SPIN: Testing of safety and performance indicators

• Research unit: EU RFP
• Project number: 99.0775-2

Key words (English)

Waste disposal; safety assessment; performance assessment; safety indicator; performance indicator

Alternative project number (English)

EU project number: FIKW-2000-00081

Research programs (English)

EU-programme: 5. Frame Research Programme - 5.5.2 Nuclear fission

Short description (English)

See abstract

Partners and International Organizations (English)

GRS (D), Enresa (E), Nagra (CH), NRG (NL), SCK.CEN (B), VTT (FIN), Colenco (CH), [NRI (CZ)]

Abstract (English)

Safety and performance indicators for deep geological repositories for radioactive waste have been under discussion for many years in several countries and international organisations. If those indicators refer to the performance of the total disposal system with respect to long-term safety, they are often called safety indicators. If they refer to the performance of subsystems or to the performance of the total system with respect to other aspects than safety, they are sometimes called performance indicators. The need for indicators other than dose rates derives e.g. from the long time frames involved in safety assessments of waste disposal systems and the increasing uncertainty in dose rate calculations over time due to uncertainty in evolution of the surface environment and of behaviour of man.
Before introducing additional indicators into a safety case of a potential repository site, the applicability and usefulness of different indicators have to be investigated and evaluated. The systematic analysis and testing of indicators is the task of the SPIN project. The testing is done by use of existing performance assessments for different granite sites in Germany (generic), Spain (generic), Finland (Olkiluoto) and Switzerland (Böttstein/Northern Switzerland). The results of the different indicators are compared and their evidence is evaluated. As a result, safety and performance indicators will be practically available for site specific safety cases. A detailed definition of the terms safety indicator and performance indicator and their links to the safety assessments is given and basic requirements for practical use of indicators are developed.
Where available, numerical values for indicators will be compared with the reference values proposed elsewhere. Such values are taken from literature and e.g. from the co-ordinated research programme of the IAEA.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 99.0775-2