National regulations and requirements in Finland (see Section 1.4 (INTRODUCTION) below) are based on international treaties, agreements, requirements and recommendations (e.g. IAEA 1970 / 4787IAEA 1970. Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Information Circular INFCIRC/140. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 5 p., IAEA 1978 / 4788IAEA 1978. Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter. Information Circular INFCIRC/2205/Add.1/Rev.1. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 26 p., IAEA 1997 / 2222IAEA 1997. The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)., IAEA 2016 / 4795IAEA 2016. Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. Information Circular INFCIRC/274/Rev.1/Mod.1. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 10+17 p.). Typically, they set out the broad principles to be adopted, but the detailed implementation can vary to accommodate specific national needs (see NEA 2010 / 4997NEA 2010. Regulation and guidance for the geological disposal of radioactive waste: Review of the literature and initiatives of the past decade. NEA Report No. 6405. Paris, France: OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), 43 p. for an international overview). In addition to the international developments discussed below, there are also a number of other safety cases and safety assessments that have been or are being developed for the geological disposal of radioactive waste, as well as a wide variety of relevant results of research and development activities in specific countries and in international collaborations.
The purpose of radioactive waste disposal is to protect individuals, society and the environment from harmful effects of ionising radiation, now and in the future, in such a way that the needs and aspirations of the present generation are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs and aspirations (IAEA 1997 / 2222IAEA 1997. The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)., Article 1). The international consensus is that only deep geological disposal offers the long-term passive safety required for long-lived high-level radioactive waste (NAS 1957 / 3021NAS 1957. Disposal of radioactive waste on land. Report of the Committee on Waste Disposal of the Division of the Earth Sciences. Publication 519, Washington D.C., USA: National Academy of Sciences – National Research Council 142 p., NRC 2001 / 4799NRC 2001. Disposition of high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel: The continuing societal and technical challenges. Report of the Committee on Disposition of High-Level Radioactive Waste Through Geological Isolation. Washington, DC, USA: National Academy of Sciences – National Research Council (NAS-NRC)., 198 p., NEA 1999 / 3043NEA 1999. Progress toward geologic disposal of radioactive waste: Where do we stand? An international assessment. Paris, France: OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)., NEA 1999 / 3044NEA 1999. Confidence in the long-term safety of deep geologic repositories. Its development and communication. Paris, France: OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA).). Low-level radioactive waste can be disposed in near-surface repositories and intermediate-level waste at intermediate depth. The safety of geological disposal relies on natural and engineered (man-made) barriers, the functions of which are to isolate, limit and/or prevent releases of radionuclides from the repository and to retard radionuclide transport, such that releases to the surface environment do not occur at unacceptable levels.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) establishes or adopts “standards of safety for protection of health and minimisation of danger to life and property”, which are to be used in IAEA operations and which the member states can apply, and provides for the application of these standards. The IAEA Safety Standards consist of Safety Fundamentals (IAEA 2006 / 4790IAEA 2006. Fundamental safety principles: Safety fundamentals. IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SF-1. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 21 p.), which present the fundamental safety objective and principles and provide the basis for the protection and safety; the set of general and specific Safety Requirements, which “must be met to ensure the protection of people and the environment, both now and in the future” (here, especially IAEA 2011 / 4792IAEA 2011. Disposal of radioactive waste: Specific Safety Requirements. IAEA Safety Standard Series No. SSR-5. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 62 p.); and the collection of general and specific Safety Guides, which provide recommendations and guidance on how to comply with the safety requirements according to international good practices (here, especially IAEA 2010 / 4791IAEA 2010. Seismic hazards in site evaluation for nuclear installations: Specific Safety Guide. Safety Standards Series No. SSG-9. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 60 p., IAEA 2011 / 2236IAEA 2011. Geological disposal facilities for radioactive waste – Specific safety guide. IAEA Safety Standard Series No. SSG-14, Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)., IAEA 2012 / 2237IAEA 2012. The safety case and safety assessment for the disposal of radioactive waste – Safety specific guide. IAEA Safety Standard Series No. SSG-23, Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)., IAEA 2014 / 4793IAEA 2014. Monitoring and surveillance of radioactive waste disposal facilities: Specific Safety Guide. IAEA Safety Standard Series No. SSG-31. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 73 p., IAEA 2015 / 4794IAEA 2015. Site survey and site selection for nuclear installations: Specific Safety Guide. IAEA Safety Standard Series No. SSG-35. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 61 p.). The Safety Standards are to be understood in terms of the IAEA Safety Glossary [1], which provides definitions of selected safety-related terms. In addition, the IAEA has provided and continues to make available a number of reports, technical documents and other publications for further information.
For radiological protection per se, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) maintains the International System of Radiological Protection used world-wide as the common basis for radiological protection standards, legislation, guidelines, programmes and practice – adopted in general also by the IAEA. The most recent ICRP overall recommendations (ICRP 2007 / 2243ICRP 2007. The 2007 recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. In: Annals of the ICRP, Publication 103, 37(2-4). Ottawa, Canada: International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP).) maintain the three fundamental principles of radiation protection (justification, optimisation and application of dose limits) and individual dose limits in planned exposure situations and include an approach to demonstrating radiological protection of the environment (ICRP 2008 / 2244ICRP 2008. Environmental protection: the concept and use of reference animals and plants. Annals of the ICRP. Publication 108, 38(4-6), Ottawa, Canada: International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP).). The ICRP has also specifically addressed radiological protection in the context of geological disposal of radioactive waste (ICRP 2013 / 4796ICRP 2013. Radiological protection in geological disposal of long-lived solid radioactive waste. ICRP Publication 122. Annals of the ICRP. Vol. 42, no. 3: International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), 57 p.), especially from the perspective of how to apply the overall recommendations for the protection of future generations over the long time scales associated with geological disposal. These considerations also emphasise the basic principle (ICRP 1998 / 2240ICRP 1998. Radiation protection recommendations as applied to the disposal of long-lived solid radioactive waste. In: Annals of the ICRP, Publication 81, 28(4). Ottawa, Canada: International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP).) that “individuals and populations in the future should be afforded at least the same level of protection as the current generation” and the need for “watchful care” throughout the decisions and implementation of the waste management and disposal (ICRP 2013 / 4796ICRP 2013. Radiological protection in geological disposal of long-lived solid radioactive waste. ICRP Publication 122. Annals of the ICRP. Vol. 42, no. 3: International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), 57 p., p. 6).
More technically, a disposal facility for radioactive waste “shall be sited, designed and operated to provide features that are aimed at isolation of the radioactive waste from people and from the accessible biosphere. The features shall aim to provide isolation for several hundreds of years for short lived waste and at least several thousand years for intermediate- and high-level waste” (IAEA 2011 / 4792IAEA 2011. Disposal of radioactive waste: Specific Safety Requirements. IAEA Safety Standard Series No. SSR-5. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 62 p., Req. 9). Furthermore, the “site for a disposal facility shall be characterised at a level of detail sufficient to support a general understanding of both the characteristics of the site and how the site will evolve over time” (IAEA 2011 / 2236IAEA 2011. Geological disposal facilities for radioactive waste – Specific safety guide. IAEA Safety Standard Series No. SSG-14, Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)., p. 30). Such a repository shall also be monitored (e.g. IAEA 2011 / 4792IAEA 2011. Disposal of radioactive waste: Specific Safety Requirements. IAEA Safety Standard Series No. SSR-5. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 62 p.) to provide information to the operator and to the society to assist in safe and environmentally acceptable development and operation and to support in the decision making, including assistance in the confirmation of the key assumptions of the disposal concept (e.g. EC 2004 / 4784EC 2004. Thematic network on the role of monitoring in a phased approach to geological disposal of radioactive waste: Final report. Report EUR 21025 EN, Contract no. FIKW-CT-2001-20130. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 116 p., IAEA 2001 / 4789IAEA 2001. Monitoring of geological repositories for high level radioactive waste. IAEA-TECDOC-1208. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 25 p., White 2014 / 4802White, M.J. (ed.). 2014. Monitoring during the staged implementation of geological disposal: The MoDeRn project synthesis. Luxembourg: European Commission. MoDeRn deliverable D-6.1, 90 p.).
In the technological development of repositories, Posiva is actively participating together with the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co. (SKB) in several EU projects, as well as in the ‘European Technology Platform’ IGD-TP (EC 2009 / 4786EC 2009. Implementing Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste Technology Platform, ‘Vision Document. Special Report KI-NA-24160-EN-C. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 43 p., IGD-TP 2011 / 4797IGD-TP 2011. Implementing Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste Technology Platform: Strategic Research Agenda 2011. Report IGD-TP SRA 2011. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 65 p.). In addition to the key topics of safety case, waste forms and their behaviour, technical feasibility and long-term performance of repository components, development strategy of the repository, safety of construction and operations, monitoring and governance, and stakeholder involvement, the platform encompasses further cross-cutting and programme-specific activities (IGD-TP 2011 / 4797IGD-TP 2011. Implementing Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste Technology Platform: Strategic Research Agenda 2011. Report IGD-TP SRA 2011. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 65 p.).
At the global level, Posiva follows the guidelines of the IAEA and the NEA concerning the long-term safety of geologic repositories. According to the IAEA and the NEA, the long-term safety of the repository shall be demonstrated by a safety case that is a synthesis of evidence, analyses and arguments that quantify and substantiate the safety, and the level of expert confidence in the safety, along multiple lines of reasoning (IAEA 2011 / 4792IAEA 2011. Disposal of radioactive waste: Specific Safety Requirements. IAEA Safety Standard Series No. SSR-5. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 62 p., IAEA 2011 / 2236IAEA 2011. Geological disposal facilities for radioactive waste – Specific safety guide. IAEA Safety Standard Series No. SSG-14, Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)., IAEA 2012 / 2237IAEA 2012. The safety case and safety assessment for the disposal of radioactive waste – Safety specific guide. IAEA Safety Standard Series No. SSG-23, Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)., NEA 2004 / 3048NEA 2004. Post-closure safety case for geological repositories. Nature and purpose. 3679, Paris, France: OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) 56 p., NEA 2009 / 3054NEA 2009. International Experiences in Safety Cases for Geological Repositories (INTESC). Outcomes of the INTESC Project. 6251, Paris, France: OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)., NEA 2012 / 3057NEA 2012. Methods for safety assessment of geological disposal facilities for radioactive wastes – Outcomes of the NEA MeSA Initiative. 6923, Paris, France: OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA).). It shall consider also extremely long time scales with the help of various safety indicators (e.g. RPNSA 1993 / 4801Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Authorities in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden . 1993. Disposal of high level radioactive waste: Consideration of some basic criteria. NEI-SE-150 . Stockholm, Sweden: Swedish Radiation Protection Inst. , 64 p., Digitally available through the INIS Collection, ref. no. 25029320., NEA 2009 / 3054NEA 2009. International Experiences in Safety Cases for Geological Repositories (INTESC). Outcomes of the INTESC Project. 6251, Paris, France: OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)., NEA 2012 / 4798NEA 2012. Indicators in the safety case: A report of the Integrated Group on the Safety Case (IGSC). NEA/RWM/R(2012)7. Paris, France: OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), 143 p., IAEA 2003 / 2223IAEA 2003. The long term storage of radioactive waste: safety and sustainability: A position paper of international experts. IAEA-LTS/RW, Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)., IAEA 2011 / 2236IAEA 2011. Geological disposal facilities for radioactive waste – Specific safety guide. IAEA Safety Standard Series No. SSG-14, Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).). For the computational analyses, an appropriate level of cautiousness (or ‘conservatism’) needs to be chosen (e.g. IAEA 2003 / 2228IAEA 2003. “Reference Biospheres” for solid radioactive waste disposal – Report of BIOMASS Theme 1 of the BIOsphere Modelling and ASSessment (BIOMASS) Programme. IAEA-BIOMASS-6., Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).) and the codes, models and data need to be verified, benchmarked and validated as far as possible (e.g. NEA 1999 / 3044NEA 1999. Confidence in the long-term safety of deep geologic repositories. Its development and communication. Paris, France: OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)., NEA 2004 / 3048NEA 2004. Post-closure safety case for geological repositories. Nature and purpose. 3679, Paris, France: OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) 56 p., IAEA 2011 / 2236IAEA 2011. Geological disposal facilities for radioactive waste – Specific safety guide. IAEA Safety Standard Series No. SSG-14, Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)., IAEA 2012 / 2237IAEA 2012. The safety case and safety assessment for the disposal of radioactive waste – Safety specific guide. IAEA Safety Standard Series No. SSG-23, Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).).
[1] IAEA 2007 / 2232IAEA 2007. IAEA Safety Glossary – Terminology used in nuclear safety and radiation protection. 2007 Edition. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). and its revision, IAEA 2018 / 4803IAEA 2018. IAEA Safety Glossary: Terminology used in nuclear safety and radiation protection. 2018 Edition. Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 261 p..