Post Closure Aspects WG5

Post-Closure What does it mean ? UK – after period of institutional control France – after ceasing operations

Experience from France Centre De le Manche – Post-closure control & monitoring carried out by ANDRA as a state organisation Public have expressed confidence in ANDRA to extend this model to mining wastes to ensure the same controls and standards Funded by a tax on the producers accounting for full life costs Requirement for post-closure phase to be managed by a long-term independent organisation

Long-term plan In France, the long-term plan includes ANDRA relinquishing control following a suitable period (>300 yr) but no current schedule Generally assumed that following period of institutional control, that ultimate responsibility will be maintained by the state. Radioactive component may not be the only factor in determining institutional control (eg Lead or other non-radiological hazards)

Memory keeping & transfer of responsibility The regulatory aspects of maintenance of memory is a new challenge Competing priorities of minimising visual impact, whilst retaining the signs of previous occupation Keeping the memory needs to be defined – currently public in France require the operator to maintain the records, but it may be better in conjunction with the community

Memory Keeping Institutional Control – detailed memory Post-Institutional control – Synthetic memory for local communities or people who will potentially use it. The details are vital – what is important to each stakeholder and what form will it be kept in Learn from the cultural heritage and memory keeping from other aspects.

Legal Aspects Legal covenants ? Restrictions on use should extend for the life – what can be learned from past industrial activities such ass mining Giving sites to the local communities to ensure appropriate engagement and future use – recreational or industrial Maintaining institutional memory through things like land records accessible to public through normal processes.

Human Intrusion What scenarios are used and how are the standards compared with existing exposure situations or comparative non-radiological legacies (eg undermining or chemical contamination) Controls are predominantly on restrictions on what is disposed of and also maintaining the memory appropriately

Need for Retrievability & Decision Point(s) Is it linked to safety or just a political or societal requirement - Need robust cost benefit analysis. Always possible, but should be facilitated through the design Risks from human intrusion is proportional to the ease of retrievability. Must not compromise long-term safety by designing in retrievability Need to avoid contradictory messages, differentiate between operational phase & post-closure

Remediation What is the definition – repair of defects or full retrieval & repackaging