Integrated Approaches for the Management of Environmental Site Remediation Processes: A Baseline Report - 130 páginas

Abstract

Environmental remediation projects can be very complex endeavours that involve taking many different variables into consideration. Some variables are tangible and can be quantified, such as cost and risk, while others are more subjective and deal with preferences and perceptions. Decisions will also affect different groups of stakeholders that can include not only the communities living adjacent to an affected area, but also those that are not directly affected but that will eventually be part of the solution. For example, the waste resulting from an adopted remediation approach may be disposed of in a location different from the one being remediated. The very nature of the situation resulting in the contamination of the land has an influence on the overall decision making process. For example, if remediation results from a past activity when regulatory requirements were not in place or were not aligned with current international standards - the case for legacy sites - or if the process results from a radiological or nuclear accident, then stakeholder attitudes can vary from fear to frustration and anger greatly impacting trust in authorities, which could in turn have negative impacts on the decision making process. These aspects were raised in the International Conference on Advancing the Global Implementation of Decommissioning and Environmental Remediation Programmes, organized by the IAEA and held in Madrid in 2016. The conference recognized that integrating public engagement into decision making on environmental remediation, particularly concerning desired end states (including reference levels), was extremely complex. To this end, attention was called to the fact that to reach a sustainable end state, governments and implementers need to engage stakeholders in the decision making process and to respond to societal challenges. To address those issues a project as part of the IAEA's Network on Environmental Management and Remediation was designed and is currently being implemented. The overarching objective of the Management Systems Supporting Environmental Remediation project, known as the MAESTRI project, is to develop a structured framework that considers in an integrated manner the different dimensions and activities relevant to the proper management of sites contaminated by ongoing or past activities (including accidents), to bring them to sustainable end states suitable for beneficial use. For this purpose, the project will provide practical guidance for developing a structured framework for the integrated management of contaminated sites. This includes (i) a holistic perspective, taking into account the plurality of dimensions and values to be considered; (ii) the evaluation of the sustainability of site management options, namely the social, economic and environmental aspects; and (iii) a transparent, consistent, comprehensive and inclusive decision making process. This publication is intended to provide Member States, relevant organizations, practitioners and policy and decision makers with an overview of the frameworks, approaches and tools currently used in the scope of decision making regarding environmental remediation projects. The publication also aims to identify gaps in existing knowledge and tools so that the MAESTRI project can contribute to improving the decision making mechanisms currently used in the scope of environmental remediation projects. The IAEA officer responsible for this publication was H. Monken-Fernandes of the Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Management.