Uncertainties and robustness with regard to the safety of a repository for high-level radioactive waste: introduction of a research initiative

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Authors

  • Kata Kurgyis
  • Peter Achtziger-Zupančič
  • Merle Bjorge
  • Marc S. Boxberg
  • Matteo Broggi
  • Jörg Buchwald
  • Oliver G. Ernst
  • Judith Flügge
  • Andrey Ganopolski
  • Thomas Graf
  • Philipp Kortenbruck
  • Julia Kowalski
  • Phillip Kreye
  • Peter Kukla
  • Sibylle Mayr
  • Shorash Miro
  • Thomas Nagel
  • Wolfgang Nowak
  • Sergey Oladyshkin
  • Alexander Renz
  • Julia Rienäcker-Burschil
  • Klaus Jürgen Röhlig
  • Oliver Sträter
  • Jan Thiedau
  • Florian Wagner
  • Florian Wellmann
  • Marc Wengler
  • Jens Wolf
  • Wolfram Rühaak

External Research Organisations

  • TU Bergakademie Freiberg - University of Resources
  • RWTH Aachen University
  • Federal company for radioactive waste disposal (BGE)
  • Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ)
  • Chemnitz University of Technology (CUT)
  • Gesellschaft für Anlage- und Reaktorsicherheit gGmbH (GRS)
  • Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
  • Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR)
  • University of Stuttgart
  • Clausthal University of Technology
  • University of Kassel
  • Fraunhofer Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geothermal Systems IEG
View graph of relations

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number82
Number of pages15
JournalEnvironmental earth sciences
Volume83
Early online date12 Jan 2024
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2024

Abstract

The Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE mbH) is tasked with the selection of a site for a high-level radioactive waste repository in Germany in accordance with the Repository Site Selection Act. In September 2020, 90 areas with favorable geological conditions were identified as part of step 1 in phase 1 of the Site Selection Act. Representative preliminary safety analyses are to be carried out next to support decisions on the question, which siting regions should undergo surface-based exploration. These safety analyses are supported by numerical simulations building on geoscientific and technical data. The models that are taken into account are associated with various sources of uncertainties. Addressing these uncertainties and the robustness of the decisions pertaining to sites and design choices is a central component of the site selection process. In that context, important research objectives are associated with the question of how uncertainty should be treated through the various data collection, modeling and decision-making processes of the site selection procedure, and how the robustness of the repository system should be improved. BGE, therefore, established an interdisciplinary research cluster to identify open questions and to address the gaps in knowledge in six complementary research projects. In this paper, we introduce the overall purpose and the five thematic groups that constitute this research cluster. We discuss the specific questions addressed as well as the proposed methodologies in the context of the challenges of the site selection process in Germany. Finally, some conclusions are drawn on the potential benefits of a large method-centered research cluster in terms of simulation data management.

Keywords

    Nuclear waste disposal, Radionuclide transport, Repository research, Safety investigations, Uncertainty management

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Cite this

Uncertainties and robustness with regard to the safety of a repository for high-level radioactive waste: introduction of a research initiative. / Kurgyis, Kata; Achtziger-Zupančič, Peter; Bjorge, Merle et al.
In: Environmental earth sciences, Vol. 83, 82, 01.2024.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Kurgyis, K, Achtziger-Zupančič, P, Bjorge, M, Boxberg, MS, Broggi, M, Buchwald, J, Ernst, OG, Flügge, J, Ganopolski, A, Graf, T, Kortenbruck, P, Kowalski, J, Kreye, P, Kukla, P, Mayr, S, Miro, S, Nagel, T, Nowak, W, Oladyshkin, S, Renz, A, Rienäcker-Burschil, J, Röhlig, KJ, Sträter, O, Thiedau, J, Wagner, F, Wellmann, F, Wengler, M, Wolf, J & Rühaak, W 2024, 'Uncertainties and robustness with regard to the safety of a repository for high-level radioactive waste: introduction of a research initiative', Environmental earth sciences, vol. 83, 82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-023-11346-8
Kurgyis, K., Achtziger-Zupančič, P., Bjorge, M., Boxberg, M. S., Broggi, M., Buchwald, J., Ernst, O. G., Flügge, J., Ganopolski, A., Graf, T., Kortenbruck, P., Kowalski, J., Kreye, P., Kukla, P., Mayr, S., Miro, S., Nagel, T., Nowak, W., Oladyshkin, S., ... Rühaak, W. (2024). Uncertainties and robustness with regard to the safety of a repository for high-level radioactive waste: introduction of a research initiative. Environmental earth sciences, 83, Article 82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-023-11346-8
Kurgyis K, Achtziger-Zupančič P, Bjorge M, Boxberg MS, Broggi M, Buchwald J et al. Uncertainties and robustness with regard to the safety of a repository for high-level radioactive waste: introduction of a research initiative. Environmental earth sciences. 2024 Jan;83:82. Epub 2024 Jan 12. doi: 10.1007/s12665-023-11346-8
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title = "Uncertainties and robustness with regard to the safety of a repository for high-level radioactive waste: introduction of a research initiative",
abstract = "The Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE mbH) is tasked with the selection of a site for a high-level radioactive waste repository in Germany in accordance with the Repository Site Selection Act. In September 2020, 90 areas with favorable geological conditions were identified as part of step 1 in phase 1 of the Site Selection Act. Representative preliminary safety analyses are to be carried out next to support decisions on the question, which siting regions should undergo surface-based exploration. These safety analyses are supported by numerical simulations building on geoscientific and technical data. The models that are taken into account are associated with various sources of uncertainties. Addressing these uncertainties and the robustness of the decisions pertaining to sites and design choices is a central component of the site selection process. In that context, important research objectives are associated with the question of how uncertainty should be treated through the various data collection, modeling and decision-making processes of the site selection procedure, and how the robustness of the repository system should be improved. BGE, therefore, established an interdisciplinary research cluster to identify open questions and to address the gaps in knowledge in six complementary research projects. In this paper, we introduce the overall purpose and the five thematic groups that constitute this research cluster. We discuss the specific questions addressed as well as the proposed methodologies in the context of the challenges of the site selection process in Germany. Finally, some conclusions are drawn on the potential benefits of a large method-centered research cluster in terms of simulation data management.",
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T2 - introduction of a research initiative

AU - Kurgyis, Kata

AU - Achtziger-Zupančič, Peter

AU - Bjorge, Merle

AU - Boxberg, Marc S.

AU - Broggi, Matteo

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AU - Wagner, Florian

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AU - Wengler, Marc

AU - Wolf, Jens

AU - Rühaak, Wolfram

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