Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 82 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Environmental earth sciences |
| Volume | 83 |
| Early online date | 12 Jan 2024 |
| Publication status | Published - 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
- Environmental Science(all)
- Global and Planetary Change
- Environmental Science(all)
- Environmental Chemistry
- Environmental Science(all)
- Water Science and Technology
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Soil Science
- Environmental Science(all)
- Pollution
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Geology
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Earth-Surface Processes
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In: Environmental earth sciences, Vol. 83, 82, 01.2024.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Uncertainties and robustness with regard to the safety of a repository for high-level radioactive waste
T2 - introduction of a research initiative
AU - Kurgyis, Kata
AU - Achtziger-Zupančič, Peter
AU - Bjorge, Merle
AU - Boxberg, Marc S.
AU - Broggi, Matteo
AU - Buchwald, Jörg
AU - Ernst, Oliver G.
AU - Flügge, Judith
AU - Ganopolski, Andrey
AU - Graf, Thomas
AU - Kortenbruck, Philipp
AU - Kowalski, Julia
AU - Kreye, Phillip
AU - Kukla, Peter
AU - Mayr, Sibylle
AU - Miro, Shorash
AU - Nagel, Thomas
AU - Nowak, Wolfgang
AU - Oladyshkin, Sergey
AU - Renz, Alexander
AU - Rienäcker-Burschil, Julia
AU - Röhlig, Klaus Jürgen
AU - Sträter, Oliver
AU - Thiedau, Jan
AU - Wagner, Florian
AU - Wellmann, Florian
AU - Wengler, Marc
AU - Wolf, Jens
AU - Rühaak, Wolfram
N1 - Funding Information: Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. The URS research cluster including all participating projects is funded by the Federal Company of Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE) (Grant Nos.: STAFuE-21-4-Klei).
PY - 2024/1
Y1 - 2024/1
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Nuclear waste disposal
KW - Radionuclide transport
KW - Repository research
KW - Safety investigations
KW - Uncertainty management
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85182245490&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s12665-023-11346-8
DO - 10.1007/s12665-023-11346-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85182245490
VL - 83
JO - Environmental earth sciences
JF - Environmental earth sciences
SN - 1866-6280
M1 - 82
ER -