ROUTES: Waste Management routes in Europe from cradle to grave (EURAD WP)
ROUTES was a Strategic Studies Work Package (WP) within EURAD. It aimed to share experience and knowledge on radioactive waste management (RWM) routes between Waste Management Organisations (WMOS), Regulatory Technical Support Organisations (TSOs) and Research Entities (REs) from different countries, with programmes at different stages of development, with different amounts and types of radioactive waste to manage.
Overview
As noted under the EURAD Roadmap Theme 2 – “Radioactive waste characterisation, processing and storage (Pre-disposal activities), and source term understanding for disposal” – the pre-disposal activities including radioactive waste characterisation, treatment and conditioning, as well as storage, are considered as high priorities. Moreover, as highlighted in the Roadmap, a sufficient knowledge of the radionuclide and chemical content of the waste is a prerequisite for the development of the complete waste management route.
The common interests addressed in the ROUTES strategic studies were identified in the Roadmap and related to elements of Theme 2: Inventory collation and forecasting (3.5), the Methodology to define radionuclides inventories (3.6), understanding of the potential for long-term storage as a management option for disused sealed radioactive sources (3.10), the management of damaged waste packages and methods for reprocessing aged waste (1.2.4) and the waste acceptance criteria (2.1.6). All these subtopics are related to Roadmap Phase 0 (Policy, Framework & Programme Establishment), except the subtopic concerning WAC which is related to Phase 2 (Site Characterisation) and Phase 3 (Facility Construction).
Consequently, the raison d’être of this WP was to provide an opportunity to the organisations of the member states to share their experience and to identify common R&D interests associated with this topic. To this aim, safety-relevant issues and R&D needs associated with the waste management routes (cradle to grave) were identified, considering waste characterisation, the development of waste acceptance criteria (WAC) prior to the availability of disposal facilities, and options for disposal of small waste inventories. In addition to providing an overview of good practices for different steps in radioactive waste management and guidance for research activities, the work package provided an opportunity to consider sharing of technology and facilities.
Objective
This WP described and compared the different approaches to characterisation, treatment and conditioning and to long-term waste management routes between member states. The interested organisations were from different countries, with programmes at different stages of development, with different amounts and types of radioactive waste to manage. In this WP, safety-relevant issues and their R&D needs associated with waste management routes (from cradle to grave), including the management routes of legacy and historical waste, were identified. The WP considered past and present EU projects on the topics of interest and other initiatives carried out at international level such as IAEA and NEA so as to avoid duplicating existing work. The aim of this WP was to identify relevant R&D topics which could be collaboratively launched in the second wave of EURAD.
Closing words from WP Leader
The two main objectives in year 5 (finalization of ROUTES deliverables and dissemination of results) were achieved, thanks to the significant effort made by all board members. Notably, the final deliverable D9.3 reports all ROUTES recommendations, and special attention was given to disseminating information about the ROUTES project at various conferences, such as ICEM in October, the IAEA Conference on the Safety of Radioactive Waste in November 2023, and the WM Conference in February 2024. The ROUTES final meeting was attended by representatives from the IAEA and DG-ENER.
Funding Bodies
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European Union
Related Documents
Description: Deliverable 9.12 of the EURAD/ROUTES project: "Studies and plans for developing shared solutions for radioactive waste management in Europe"
Last updated: June 16, 2022
Description: Deliverable 9.16 of the EURAD/ROUTES project: "Implementation of the ROUTES ICS action plan first phase - CS discussion and input focused on the first topic identified in the ICS action plan"
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Description: Deliverable 9.4 of the EURAD/ROUTES project: "Overview of existing work on categorization/classification of RWs in participating states"
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EURAD/ROUTES – D9.15: Scoping of ROUTES, Initial ICS Input and ICS Action Plan
Description: Deliverable 9.15 of the EURAD/ROUTES project: "Scoping of ROUTES, Initial ICS Input and ICS Action Plan"
Last updated: June 16, 2022
ROUTES Deliverable 9-1: Training materials
Description: Training material from a EURAD (European Joint Programme on Radioactive Waste Management) and PREDIS (Pre-disposal management of radioactive waste) joint Summer School on Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) for radioactive waste. The training took place in September 4-8, 2023.
Last updated: February 13, 2025
Description: This report presents the identified Research and Development (R&D), Strategic Studies (StSt) and Knowledge Management (KM) needs and opportunities for collaboration between Member States, and details the recommendations as a result of the insights and achievements obtained from the deliverables and milestones generated in ROUTES tasks.
Last updated: February 13, 2025
ROUTES Deliverable 9-5: Overview of issues related to challenging wastes
Description: This deliverable presents the main outcomes of the ROUTES Subtask 2.2 meetings, detailing the major difficulties at stake for each challenging waste and initiatives that have been implemented by some Member States.
Last updated: February 13, 2025
Description: The objective of this deliverable is a comprehensive description of radioanalytical characterisation, including • the identification of characterisation techniques, • the comparison of characterisation methods applied for the same waste in different countries, • the analysis of existing approaches and identification of knowledge gaps, as well as • to give recommendations both for future research and development (R&D) tackling the identified knowledge gaps and for characterisation approaches for countries with non-developed waste management concepts.
Last updated: February 13, 2025
ROUTES Deliverable 9-8: Review of characterisation of legacy and historical wastes
Description: The aim of Task 3 of ROUTES is to identify techniques for characterisation, to compare the methods applied in different countries, to identify knowledge gaps and give recommendations for future R&D. This report summarises the results gained in work on the second subtask of Task 3 on characterisation and segregation of legacy waste.
Last updated: February 13, 2025
Description: The present report is the sole deliverable documenting the work performed under ROUTES Task 4. It summarises the outcomes of ROUTES Subtasks 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3, namely: • Current use of WAC in Member States and some Associated Countries. • Key discussion points from the Subtask 4.2 workshop titled “Sharing experience on waste management with / without WAC available” held on 14-15 June 2021. • The results of a gap analysis performed following the workshop including a series of observations and recommendations aimed at supporting the progression of waste management activities when uncertainties remain regarding future stages in the waste lifecycle, particularly disposal end points, and/or when associated WAC are absent. • Key discussion points from the Subtask 4.3 workshop titled “R&D needs and opportunities for collaboration” held on 10 May 2022. • The process for identifying, screening and prioritising commonly held WAC-related R&D needs and the opportunities for potential future collaboration between Member States and Associated Countries on this topic.
Last updated: February 13, 2025
Description: The aim of this report is to compile the existing knowledge on the various options for the final disposal of radioactive waste that could be used for small amounts of waste.
Last updated: February 13, 2025
Description: This second deliverable of Task 5 focuses on the necessary predisposal routes including pre-treatment, treatment and conditioning of RAW for the disposal options for SIMS. The aim of this report is to compile the existing knowledge, shared during the workshop in January 2022 (month 32 of EURAD) of this subtask.
Last updated: February 13, 2025
ROUTES Deliverable 9-13: Case studies on shared solution between Member states
Description: This deliverable gathers case studies on shared solutions between Member States in different stages of the waste lifecycle. In this document, shared solutions are defined as knowledge sharing and the sharing of facilities/technologies.
Last updated: February 13, 2025
Description: This report identifies promising topics and waste streams that could lead to opportunities for collaborative solutions between member states.
Last updated: February 13, 2025
Description: In this deliverable the results of the investigations are provided, including comments, suggestions, questions, and other observations collected in interaction with EURAD participants and the Civil Society larger group.
Last updated: February 13, 2025
Description: Implementation of ROUTES action plan third phase; Report of Task 7 on Interaction with Civil Society (ICS); Short term and long-term public participation in RWM technical topics
Last updated: February 13, 2025
ROUTES Deliverable 9-19: Synthesis of Task 7 activities
Description: Deliverable 9.19 “Synthesis report of Task 7 activities” aims to provide summary of the ROUTES Task 7 activities on interaction with Civil Society.
Last updated: February 13, 2025
Description: This report includes the results of Subtask 8.1, which aims at assessing the existing predisposal routes for SIMS based on the input of two workshops held in January 2022 (M30) and May 2022 (M34).
Last updated: February 13, 2025
Description: Summary report on analysis, assessment and evaluation of disposal options for SIMS (taking into account both potential disposal options and predisposal routes) including Annex: Case studies on typical waste pathways.
Last updated: February 13, 2025