BIOPROTA Biosphere modelling for waste repositories This presentation Objectives Participation and management What it has done and publications Projects on-going Future work Tobias Lindborg BIOPROTA Sponsoring Committee Chairman and Ecologist, Analysis Unit Site Investigations and Biosphere Assessment EMRAS II, IAEA,Vienna, 19–23 January 2009

Deep repository for spent fuel Design capacity: –9300 tons (U) Depth: m Area needed: 2-4 km 2 Total volume –~ 1.7 Mm 3

The conceptual idea behind the description of the surface system (input to safety assessment) Forest Wetland agriculture Sea basin Lake Laxemar area Wetland Agriculture Sea basin

Forest ecosystem Sea ecosystem Primary producers Conceptual model of the Surface system -Abiotic/biotic descriptions and modelling -System models -linked models at landscape level Hypothetical radionuclide pathway Linked ecosystems Ecosystems Ecosystem entities Property production Lake ecosystem

The major pools and fluxes of carbon and water in an Alder-Norway spruce swamp forest. Figures in boxes describe pools while figures outside are fluxes

6 The Farmstead model (NRI, Rez) Similar to Bioprota model, with water ingestion and inhalation

7 BIOPROTA Objectives Building on IAEA-BIOMASS-6 (2003) "Reference Biospheres" for solid radioactive waste disposal, BIOPROTA is to provide a forum for exchange of information to support resolution of key issues in biosphere aspects of assessments of the long- term radiological impact of contaminant releases associated with radioactive waste and contaminated land management.

8 BIOPROTA Participation Currently 17 organisations operators and regulators, as well as scientific support organisations. ANDRA, EDF (France) SCK-CEN (Belgium) CIEMAT (Spain) KAERI (Korea) NAGRA (Switzerland) NNL, NDA (UK) NRI (Czech Republic) NUMO, JGC (Japan) NWMO (Canada) EPRI (USA) POSIVA (Finland) NRPA (Norway) BfS (Germany) SKB, SSM (Sweden) Europe N. America, and Asia

9 BIOPROTA Management Each organisation has a representative on a Sponsoring Committee. The Chairman is chosen by that Committee. Organisation is set out in a document updated every year. There is one main information exchange forum a year, to be hosted in 2009 by CIEMAT, Madrid, 6 – 8 May. Projects are organised and funded by any subset of interested parties, according to their own interests.

10 BIOPROTA Output Technical reports, see  Long term models for dose assessment: o Spray irrigation o Accumulation in soil and inhalation o Accumulation in soil and uptake into the foodchain  C-14 model review  Cl-36 accumulation in soil and plant uptake  Use of analogue data  Site characterisation Workshop reports, see  Se-79 behaviour in the environment  Cl-36 behaviour in the environment  Processes at the geosphere biosphere interface  Long term dose assessment of non-human biota  Evaluation of codes for transfer modelling  Annual Forum reports Database for special radionuclides, continuing dvpt.

11 BIOPROTA On-going Projects Experimental work on sorption of I-129 in organic rich soils (lead by ANDRA) Addressing uncertainties in non-human biota dose assessments (lead by POSIVA) Cl-36 dose assessment (lead by ANDRA) and relative uncertainties in,  estimating concentrations in food;  “Representative Person” assumptions, and  dose coefficients C-14 dose assessment (lead by EDF) Review of site characterisation experience (lead by ANDRA)

12 BIOPROTA Future Work Priorities were reviewed in Proposals now under review for :  assessing doses from Ra-226 and progeny  development of improved models for Se-79 Some other issues are being addressed internally. As investigations become focussed on specific sites, the priorities become locally specific. Future work could include:-  Addressing transient environmental change;  Review of experience in defining assumptions for hypothetical exposure groups;  Review of experience in identifying and justifying assumptions for biosphere systems;  Review of experience in the application of IAEA recommendations and guidance.

Thank you for your attention!