Waste Technology Section
Environmental Remediation
Planned Activities
For the cycle 2010 – 2011 the initiation of the following activities are planned
- Develop of a mobile unit for site characterization in environmental remediation projects
Site characterization is an essential part of environmental remediation programs. It has been assessed that sample collection, transport and analysis in accredited labs may be expensive and not necessary. On the other hand, in-situ measurements coupled with GIS can provide and expedite and cheaper way for the making decisions. The mobile unit - to be developed as a cooperative work with the IAEA Laboratory in Seibersdorf - will aid Member States to overcome this barrier and consequently to be in a better position to fully implement remediation projects.
- Cost estimation and Planning of Environmental Remediation Projects
Cost calculation and appropriate planning are key elements to allow for the implementation of environmental remediation projects. This project is aimed at providing the necessary information on these topics.
- Development of long-distance (E-learning) training material on environmental remediation
It has been assessed that the traditional methods that the IAEA uses to disseminate information and to promote the capacitation of technical people in Member States (e.g. Training Course, Workshops, etc) sometimes are not sufficient to produce the expected results. In many situations there is a lack of background in a variety of subjects that are important to allow for the assimilation of the concepts involved on environmental remediation. It is believed that by making available training material readily assessable by the internet this situation can be improved.
- Development of policies and strategies for environmental remediation.
As it happens with radioactive wastes the acceptance and consequently further implementation of environmental remediation programs will be facilitated if policy and strategies exist in a Member State in national level. Consequently the objective of this project is to analyse existing environmental remediation policy and strategies in different countries and provide guidance to the IAEA's Member States on how environmental remediation policy and strategies can be implemented.
Other Cross-Cutting Activities
WTS is also engaged in other IAEA activities by integrating and/or supporting the:
UPT – Uranium Production Team: This team is aimed at improving the services provided by IAEA to the Members States in support of the Uranium Production Cycle. It is expected to aid in the in-house coordination of activities relating to all aspects of the Uranium Production Cycle through:
- Establishment of an in-house network of all the professional staff involved;
- Scheduling regular liaison and information exchange meetings;
- Creation and maintenance of a register of experts for common use;
- Creation and maintenance of a common register of appropriate education and training materials; and,
- Creation and maintenance of a common electronic data storage and exchange mechanism.
UPSAT – Uranium Production Site Appraisal Team.This initiative constitutes of a peer review of one or more phases of a uranium operation by a team of selected international experts under the requested of environmental experts. WTS contributes to this initiative by providing support in the fields of environmental management and remediation.