Public acceptance as a driver for repository design

McKinley, I. G.*; Masuda, Sumio*; Hardie, S. M. L.*; Umeki, Hiroyuki*; Naito, Morimasa; Takase, Hiroyasu*

Journal of Energy, 2018, p.7546158_1 - 7546158_8, 2018/07

https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/7546158

The Japanese geological disposal programme for radioactive waste is based on a volunteering approach to siting, which places particular emphasis on the need for public acceptance. This emphasises the development of a repository project as a partnership with local communities and involves stakeholders in important decisions associated with key milestones in the selection of repository sites and subsequent construction, operation and closure. To date, however, repository concept development has proceeded in a more traditional manner, focusing particularly on ease of developing a post-closure safety case. In the current project, we have attempted to go further by assessing what requirements stakeholders would place on a repository and assessing how these could be used to re-think repository designs so that they meet the desires of the public without compromising critical operational or long-term safety.

Use of knowledge and experience gained from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident to establish the technical basis for strategic off-site response

Miyahara, Kaname; McKinley, I. G.*; Saito, Kimiaki; Hardie, S. M. L.*; Iijima, Kazuki

JAEA-Review 2015-001, 90 Pages, 2015/03

JAEA-Review-2015-001.pdf:9.63MB

This report provides a concise overview of knowledge and experience gained from the activities for environmental remediation after the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident. It is specifically tailored for international use to establish or refine the technical basis for strategic, off-site response to nuclear incidents. It is produced by JAEA, reflecting JAEA's key role in the research associated with both remediation of contaminated areas and the natural processes influencing contamination migration in non-remediated areas, working together with a number of Japanese and international organisations and research institutes. The report also provides a perspective on the future actions required to remediate all areas outside the 1F site.

Roles of conceptual model development for realistically quantifying radionuclide migration

Miyahara, Kaname; Tachi, Yukio; Kitamura, Akira; Mitsui, Seiichiro; Sawada, Atsushi; Shibata, Masahiro; Neall, F.*; McKinley, I. G.*

Proceedings of 2011 International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference (IHLRWMC 2011) (CD-ROM), p.292 - 298, 2011/04

As the Japanese deep geological disposal programme prepares for milestones at which volunteer sites need to be compared, it is critical that any supporting post-closure safety assessment is done as realistically as possible. Because of the subtle system understanding needed to integrate diverse theoretical, laboratory, field and analogue models, data and observations into the high-level parameters that are incorporated into performance assessment models, normal QA procedures tend to fail completely. This problem is discussed further in this paper and solutions outlined, which build on recent developments of supporting knowledge engineering tools.

Consequence analysis of fluvial erosion scenarios for a HLW repository

Miyahara, Kaname; Kawamura, Makoto*; McKinley, I. G.*; Inagaki, Manabu*; Ebina, Takanori*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 48(7), p.1069 - 1076, 2011/00

https://doi.org/10.3327/jnst.48.1069

In Japan, uplift/erosion scenarios must be analysed even if they occur far in the future, as no assessment cut-off times have yet been defined. For this purpose, the geological record of river terrace formation and their long term evolution has been studied further, with the aim of constructing a more realistic fluvial erosion model compared with the original, rather simple cyclic fluvial erosion model developed in a previous study. The model allows the consequences of erosion of the repository to be assessed, as before using comparisons with natural radionuclide fluxes. This paper describes a conceptual model based on a generalization of field observations in relevant settings and discusses resultant analyses, which again illustrate the effectiveness and robustness of the reference HLW disposal system.

Practical application of the KMS, 2; Site characterisation

Semba, Takeshi; Osawa, Hideaki; Hioki, Kazumasa; Tachibana, Shoko*; Takase, Hiroyasu*; McKinley, I. G.*

Proceedings of 12th International Conference on Environmental Remediation and Radioactive Waste Management (ICEM '09/DECOM '09) (CD-ROM), 8 Pages, 2009/10

https://doi.org/10.1115/ICEM2009-16355

To provide support for the Japanese implementer and also the regulator, a JAEA team is attempting to capture both Japanese and international geosynthesis experience within a KMS framework, which is termed ISIS. This is a hybrid system that combines "smart" software with human experts, although an aim is to capture tacit knowledge within expert systems to the maximum extent practicable. Initial tests, based mainly on field work carried out by JAEA at the sites of the Mizunami and Horonobe underground research laboratories.

Challenges for the JAEA KMS; Fostering inventive design and problem solving

Makino, Hitoshi; Hioki, Kazumasa; Umeki, Hiroyuki; Tachibana, Shoko*; Takase, Hiroyasu*; McKinley, I. G.*

Proceedings of 12th International Conference on Environmental Remediation and Radioactive Waste Management (ICEM '09/DECOM '09) (CD-ROM), 9 Pages, 2009/10

https://doi.org/10.1115/ICEM2009-16351

The JAEA Knowledge Management System (KMS) is being developed to be flexible and able to respond to potential changes of boundary conditions. On a shorter timescale, the KMS must encourage flexibility in the methodology used for carrying out and presenting performance assessments. This is closely linked to development of advanced repository concepts; considering the requirements for a safe and practical repository tailored to specific site conditions, which reflects evolving technology. These coupled development tasks were, in the past, carried out by expert teams in a rather informal manner. As the technical challenges increase - and the need for transparency is accepted - a more formal method of developing innovative design solutions is needed. A knowledge engineering approach (TRIZ) that is used in other financial and industrial applications has thus been tested for its usefulness for such tasks.

Disruptive effects on a HLW repository due to uplift-erosion in the distant future

Miyahara, Kaname; Inagaki, Manabu; Kawamura, Makoto; Ebina, Takanori*; McKinley, I. G.*

Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, Vol.1193, p.177 - 184, 2009/05

Uplift and erosion cannot be generally precluded in Japan, therefore needs to be treated. In particular, uplift and erosion will cause major disruption of the engineered and natural barriers when the repository is exposed at the ground surface, although erosion of the repository should be excluded for very long times by careful siting and design. In Japan, uplift/erosion scenarios must be analysed, even if they occur far in the future as no assessment cut-off times have yet been defined. For this purpose, an argumentation method is being developed to allow sensible scenarios to be constructed. This paper discusses procedures to derive relevant conceptual models and resultant analyses in a credible manner which illustrates the effectiveness and robustness of the HLW disposal system, using relevant yardsticks based on natural radionuclide fluxes.

The Challenge of development of a holistic waste management approach to support the Nuclear Renaissance

Makino, Hitoshi; Umeki, Hiroyuki; Hioki, Kazumasa; McKinley, I. G.*

Proceedings of International Waste Management Symposium 2009 (WM '09) (CD-ROM), 15 Pages, 2009/03

http://www.wmsym.org/archives/2009/pdfs/9177.pdf

no abstracts in English

Knowledge management; The Cornerstone of a 21st century safety case

Umeki, Hiroyuki; Osawa, Hideaki; Naito, Morimasa; Nakano, Katsushi; Makino, Hitoshi; McKinley, I. G.*

Proceedings of Safety Cases for Deep Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste; Where do we stand ?, p.211 - 219, 2008/00

no abstracts in English

Alternative repository design concepts for HLW disposal; Challenges and initiatives

Masuda, Sumio*; Kawamura, Hideki*; McKinley, I. G.*; Kitayama, Kazumi*; Umeki, Hiroyuki

Proceedings of Radioactive Waste Management; The Next Step: Confidence, Safety and Implementation, 8 Pages, 2006/06

Many of the "standard" designs for deep geological radwaste repositories were developed decades ago and have altered little since. Changing boundary conditions - both technical and socio-economic - are driving increasing interest in the consideration of alternatives, particularly for disposal of higher activity and longer-lived wastes. This was particularly the case in Japan, following the decision by NUMO to proceed with site selection based on a volunteering process. The work by NUMO to examine alternatives provides a good illustration of the range of possibilities which are available to allow flexible tailoring of design to fit both the characteristics of volunteer sites and the desires of local communities. On an even larger scale, however, the 21st century can be expected to bring challenges that will affect the future nuclear power generation at both national and global levels. As repository project are planned and implemented over timescales of many decades, such uncertainties should be taken into account to ensure that waste disposal projects initiated now remain appropriate to the future generations who will build, operate and close them.