ASME Message

Abstracts
U-232 progenies nuclides such as Th-228 and Tl-208 were observed. The expected exposures are apprehensive by
accumulation of the high energy gamma emission nuclides. For example, the fluidization media storage tank in which
Th-228 progenies originated from U-232 accumulated. There arises the case of remote controlled tools for decreasing
personal exposure if required. As for the waste disposal, the determination of uranium content must be necessary. We are
now developing for measuring systems with better accuracy. The further tasks imposed us summarized the followings;
i)dismantling method for high doserate area, ii)reduction of radioactive wastes volume, iii)decontamination for the
buildings, iv)waste disposal.
SESSION M2: Public Involvement
1) 40288 – Activities of the OECD/NEA in the Field of Stakeholder Confidence for Radwaste Management and
Decommissioning
Claudio Pescatore, OECD/NEA
The OECD/NEA seeks to assist its member countries in developing strategies for the management of all types of
radioactive material, including waste, that are safe and sustainable and that meet the broad needs of society - with
particular emphasis on the management of long-lived waste and spent fuel and on decommissioning of disused nuclear
facilities. The programme of work in the area of stakeholder involvement is supervised by the Radioactive Waste
Management Committee (RWMC) and carried out by its Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC). The latter is made of
senior representatives from regulatory authorities, decommissioning organisations, policy making bodies, and
research-anddevelopment institutions from the NEA countries. First and foremost, the FSC is a “learning organisation”.
Through the FSC, members seek to improve themselves as responsive actors in the governance of radioactive waste
management and decommissioning. Delegates attend in order to benefit from in-depth pragmatic exchanges with both
peers and stakeholders beyond the membership. They then consolidate their learning: the FSC takes as a responsibility to
mature its lessons in discussion and cooperation with those concerned, and then to validate its conclusions with the help
of academic researchers. The third step in the cycle is to make the learning available to others. The FSC has held
workshops in six countries and local communities therein according to its own well tested approach. In each place, the
host defines the principal themes for discussion in radioactive waste management. FSC members learn from national
presenters about the history and context of each case study and hear a broad range of stakeholder voices describe their
position, actions and concerns. Sitting together in small groups for roundtable discussions, FSC members can ask
questions of hosting stakeholders, understand better their point of view, and share experience from their own institutions
and countries. Each table then gives feedback to the entire audience, and the main observations are published alongside
the texts of stakeholder presentations. The FSC then elaborates further on the lessons to be learnt. Over the 10 years of its
existence, the FSC has established itself as a key international player and adviser in the field of stakeholder confidence.
Its numerous studies and its advice are available on-line in the form, respectively, of academic reports and policy
brochures and flyers. Explored topics include: stepwise decision-making, principles for stakeholders involvement, the
partnering approach for siting and developing fuel cycle facilities, lessons learned in decommissioning, providing
value-added in view of building a durable relationship between a facility and its host community, etc. Current study areas
include: the interests and roles of regional authorities, how to increase the knowledge base of journalists, and providing
added value (beyond economic benefits) to communities hosting waste management facilities. The activities and lessons
to be learnt will be reviewed for the ICEM-2010 audience.
2) 40219 – A Comparative Study of Stakeholder Participation in the Cleanup of Radioactive Wastes in the US,
Japan and UK
Mito Akiyoshi, Senshu University (Japan); William Lawless, Fjorentina Angjellari-Dajci, Paine College (USA);
Christian Poppeliers, Augusta State University (USA); John Whitton, National Nuclear Laboratory (UK)
We review case studies of stakeholder participation in the environmental cleanup of radioactive wastes in the USA,
Japan and UK (e.g., [21,26,27,66,78]). Citizen participation programs in these three countries are at different stages:
mature in the US, starting in Japan, and becoming operational in the UK. The US issue at the US Department of Energy’s
(DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina (SC) had been focused on citizens encouraging Federal (DOE; US
Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA; and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC) and State (SC's
Department of Health and Environmental Compliance, or DHEC) agencies to pursue "Plug-in-RODs" at SRS to simplify
the regulations to accelerate closing seepage basins at SRS. In Japan, the Reprocessing of spent fuel and deep geological
disposal of vitrified high-level waste have been among Japan's priorities. A reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori
Prefecture is expected to commence operations in October 2010. The search of a site for a deep geological disposal
facility has been ongoing since 2002. But the direct engagement of stakeholders has not occurred in Japan. Indirectly,
stakeholders attempt to exert influence on decision-making with social movements, local elections, and litigation. In the
UK, the issue is gaining effective citizen participation with the UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). We
hope that the case studies from these countries may improve citizen participation.
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