TOWARDS A SYSTEMIC STRATEGY FOR RK&M PRESERVATION

Similarly, efforts were made to select and maintain the records to make up the SER with the drivers for records retention being agreed with the host community. In collaboration with the national and local governments and in interaction with two universities, post-closure oversight provisions, including monitoring, were also agreed upon.

Supporting activities

The implementing agency worked proactively with the host community and other interested parties nationwide via various media to plan and organise other RK&M tools according to prioritisation and affordability. This resulted in new opportunities for education in nuclear science and related topics through the funding of RK&M related research and studentships. It also resulted in registration with several international mechanisms, including both intergovernmental and privately-run memory initiatives, as well as national mechanisms, such as the national inventory of industrial heritage. The implementing agency also maintained an accessible website (among others with 3D visualisations) and interacted with the national media to inform the broader public.

The potential for cultural activities was recognised through a national call for artists for the design of markers (with funding through a “percent for art” scheme) and the establishment of a visitor centre in the host municipality, including displays that combined the emergence of the repository within the “local history”. Beneficial reuses of the site were discussed with broad stakeholder involvement, including the implementing and regulatory agencies, the local and regional government, and local representatives from economic, nature and recreational interest groups. A local contest was organised to come up with new street names that relate to the existence of the facility and maps were adapted accordingly. A ritual related to monitoring was developed, which drew attention from a variety of actors from different research fields.

The implementing agency and host community also spent some time examining the potential benefits of time capsules and sub-surface markers and built up a fund over some years to implement them as closure approached. With the help of specialists, they continued to be active in the review and development of active knowledge management processes well beyond formal closure of the facility.

6.7. References

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

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 (2013), “The Preservation of Records, Knowledge and Memory (RK&M) Across Generations: Improving Our Understanding”, www.oecd-nea.org/rwm/reports/2013/rwm-r2013-3.pdf.

NEA (2004), Stepwise Approach to Decision Making for Long-term Radioactive Waste Management. Experience, Issues and Guiding Principles, OECD, Paris.

Trauth, K.M., S.C. Hora and R.V. Guzowski (1993), Expert Judgement on Markers to Deter Inadvertent Human Intrusion into the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, SAND92-1382 l UC-721, prepared by Sandia National Laboratories for the US Department of Energy, Albuquerque, New Mexico and Livermore.