Report on Radioactive Waste Ownership and Management of Long-Term Liabilities in EDRAM Member Countries

Author(s)

International Association for Environmentally Safe Disposal of Radioactive Materials

Publication Date

June 1, 2005

Keywords

Abstract

This report has been prepared by an ad-hoc Working Group (WG) formed by ANDRA (France), NUMO (Japan), NAGRA (Switzerland) and ENRESA (Spain) in May 2003, after the EDRAM meeting held in Valencia to study the situation in the different EDRAM member countries regarding the treatment of radioactive waste ownership and management of long-term liabilities.
The first objective of the report was to analyse how the ownership of radioactive waste is addressed in each EDRAM country. As this issue is quite isolated, the WG considered it worthwhile to analyse also how long-term liabilities are treated, taking into account that, for both issues, the first step was to outline the distribution of responsibilities among the main actors involved in spent fuel and radioactive waste management.
The starting-point of the report was the preparation of a set of tables aimed at collecting information concerning: the role of different actors involved in radioactive waste management, decommissioning and R&D activities, how the responsibilities are split between producers and the radioactive waste management organisation (RWMO), who has the responsibility over the waste, how the financing schemes are established and how the long-term liabilities are treated.
After receiving the answers from the EDRAM members, the WG found that the tables contained much more useful information than expected and that it would therefore be interesting to analyse the different data provided. The WG started the preparation of this report as an extension of the "matrix type" document that was originally intended.
The report reflects the status in EDRAM member countries as of May 2005. It was approved as an official EDRAM report for open publication at the EDRAM Spring Meeting 2005, held in Switzerland.
The persistent effort of the main editors, Álvaro Rodríguez Beceiro and Elena Vico del Cerro of ENRESA is gratefully acknowledged; Linda McKinley of NAGRA also contributed to the final editing of the report.