Towards a harmonised application of the international regulatory framework in waste management and decommissioning

The 3-year Euratom project, “HARPERS: HARmonised PracticEs, Regulations and Standards in waste management and decommissioning,”aims to establish and clarify the benefits and added value of more aligned practices, methodologies, and approaches in decommissioning and radioactive waste management, including possibilities for shared processing, storage and disposal facilities between Member States (MS). HARPERS aims to reinforce the activities of the European Joint Programme on Radioactive Waste Management (EURAD), Pre-disposal Treatment of European Radioactive Waste Streams (PREDIS) and Stakeholder-based Analysis of Research for Decommissioning (SHARE) projects. HARPERS will also connect with the wider European Community through, e.g., SNETP, DigiDECOM, NEA, IGDTP, IAEA, ENSREG, ERDO and will encourage interaction between different national programmes. The project will evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, identify the obstacles & issues preventing implementation of a more common regulatory approach, covering e.g., nuclear, industrial safety, occupational health, environmental, … aspects. A TECOP analysis will identify a multitude of potential changes, which will be reviewed further in terms of strategic impacts for stakeholders. The high-level benefits of more aligned practices, methodologies and approaches are related to 1) greater business opportunities 2) better understanding between diverse groups serving wider markets 3) improved cost efficiency 4) waste minimisation and 5) improved final disposability of waste. This paper gives a general overview on HARPERS and presents results of the two on-line workshops on WP5 Advanced Technologies.