NEA Mandates and Structures


Working Party on Technical, Environmental and Safety Aspects of Decommissioning and Legacy Management (WPTES)

Chair(s): Cynthia BARR, United States
Secretary:  Una BAKER
(una.baker@oecd-nea.org)
Vice-Chair(s): Hefin GRIFFITHS, Australia
Philippe PONCET, France
Thomas BRAUNROTH, Germany
Sofia LUQUE, Spain
Arne LARSSON, Sweden
Member(s):All NEA member countries*
Russia (Suspended*)
*Russian Federation suspended pursuant to a decision of the OECD Council.
EU participation: The European Union (EU) takes part in the work of the NEA, in accordance with the NEA Statute and the Supplementary Protocol to the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Observer(s)(International Organisation): International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
By agreement
Date of creation:15 March 2021
End of mandate:14 March 2027

Mandate (Document reference):

  • Mandate of the Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations and Legacy Management approved under the written procedure on 11 January 2019 by the CDLM [NEA/DLM(2018)3] and on 20 March 2019 by the Steering Committee [NEA/NE(2019)8]
  • Summary Paper from the NEA Workshop on Defining Issues for the CDLM Programme of Work [NEA/DLM(2019)3]
  • Summary Record of the First Meeting of the CDLM Task Group held on 29-30 April 2019 [NEA/DLM/M(2019)5/PROV]
  • Summary Record of the CDLM Bureau meeting held on 9 October 2019 [NEA/DLM/M(2019)7/FINAL]
  • Draft Summary Record of the Extraordinary CDLM Bureau Meeting held on 24 January 2020 [NEA/DLM/M(2020)2/FINAL]
  • The CDLM Matrix [NEA/DLM(2020)7/FINAL]
  • Summary Record of the Extraordinary Bureau Meeting of the Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations and Legacy Management (CDLM) on 16 April 2020 [NEA/DLM/M(2020)3/FINAL]
  • Sub-Group Reporting to the Parent Committee [NEA/CDLM/RWMC(2019)2]
  • CDLM Structure Development Proposal [NEA/DLM(2020)9]
  • Summary Record of the Second Plenary Meeting of the CDLM held on 7-8 September 2020 [NEA/DLM/M(2021)2/FINAL]
  • Terms of Reference – Working Party on Technical, Environmental and Safety Aspects of Decommissioning and Legacy Management (WPTES) [NEA/DLM(2020)10]
  • Mandate of the Working Party on Technical, Environmental, and Safety Aspects of Decommissioning and Legacy Management (WPTES) [NEA/DLM(2021)3/FINAL]
  • Summary Record of the Fifth Plenary Meeting of the CDLM held on 24 March 2023 [NEA/DLM/M(2023)5/PROV]
  • Mandate of the Working Party on Technical, Environmental and Safety Aspects of Decommissioning and Legacy Management (WPTES) [NEA/DLM(2023)7/PROV and NEA/DLM(2023)7/FINAL]

Mandate (Document extract):

Extract from document NEA/DLM(2023)7/FINAL

Background

In order to more effectively address the Nuclear Energy Agency’s (NEA) mission, the Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations and Legacy Management (CDLM) agreed to create second level bodies focused on addressing concerns in the area of decommissioning of nuclear installations and management of legacy sites [NEA/DLM/M(2021)2/FINAL]. The background for this proposal is described in the CDLM Structure Development Proposal [NEA/DLM(2020)9] and the Terms of Reference – Working Party on Technical, Environmental and Safety Aspects of Decommissioning and Legacy Management (WPTES) [NEA/DLM(2020)10].

Scope

The WPTES will address technical, environmental and safety issues in the decommissioning of nuclear installations and legacy management as a level-two NEA body under the CDLM. To address the broad scope of cross-cutting issues, the WPTES will incorporate areas such as risk impacts (worker, public, environment safety), sampling and characterisation, decontamination and decommissioning technologies, decommissioning waste streams/routes, post operational clean out, and innovative techniques (e.g. robotics, digitalisation, etc.).

Objectives

In order to further its work on the development of approaches on technical, environmental and safety aspects, the WPTES is tasked by the CDLM to:

i. foster the exchange of information and experience between its members on issues concerned with technical, environmental and safety aspects with a view to promoting collective learning and to enhance the credibility, reliability, and auditability of both decommissioning and legacy management and thus to enhance stakeholder confidence in the process involved;

ii. describe good practices in the field of technical, environmental and safety aspects for decommissioning and legacy management projects, including understanding and communication of associated risks; and planning for uncertainties, with an overall aim to assist member organisations to develop robust and efficient project management processes, and examine the scope for achieving consensus on overall objectives and for developing common approaches; and

iii. advise the CDLM on major and emerging issues in the area of technical, environmental and safety aspects for decommissioning and legacy management, and provide appraisals of the state-of-the-art with a view to consolidating knowledge and making it transferable to a variety of different audiences.

Working methods

The mode of operation of the WPTES is based upon plenary meetings (once a year, and more, as needed, upon decision of the working party and taking into account the Secretariat’s resources) and an ongoing, project-oriented working programme.

The Bureau of the WPTES (elected from members of WPTES) co-ordinates and facilitates the work of the working party. The Bureau preferably meets twice a year, with one meeting held in conjunction with the annual plenary meeting of the WPTES.

Communication within the WPTES primarily takes place through annual plenary meetings. The plenary meeting will be devoted to:

  • exchange of information on recent developments in member countries;
  • in-depth discussions of current developments and of topical issues, where specialists from outside the WPTES may also be invited;
  • the identification of main lessons to be reported to the CDLM, including organising topical sessions at the WPTES plenary meetings; and
  • the discussion and co-ordination of the working programme.

The WPTES reports to the Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations and Legacy Management (CDLM). At the end of the mandate period, according to the procedures described in document [NEA/CDLM/RWMC(2019)2] entitled Sub-Group Reporting to the Parent Committee, the WPTES will deliver to the CDLM at its plenary meeting a report which will include achievements for the whole period, and, should an extension be necessary, proposals on further development and justification for a mandate extension.

Additionally, the WPTES: (i) identifies resources and schedules its activities; (ii) forms ad hoc bodies to work on specific projects and to organise workshops, as appropriate; (iii) creates third-level expert groups for more task-oriented work in consultation with the CDLM; and (iv) annually reviews the programme of work of the WPTES and the effectiveness of the programme.

Membership

The WPTES is a discipline-oriented body. It aims for a composition which includes a diverse range of senior specialists who have considerable experience and knowledge in the area of technical, environmental and safety aspects in decommissioning and legacy management. This representation will be wide-ranging, and includes policy-makers, regulators, implementers and specialists in decommissioning and legacy management.

Interactions

The primary interaction of the WPTES will be with the CDLM and the Working Party on Management and Organisational Aspects of Decommissioning and Legacy Management (WPMO) to co-ordinate their work to support a holistic approach to decommissioning and legacy management.

The work of the WPTES on technical, environmental and safety aspects is complementary to the activities of other international organisations, thus using or taking into account the outcomes of activities of the IAEA and the European Commission as well as other relevant organisations. When appropriate and under the guidance of the CDLM, the WPTES will provide input relevant to the activities of these organisations and institutions.

In fulfilling its mandate, the WPTES will be primarily supported by the staff of the NEA Division of Radioactive Waste Management and Decommissioning (RWMD). Through the CDLM and Secretariat, the WPTES will co-operate with the subsidiary bodies of other NEA standing technical committees when relevant, in particular, those of the Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC), the Committee on Radiological Protection and Public Health (CRPPH) and the NEA’s Co-operative Programme for the Exchange of Scientific and Technical Information Concerning Nuclear Installation Decommissioning Projects (CPD).

Deliverables

The WPTES will produce relevant reports, presentations or workshops with the support of the Secretariat. It is expected that at least two reports and one technical workshop will be completed during this mandate extension period, with various additional presentations contributing to work both within the NEA and at external events.