Waste Technology Section
Training in and Demonstration of Waste Disposal Technologies in Underground Reasearch Facilities — An IAEA Network of Centres of Excellence (URF Network)
Network Announcements
(Last Update: August 2008)
TRAINING COURSES IN 2008
Three Training Courses will be provided under the auspices of the Dept. of Technical Cooperation TC Project INT/9/173. The titles and some details of the courses are given below:
As replacement of the postponed course in Japan (see below) the following course in Switzerland in cooperation with the ITC School of Underground Waste Storage and Disposal will be provided.
NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW!| Course Number | C7-INT 9.173.017 |
| Title | Uses of Cement and Cementitious Materials in the Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste |
| Location | Flums, Switzerland |
| Dates | 15 to 19 December 2008 (Nomination deadline: 13 Oct 2008) |
| Organizers | IAEA in cooperation with the ITC School of Underground Waste Storage and Disposal |
| Target Individuals | The course is aimed at professionals working in implementation, regulation or support roles in national high level waste management programmes. It will be ideal to younger professionals as well as those with some years of experience who have a desire to learn about all aspects of working with cement and concrete in waste disposal. |
| Brief description | The course will show some of the applications to which work in the underground research facilities (URFs) can be put, with specific emphasis on the use of cementitious materials and cement/concrete structures underground. The course will consist of a series of modules which will include classroom sessions, courses, group exercises, field trips and practical applications (hands-on experience with cement and cementitious materials) at the URFs Hagerbach and Mont Terri. |
| Course Number | C7-INT 9.173.016 |
| Title | Numerical Simulation with Experimental Data |
| Host/Location | Geoenvironmental Research Centre (GRC), Cardiff University, UK |
| Dates | 14 to 21 July 2008 (Course Completed) |
| Organizers | IAEA in cooperation with the GRC, Cardiff University, UK |
| Target Individuals | The course is aimed at professionals (Scientists and Engineers) working in implementing, regulating or support organizations within national high-level waste management programmes. Nominees should have strong backgrounds (by education and/or experience) in numerical modelling and/or geo-technology. Preference will be given to applicants with advanced degrees in appropriate subjects and several years of relevant experience. |
| Brief description | The Course will last 7 working days and will include lectures, desk studies and laboratory visits. Over the duration of the course, the following subjects will be reviewed and discussed: Introduction - Repository Performance Assessment and near field processes - Theoretical aspects - Numerical aspects - Experimental aspects - Case Studies - Practical exercises with the numerical code COMPASS |
| Course Number | C7-INT 9.173.015 |
| Title | Decision Making and Stakeholder Involvement in Repository Development |
| Location | Toronto, Port Hope, Kincardine, Chalk River and Ottawa, Canada |
| Dates | 01 to 10 October, 2008 (Participants Selected) |
| Organizers | IAEA in cooperation with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, Ontario Power Generation and Natural Resources Canada |
| Target Individuals | The course is aimed at professionals working in implementation, regulation or support roles in national waste management programmes. Younger professionals as well as those with some years of experience would benefit from the course. It would be appropriate for nominees to have a strong background (by education and/or experience) in appropriate subjects including social sciences, nuclear and geotechnical science and engineering and geological sciences. Some experience and knowledge of Project Management techniques and applications would be an advantage. |
| Brief description | It is planned that the course will include both classroom and field activities with the following tentative sessions: Background – NWMO Perspectives – International Cooperation – Student exercise – LLRWO Perspectives – OPG Perspectives – AECL Perspectives – Government and Regulatory Perspectives |
| Course Number | C7-INT 9.173.014 |
| Title | Fundamentals of Geological Disposal |
| Location | Tokai Research and Development Centre and Tono Geoscience Centre, Japan |
| Dates | 20 to 25 October 2008 (Postponed indefinitely!!) |
| Organizers | IAEA in cooperation with JAEA and the ITC School of Underground Waste Storage and Disposal |
| Target Individuals | The course is aimed at professionals working in implementation, regulation or support roles in national high-level waste management programmes. Younger professionals as well as those with some years of experience would benefit from the course. A wide range of technical subjects will be covered. Consequently, it is essential that nominees should have a strong background (by education and/or experience) in appropriate subjects including nuclear and geotechnical science and engineering and geological sciences. Some experience and knowledge of Project Management techniques and applications would be an advantage. |
| Brief description | It is planned that the course will include both classroom and field activities with the following tentative topics: Introduction – Concept of geological disposal – Waste types, origins, inventories and properties - Geological environments for waste disposal - Repository design and safety concepts - Engineering, constructing and operating a repository - Selecting a repository site - Tectonics and Repository Siting - Site characterisation in crystalline and sedimentary environments - Degradation of engineered barriers and the mobilisation, migration and retardation of radionuclides - Basics of performance and safety assessment - Objectives and different methods of safety assessments - Examples of safety assessment structures and results in different national programmes - Showing it is safe: other ways of presenting the evidence - Societal aspects of geological disposal - An illustrated tour of URLs worldwide: history, objectives and an introduction to the field visit - Visit to Mizunami URL site and underground work |
The detailed prospectuses for the Courses will be sent to candidates as they become available (about 4 months before the course takes place) at which time applications will be received.
The following North American training course, which was scheduled in 2007 but postponed indefinitely, is now scheduled for 3 – 14 November 2008. The selection of candidates was already made in 2007 which needs to be updated.
| Course Number | C7-INT 9.173.013 |
| Title | General Training on Methodologies for Geological Disposal |
| Location | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA and Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), Carlsbad, NM, USA |
| Dates | 3 to 14 November 2008 |
| Organizers | IAEA in cooperation with the Government of the USA through the US Department of Energy, LBNL and WIPP |
| Target Individuals | The course is aimed at professionals working in implementation, regulation or technical support roles in national high-level waste management programmes. Since this is an introductory course, it is equally beneficial to relatively new employees as well as those with some years of experience. |
| Brief description | The Course will provide a broad overview of international perspectives on the geological disposal of high level radioactive waste. Specifically the activities that have been already undertaken at key Underground Research Facilities in North America and Europe will be elaborated. Participants will be apprised of recent developments in key technologies related to geological disposal of radioactive waste. The course will be accompanied by related site and laboratory visits. |
TRAINING COURSES PLANNED IN 2009
The following courses are tentatively planned for 2009:
| Country | Offers of training course |
| France | The Tournemire experimental platform, Tournemire/Milliau; Host: IRSN (15 – 19 June) |
| Czech Republic/ Switzerland | From surface-based to underground site characterisation – in association with ITC, Hosts: NAGRA, SWI and RAWRA, CZE (Sept) |
| Germany | Fundamentals of GD – in association with ITC; Host: DBE Tech (Oct/Nov) |
Applications should be made using the official TC application forms. These are available at
www-tc.iaea.org/tcweb/participation/astrainee/default.asp
Under the rules of the Technical Cooperation programmes, the Agency can only support nominees from those Member States that can claim appropriate status.
It is emphasised that the application forms MUST be endorsed by the appropriate officials of the Member State to which the applicant belongs – the applicant is considered to be a nominee as much as an applicant – and MUST be delivered to the Agency on or before the deadline stated in the prospectus.
For these courses, also, it is advisable to obtain the endorsement of the appropriate Country Counterpart for the Network of Centres of Excellence. The names of these individuals can be found under the Tab “Network Participants"
FELLOWSHIPS IN 2008/2009
Due to budget limitations the Agency could not offer Fellowships in 2007 in connection with this INT project . A small number of Agency sponsored Fellowships for periods of 3 to 4 months will be made available in 2008 and beyond at underground and surface research facilities that form the Network membership (see the Tab "Links").
The following offers have been explicitly made for 2008/2009. Please contact the IAEA Technical officer ( S.Hossain@iaea.org) for details.
| Country | Offers of fellowship |
| Canada |
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| France |
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| Korea |
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| Switzerland |
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| UK |
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Application forms are available at the following link:
http://www-tc.iaea.org/tcweb/participation/asfelloworvisitor/default.asp TECHNICAL MEETING IN 2009The next Technical Meeting (Annual General Meeting) of the Network will be hosted by IRSN and will held at Tournemire, France from 23 to 24 April 2009.. A Consultancy Meeting involving the Network Members is planned back-to-back ahead of this Technical Meeting , from 21 to 22 April 2009.