RK&M PRESERVATION: FUNDAMENTALS

2.2. Protecting humans and the environment

As will be explained in this section, the ethical principle of protecting humans and the environment entails – with respect to RK&M preservation – the following fundamental objective and task:

•objective: preventing inadvertent intrusion by future generations;

•task: preserving awareness of the repository.

According to Buchanan, “the most promising approach towards building a moral foundation for intergenerational obligations is based on the simple concept of avoiding harm to other living beings” (Buchanan, 2011). Radioactive waste disposal facilities aim to fulfil this obligation by isolating and containing radioactivity over time in a way that does not require human intervention. However, this long-term protection depends on the prevention of inappropriate action that would disturb the protective functions of the repository. This means that one needs to ensure that human actions do not disrupt the protection properties of the repository either by intrusion into the disposal cells or by disruption of the local environment/ host rock (Dumont et al., 2017).

Inadvertent, disruptive intrusions can take place due to ignorance or misinformation.21 Disposing the waste at depth in an – according to our norms – uninteresting geological environment may aid to avoid inadvertent human intrusion (ICRP, 2013: pp. 43-44). However, as geological disposal itself shows, future investigations, such as deep drilling, can be carried out in bedrock consisting of common rocks without natural resources. Furthermore, in line with man’s curious nature, “the more it is hidden, the larger is the temptation to get to it” can serve as a rule of thumb. Trusting and supporting oblivion does not help in this regard. Firstly, because one simply cannot impose oblivion or trust that future generations will “remember to forget”. Secondly, because supporting oblivion contradicts the ethical principle of supporting informed decision making over time (see Section 2.3). Thirdly, because a strategy of forgetting the whereabouts of a radioactive material is in conflict with fundamental radiological protection principles and, in the case of fissile material, safeguards (see Section 5.10).

As a minimum, the task of RK&M preservation is thus to maintain awareness of the existence, location and risk of the repository. In line with the ethical principle of protecting humans and the environment, RK&M preservation is a concretisation of the optimisation principle in this regard. The RK&M initiative encourages awareness to be realised by means that encourage people to be alert and to look for further information (i.e. as part of a systemic strategy, see Chapters 5 and 6). RK&M mechanisms that are intended simply to scare or patronise people are not recommended (see also Section 4.4 on contents and Section 5.4 on markers).

2.3. Supporting informed decision making

The second fundamental objective of RK&M preservation, complementary to the first, is to provide future generations with as much relevant information as possible that might help them to make informed decisions about intentional actions and assess the consequences. This requires more than sheer awareness and also involves transmitting knowledge and memory related to the repository and its content (Dumont et al., 2017).

The second set of RK&M fundamental objectives and tasks is as follows:

•objective: enabling future generations to make informed decisions about the repository;

•task: preserving knowledge and memory of the repository (or the possibility to regain it).

21.For an analysis pointing out that there are various, qualitatively different future human intrusion scenarios, ranging in between the two poles of “no awareness at all” and “full knowledge and memory”, see Hotzel and Wisbey, 2016.

RK&M PRESERVATION: FUNDAMENTALS

The underlying ethical principle can be coined as “supporting informed decision making”. The aim should be informing future generations in an attitude of openness to allow them to use information to their own interest, benefit and skills. It is acknowledged that these can change rapidly over time and that it is speculative to define what future generations want or need to know with respect to a repository (see also NEA, 2012: p. 31). Potential needs of future generations are not predictable, but can at most be approximated based on potential questions, needs and skills of today’s generations (see also Section 4.4 on contents). The general idea remains that the availability of information about the repository will a) aid future deliberations about which decisions and actions may be desirable, and b) help to prepare the implementation of such decisions and actions. On the contrary, if the relevant information is no longer available, unnecessary exposures and costs may be incurred (see also Section 3.2 on RK&M loss). This might make the decision practically impossible to implement in the end and would decrease the resources available for other decisions. In both cases, this would reduce the scope of decisions that may be made. Providing support for a possible decision of intervention therefore corresponds to respect for freedom of choice of future generations by concretising the ethical principle of preserving conditions for informed decision making (see also Dumont et al., 2017). This principle does not imply that future generations have to undertake action, but it supports their capabilities to make this decision and the potential action involved in an informed manner.22

Supporting informed decision making over time involves not only the preservation of information in the form of records, but also of knowledge (defined as the result of a learning process, providing insights and skills) and memory (defined as the awareness of events, people, places and levels of knowledge in the past). Combined, the aim is to help future generations reconstruct and evaluate historical considerations and actions and, if desired, to construct and implement new ones. The principle relates to the preservation of both “technical” (e.g. the waste inventory, the containment and isolation functions, the repository design, and the risks) and “social” information (e.g. where the waste came from, the ethical basis of the disposal strategy, and the decision-making procedure). Contextual information of the latter kind is aimed at allowing future generations to understand the repository in a more fundamental way than through its technical layout alone. Even if the repository is left as it is, it may be interesting for the future to know how our society dealt with the issue of RWM and which values and knowledge were involved. In a similar way, the memory of ancient mines or ancient industrial activities in general is now considered worthy of retention, as a part of our cultural heritage (Dumont et al., 2017) (see also Section 5.6 on the culture, education and art approach).

2.4. References

Buchanan, N. (2011), “What kind of environment do we owe future generations?”, Lewis & Clark Law Review, Vol. 15/2, pp. 339-367, https://ssrn.com/abstract=2101807.

Dumont, J.-N. et al. (2017), “Analysis of the needs for long term memory and knowledge preservation relating to radioactive waste disposal facilities”, paper presented at the Waste Management Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, United States.

Hotzel, S. and S. Wisbey (2016), “Markers and beyond: Categorizing human intrusion situations to be addressed in sub-surface marking concepts”, paper presented at the Waste Management Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, United States.

ICRP (2013), Radiological Protection in Geological Disposal of Long-Lived Solid Radioactive Waste, ICRP Publication 122, Annals of the ICRP, Vol. 42/3, pp. 1-57.

ICRP (1977), Recommendations of the ICRP, ICRP Publication 26, Annals of the ICRP, Vol. 1/3, www.icrp.org/publication.asp?id=ICRP%20Publication%2026.

22.For more information on “the capabilities approach” in ethics, see e.g. the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/capability-approach).

RK&M PRESERVATION: FUNDAMENTALS

NEA (2019), Preservation of Records, Knowledge and Memory (RK&M) Across Generations: Developing a Key Information File for a Radioactive Waste Repository, OECD, Paris.

NEA (2015a), Fostering a Durable Relationship between a Waste Management Facility and its Host Community: Adding Value through Design and Process – 2015 Edition, OECD, Paris.

NEA (2015b), Radioactive Waste Management and Constructing Memory for Future Generations: Proceedings of the International Conference and Debate, OECD, Paris, www.oecd- nea.org/rwm/pubs/2015/7259-constructing-memory-2015.pdf.

NEA (2014), “Foundations and Guiding Principles for the Preservation of Records, Knowledge and Memory Across Generations: A Focus on the Post-closure Phase of Geological Repositories – A Collective Statement of the NEA Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC)”, www.oecd-nea.org/rwm/rkm/documents/flyer-A4-rkm-collective-statement-en-2014.pdf.

NEA (2012), “The Preservation of Records, Knowledge and Memory (RK&M) across Generations: Scoping the Issue: Workshop Proceedings”, www.oecd-nea.org/rwm/docs/2012/rwm_r_ 2012_6.pdf.

NEA/ICRP (2013), “Radiological Protection and Geological Disposal: The Guiding Principles and Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP)”, www.oecd-nea.org/rwm/documents/icrp-rp-gd.pdf.

Schröder, J., N. Rossignol and M. Van Oudheusden (2016), “Safety in long term radioactive waste management: Insight and oversight”, Safety Science, Vol. 85, pp. 258-265, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925753516000382.