Integration Group for the Safety Case (IGSC): Safety Assessment Strategy and Tool
Ongoing

IGSC activities in this area evaluate effective assessment strategies, tools and methodologies to integrate and process what we know in a way that allows well-founded conclusions regarding both long-term and operational safety of repositories, while acknowledging any remaining uncertainty.  Activities in this area are designed to answer the question of "how do we use what we know to demonstrate safety?"

Publications and reports
4
results
Activities

Feature, event and process (FEP) Database

The NEA Feature, Event and Process (FEP) Database is an electronic tool which supports national programmes for radioactive waste management in the identification, classification and screening of FEPs. These are used when defining relevant scenarios for safety assessment for deep geological repositories (DGRs). To access the new web-based FEP Database and to have an overview of the history of the evolution of the IFEP List, please visit the database site.

Methods for Safety Assessment for Geological Disposal Facilities for Radioactive Waste (MeSA)

With the emergence of the safety case concept in the past decades, the IGSC initiated a state-of-the-art review of safety assessment approaches in 2008. The goals of the MeSA project were to examine and document methods used in safety assessment for radioactive waste disposal facilities, to generate collective views and areas where different methodologies are used, and to identify future work. The project was concluded with a workshop in 2010 in which specific safety assessment strategy issues were evaluated. Seven issue papers summarising the latest knowledge were produced as a result of the project.

Scenario development (2015)

Scenario development and selection describes the collection and organisation of the scientific and technical information relevant to the potential paths of evolution of a radioactive waste disposal facility (repository) that is necessary to assess its long-term performance and safety. The NEA held its first workshop on scenario development in 1999 to review the methods for developing scenarios in safety assessments and their application. In 2015, the second workshop was held to further evaluate the experience acquired along with changes of scenario development process and analysis for the disposal of radioactive waste.

Safety indicators (2012)

The concept of using various types of indicators to complement dose and risk has developed considerably during the last 15 years in national and international projects. Experience has been gained in international fora such as SPIN, PAMINA, INTESC and other national projects. The early emphasis on using just dose and risk as safety indicators has been extended, and several types of complementary indicators are now used, most recently safety function indicators. Within the scope of MeSA project, a report was published to examine and document the status of methods for safety assessment for long-term safety of geological repositories for disposal of radioactive waste.