decommissioning aspects of the proposed Safety Directive [12.8], have been at the centre of many of DG-Energy and Transport’s activities in this field during 2003. The year saw both proposals being considered in depth by the Atomic Questions Group (AQG) of the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers (under the Presidency of Greece and then Italy), though no agreement has yet been reached by the Member States. The proposals were also debated by the European Parliament, with both texts eventually being approved with amendments in a vote in early 2004. However, the Parliament’s role in the legislative process is only consultative. At the start of 2004, the EU Presidency passed to Ireland.
While the package is continuing to be given a high priority within the AQG, a timetable for adoption by Member States remains uncertain.
Despite the preoccupation with the package during 2003, other routine activities were also carried out by the Commission’s services, including the collection and dissemination of data and information that was a feature of the old Plan of Action in the field of radioactive waste. In April 2003, the Commission published the 5th Situation Report on the status of radioactive waste management in the EU. This presents, mainly in the form of tables, the status in current EU Member States and (for the first time) in Candidate Countries of Central and Eastern Europe at the end of the year 2000. The report shows that production of waste continues to decline as a result of waste minimization practices in the low-level categories. The report also shows the quantities of waste (by country and by category) already disposed of (or for which a national disposal route is available) and the quantities of waste in storage pending the availability of a disposal route. The report is available only in electronic form from the Commission’s Website [12.9].
In January 2003, the Commission published the results of a study on the management of spent sealed radioactive sources (SRS) in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia (EUR20654 – report available only in electronic form: [12.10]). This study was commissioned to look at the regulation and management of spent SRS in five of the Central and Eastern European Countries that are candidates to
join the EU. It supplements a previous report (EUR19842) that covers five other candidate countries from this region and earlier reports dealing with the situation in the Russian Federation and the EU Member States. Work in this area has contributed to the development of new EU policy initiatives regarding management of spent SRS, especially high-activity sources. This culminated in the adoption by the EU Council of Ministers on 22nd December 2003 of Directive 2003/122/Euratom on the control of high-activity sealed radioactive sources and orphan sources [12.11].
The Commission’s expert group on radioactive waste management (the Advisory Committee on Programme Management) met twice during 2003. On both occasions the main topic of discussion was the proposed Waste Directive. The EU candidate countries were also invited to attend these meetings.
The Waste Directive was also the focus of discussions at the two meetings of the Club of Waste Management Agencies (“Club of Agencies”). This group, for which the Commission provides the Chairman and the Secretariat, met in Tarragona, Spain, and Peine, Germany. At the first meeting, the Club produced an “opinion” on the Waste Directive. Both meetings were followed by a technical visit, the first to see the status of decommissioning of the Vandellos-1 nuclear power plant and the second to the Konrad mine, a licensed facility for the disposal of non-heat generating radioactive waste. The Commission also provides the Secretariat for the “Forum of (radioactive waste management) Regulators”. This met once in 2003, the main topic being the regulatory implications of the Waste Directive.
In June 2003, a meeting was organized to update information and to exchange views on the national schemes for the funding of decommissioning of nuclear installations. Eleven States (both existing and future members of the EU) participated together with a representative of the IAEA. The meeting also discussed in some detail both the Safety and Waste Directives. On 4th June 2003, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the internal electricity market that involves a compromise on the matter of decommissioning funds. The Commission has stated the importance of ensuring that these resources are used transparently and for the intended purposes only, and as part of the compromise the Commission confirmed its intention of drafting an annual report on the use of funds set up for decommissioning and waste management in connection with the Euratom Treaty. The format and modalities of this reporting will be established by DG-Energy and Transport during 2004.
Also in the area of decommissioning, DG-Energy and Transport has become increasingly involved in the activities of the International Decommissioning Funds, set up to assist Lithuania, Slovakia and Bulgaria in the decommissioning, following early closure, of NPPs at Ignalina, Bohunice and Kozloduy. These funds are managed by the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), though as the principal donor, the Commission, though DG-Enlargement, plays an influential role. With the winding-up of DG-Enlargement during 2004, these Commission activities will be transferred to DG-Energy and Transport in the case of the funds for Lithuania and Slovakia, both of which become Member States in May 2004.
In the area of international cooperation, involvement continued in the work of the other international organizations and their committees, in particular the IAEA and the OECD/NEA, both in the area of radioactive waste and decommissioning. Of particular importance was the work on safety requirements for geological disposal of radioactive waste being developed as part of the IAEA’s Safety Standards Series.
In addition to the above activities, a range of presentations was made in various international forums covering all aspects of radioactive waste management and decommissioning in the European Union, with emphasis on the nuclear package. A representative selection of these – grouped by general topic on the publications page – is available on the Commission’s updated nuclear issues website, where all other relevant reports and summaries of activities can also be found [12.12].
Research and Development in Radioactive Waste Management
The Euratom Framework Programme comprises two distinct parts covering “direct” and “indirect”
actions. Indirect action is the main mechanism for funding of Community research, technological
development and training, whereas direct action involves complementary activities carried out by the European Communities Joint Research Centre (JRC).
The indirect action within the current 6th Euratom Framework Programme (FP6-Euratom), 2002 – 2006, has the following thematic priority areas: fusion energy research, management of radioactive waste, radiation protection, other activities in the field of nuclear technologies and safety. The FP6-Euratom total budget for indirect action is €940M of which €190M is for the “fission” areas. The general breakdown is €90M for the management of radioactive waste, €50M for radiation protection and €50M for other activities in the field of nuclear technologies and safety [12.13].
The total JRC budget for direct action within FP6-Euratom is €290M. Details of the contents and funding breakdown can be found in the document “JRC Multi-Annual Work programme 2003 – 2006”
[12.14].
As part of the coordinated EU policy aimed at the establishing of the European Research Area (ERA), the 6th Framework Programme (both the Euratom part and the much larger EC part covering all other areas) has shifted emphasis compared with previous programmes and a range of different funding instruments are now available. In line with the ERA priorities, the focus within FP6 is now on encouraging integration and cooperation through the establishing of larger multi-partner projects, thus creating a “critical mass” of knowledge, expertise and infrastructure in key areas and increasing efficiency and sustainability of the research effort.
In total, nine eligible proposals were submitted within the NUWASTE activity area (two NoE’s, three IPs and four STREPs). Following the evaluations by teams of independent experts during the summer of 2003, seven of these proposals were selected for progression to the contract negotiation phase (one NoE, three IPs and three STREPs, of which two were later merged). Contracts are now in place for all these projects – details are in Table 12-1. In addition, work has started in two other projects (see table) following successful proposal submission and contract negotiation. One is a CA under the NUCTECH activity code on education and training, the other is a Specific Support Action (SSA) submitted as part of the parallel Open Euratom Call (see http://fp6.cordis.lu/fp6-euratom/calls.cfm, link to “Euratom Call Open”). Further details on all projects are available on http://www.cordis.lu/fp6-euratom/projects.htm.
First Thematic Call – Fixed Deadline
The first thematic Call for Proposals in the area “Euratom Research and Training programme on Nuclear Energy”, covering the “fission” part of FP6-Euratom, was published on 17th December 2002.
The deadline was 6th May 2003 and total budget some €67M. The Call reflected the new thinking regarding the structuring of European research in general and made extensive use of the new FP6 funding instruments. As a result, a smaller number of generally larger projects were being sought under the various specific topic headings, each bringing together a greater number of partners. Within the general field of radioactive waste management, the Call requested proposals on the topics listed in Table 12-2.
From January 2004, Euratom funding is also available for the five EU acceding counties that were previously not associated with the Euratom programme – Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Cyprus and Malta – and for Switzerland, which became an associated country on 1st January. As a result, the funding for some of these projects has been slightly increased with respect to the originally indicated budgets.
Second Thematic Call – Fixed Deadline
The second Thematic Call in the area “Euratom Research and Training programme on Nuclear Energy” was published on 14th November 2003 with a deadline of the 14th of April 2004. Again, all priority thematic areas within the fission programme are covered; the total foreseen budget is €61M.
Within management of radioactive waste, the specific topics are complementary to those addressed by the first Call – see Table 12-3.
Table 12-1: Contracts in Place after the Thematic Call Activity
Code see Note 1
Project title & description Instrument Coordinator
EU 3.2.1.1-1 No projects selected
3.2.1.1-2 ACTINET-6 numerical modelling of the key processes in the near-field and their coupling for different host rocks and repository strategies
Improving the governance of nuclear waste management and disposal in Europe
EUROpean research program for the PARTitioning of minor actinides and some long-lived fission products from high active wastes issuing the
reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels
IP CEA (FR) €6M / and Waste Reduction Technologies on the Final Nuclear Waste Disposal (merger of two proposals)
Coordiation Action on Education in Radiation Protection and Radioactive
Support action: pilot initiative for
european regional repositories SSA Decom Slovakia, Note 1: NUWASTE-2003 activity code except for CETRAD and SAPIERR
Table 12-2: Topics in the First Thematic Call
Activity Code Topic addressed (see Note 1)
Applicable instruments (see Note 2) NUWASTE Management of radioactive waste
NUWASTE-1 Research on geological disposal:
NUWASTE-2003-3.2.1.1-1
Sustainable integration of European research in geological disposal of
radioactive waste NoE
NUWASTE-2003-3.2.1.1-2 Sustainable integration of European research on actinides NoE
NUWASTE-2003-3.2.1.1-3
Understanding and physical and numerical modelling of key processes in the near-field, and their coupling, for different host rocks and repository
strategies IP
NUWASTE-2003-3.2.1.1-4
Development and testing of disposal concepts and technologies in
Underground Research Laboratories IP
NUWASTE-2003-3.2.1.1-5 Improving the governance of geological waste disposal STREP CA NUWASTE-2 Partitioning and transmutation and other concepts:
NUWASTE-2003-3.2.2.1-1 Partitioning of actinides and fission products from high-level nuclear
waste for their transmutation or conditioning in stable matrices IP
NUWASTE-2003-3.2.2.1-2 Impact of partitioning and transmutation STREP
CA NUCTECH Other activities in the field of nuclear technologies and safety
NUCTECH-2 Education and training:
NUCTECH-2003-3.4.2.1-2
Education and training needs for radiation protection and radioactive waste management
STREP CA Note 1: For full details go to http://fp6.cordis.lu/fp6-euratom/calls.cfm and follow the link to
“Euratom Call 2003 – Fixed deadline”
Note 2: NoE = Network of Excellence; IP = Integrated Project; STREP = Specific Targeted Research Project; CA = Coordination Action (full details on
http://www.cordis.lu/fp6/instruments.htm)
Table 12-3: Topics in the Second Thematic Call
Activity Code Topic addressed (see Note 1) Applicable
instruments NUWASTE Management of radioactive waste:
NUWASTE-1 Research on geological disposal:
NUWASTE-2004-3.2.1.1-1
Understanding and numerical modelling of the key processes for radionuclide migration through the geological environment for different
repository host rocks IP
NUWASTE-2 Partitioning and transmutation and other concepts:
NUWASTE-2004-3.2.2.1-1 Transmutation of high-level nuclear waste in an Accelerator Driven System IP Note 1: For full details go to http://fp6.cordis.lu/fp6-euratom/calls.cfm and follow the link to “Euratom Call 2004 – Fixed deadline”
Call for Expression of Interest
On the 26th November 2003 the Commission published a Call for Expression of Interest in the area
“Euratom Research and Training programme on Nuclear Energy” (details on http://fp6.cordis.lu/fp6-euratom/calls.cfm, link to “EOI.FP6.Euratom.2003”). This is providing an opportunity for Europe’s research community to help identify priorities for the mid-term revision of the FP6-Euratom work programme in the fission area. The closing date was 19th March 2004. The submitted EOIs will be evaluated by the Commission in collaboration with independent experts and a report will be made available later in the summer.
Projects in FP5-Euratom (1998 – 2002)
Research projects launched under the “fission” part of the FP5-Euratom have either already been completed or will reach completion during the course of the next 12 months. A comprehensive presentation of these projects is available on http://www.cordis.lu/fp5-euratom/src/projects.htm (see Annex II “Safety of the fuel cycle”).
"The Euradwaste'04 Conference was held in Luxembourg on 29-31 March 2004 and was an opportunity for the research community to present the results of FP5-Euratom in the area of radioactive waste management. In addition, the sessions on the first day were devoted to socio-political issues and included presentations and panel discussions related to the Commission's proposed Directive on management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. The full Conference proceedings are available on the Cordis Website:
http://www.cordis.lu/fp6-euratom/ev_euradwaste04.htm Additional Information
Additional information about radioactive waste management research in the European Union can be found at the following Internet pages:
http://www.cordis.lu/fp6-euratom/home.html
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/energy/fi/fi_en.html
12.4 Activities of the OECD/NEA