Project B1.- Practical Intervention Techniques to Reduce ... Documents...Contract N 2013/313-757 For...

IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency

Project B1.- Practical Intervention

Techniques to Reduce Public Doses at

Uranium Mining and Milling Legacy Sites

Project B2.- Review of Remediation

Plans and Activities for Uranium Mining

and Milling Sites

IAEA


Contract N° 2013/313-757

Project rationale/objective:

Project B1

• Significant legacy issues have arisen

from past operating practices that

resulted in poorly sited and designed

tailings facilities which, in some cases,

were not remediated and closed, or not

remediated and closed in accordance

with current international standards.

• Many of these legacy sites are located

in countries eligible to receive technical

support which have poorly developed or

limited regulatory capacity.

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Mocambique, Mozambique

IAEA


Contract N° 2013/313-757

Project rationale/objective:

Project B2

• Uranium mining and processing operations produce

significant quantities of radioactive mill tailings which

remain after the decommissioning and closure of the

operation.

• Many countries have both legacy uranium mining

sites that were created at a time when regulatory

supervision of operations was weak or absent and are

also struggling to regulate new uranium mining

operations.

• The legacy issues arose from past operating

practices which were not remediated and closed in

accordance with current international standards.

• In addition, many of these countries share common

issues such as the abandonment of the sites by the

original operators, and ineffective, or an absence of,

institutional controls over the fate of the mill tailings.

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Tajikistan, Village Beside Mine

Tajikistan, Abandoned Mine

IAEA


Contract N° 2013/313-757

Expected Outcomes:

Project B1

• The project will provide regulators with

enhanced knowledge of legacy issues,

potential risks to the public, mitigation options

and the management of legacy uranium

tailings.

• Enhanced transfer of knowledge of potential

risks to the public, low-cost/quick-fix mitigation

options for the management of legacy sites to

reduce public exposure now and in the future;

• Improved safety of legacy sites, which will

contribute to increased protection of the public

and a reduction in future legacy issues in the

longer term.

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Algeria, Abandoned Mine

Algeria, Grazing Animals

IAEA


Contract N° 2013/313-757

Expected Outcomes:

Project B2 • A transfer of knowledge regarding the regulatory oversight of the remediation of

operating and legacy uranium producing operations;

• The improved regulatory oversight of remediation of operating and legacy uranium

mines over the next 10-15 years, and a reduction of potential exposure to workers

and the public, as well as prevention of future legacies.

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Canada, Abandoned Mine

IAEA

Expected project impact:

Project B1

• The regulators in African countries and other affected Member States with

uranium legacy sites having the knowledge to develop and implement site

specific, low-cost mitigation techniques to protect the public.

• The measures to be considered will comprise simple administrative,

physical and engineering controls that can be used to reduce doses to

members of the public living close to these uranium legacy sites;

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Contract N° 2013/313-757

IAEA

Expected project impact:

Project B2

• The regulators in African countries and other affected Member States

provided with the knowledge and tools to review remediation plans and to

regulate remediation activities.

• The project enhances the regulatory framework for countries that have

operating and legacy uranium production sites in: regulatory review and

planning for remediation; waste management; and the radiation protection

of populations living close to these sites.

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Contract N° 2013/313-757

IAEA

Beneficiary Member States:

Both Project B1 and Project B2

First priority - African countries with uranium legacy

sites, but the developed materials could be used for

countries with similar situation in other Regions.

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Contract N° 2013/313-757

IAEA

Illustrative Milestones

Projects B1 and B2

• Draft technical documents addressing:

• Project B1 International experience in practical intervention

techniques to reduce public doses at uranium mining and milling

legacy sites.

• Project B2 Knowledge and tools to review remediation plans and to

regulate remediation activities in countries with operating and

uranium legacy sites.

• Draft agenda for the training workshops to be organized in the frame of

both projects were developed.

• Draft training materials including Power Point presentations and lecture

notes were developed for both projects.

In Nov-2014 the draft technical documents and the lectures of

both projects were reviewed for coherence and consistency

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Contract N° 2013/313-757

IAEA

Figure 33: The mine shaft in the summer prior to PUF installation. The PUF material is covered with the blue tarp (Canadian case study).

1. INTRODUCTION

2. BASIC INFORMATION ON THE REMEDIATION OF LEGACY SITES

2.1. EXPLOITATION OF URANIUM ORE

2.2. RISKS TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

2.3. APPLICATION OF THE IAEA SAFETY STANDARDS

2.4. REMEDIATION PROGRAMME

2.5. NATIONAL APPROACH

3. GENERAL APPROACH TO SHORT TERM DOSE REDUCTION MEASURES

4. SITE ASSESSMENT

4.1. INITIAL SITE VISIT

4.2. INITIAL SITE SURVEY

4.3. DETAILED ASSESSMENT

4.4. SURVEY EQUIPMENT

4.5. SAMPLING TECHNIQUES

4.6. SIMPLE TECHNIQUES FOR THE ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES

4.7. DATA MANAGEMENT

5. DOSE ASSESSMENT

6. PRIORITIZATION OF LEGACY SITES

7. SIMPLE DOSE REDUCTION MEASURES

8. EXAMPLE OF SHORT TERM MEASURES APPLIED TO A LEGACY SITE

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Contract N° 2013/313-757 Results Achieved to Date

Project B1 Draft document has the following content:

IAEA

Results Achieved to Date

Project B1 Elaborated 20 PP presentations and lectures notes:

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Contract N° 2013/313-757

1. Workshop overview and introduction

2. Historical overview of legacy sites

3. Introduction to radiation and radiation protection

4. Existing exposure situations (GSR Part 3)

5. Risks to the public arising from legacy uranium sites

6. Development of a national inventory of legacy sites

7. Issues to be considered in the initial site visits

8. Overview of the Site Characterization. (including non-radiological aspects)

9. Simple Radiological Survey, Dose Assessments and Data Reduction

10. Simple Sampling and Analysis Techniques

11. Prioritisation of sites and public risks

12. Radiation protection programmes for workers

13. Remediation objectives and criteria

14. Regulatory aspects: authorization and inspection of remediation

15. An overview of simple intervention techniques to reduce public doses. (Part 1)

16. An overview of simple intervention techniques to reduce public doses. (Part 2)

17. Case study presentation (South Africa studies and Mozambique)

18. Case study presentation. (US, Canada, Germany)

19. Case study presentation. (Australia)

20. Prevention of future legacy sites

IAEA

1. INTRODUCTION

2. LEGACY SITES AND THEIR REMEDIATION

3. INTERIM MEASURES TO REDUCE RISKS AT LEGACY SITES

4. ELEMENTS OF A REMEDIATION PLAN

4.1. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

4.2. SITE CHARACTERIZATION

4.3. COMMUNICATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS

4.4. SAFETY ASSESSMENT

4.5. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR REMEDIATION

4.6. RADIATION PROTECTION PROGRAMME

4.7. NON-RADIOLOGICAL HAZARDS

4.8. PROTECTION AND RESTORATION OF WATER RESOURCES

4.9. REMEDIATION OF LAND

4.10. MANAGEMENT OF RESIDUES GENERATED BY REMEDIATION

4.11. RECORD KEEPING

4.12. ACTIVITIES ON COMPLETION OF REMEDIATION

5. FUNDING OF REMEDIATION

6. REGULATORY OVERSIGHT OF REMEDIATION

6.1. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

6.2. REGULATORY SUPERVISION

6.3. APPROVAL AND AUTHORIZATION PROCESS

7. CHECKLIST FOR REGULATORY REVIEW OF REMEDIATION PLANS

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Contract N° 2013/313-757 Results Achieved to Date

Project B2 The draft document has the following content:

COSM I C

NORM FROMEXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES

TERRESTRIAL

INDOOR RADON

ACCIDENTS

CURRENT PRACTICES

COMMODITIES

PAST ACTIVITIESAND EVENTS

IAEA

Results Achieved to Date

Project B2 Elaborated 26 PP presentations and lectures notes:

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Contract N° 2013/313-757

1. Workshop overview and introduction

2. Types of mining and milling sites

3. Radiation and radiation protection

4. Exposure situations from the mining and

milling lifecycle.

5. Lifecycle and graded approach to

regulation and safety

6. Roles and Responsibilities

7. Prevention of future legacy sites

8. Interim Measures for Legacy Sites

9. Decommissioning and Soil Remediation

10. Overview of the environmental

remediation process. Regulatory

requirements.

11. Site Characterization (including non-

radiological)

12. CSM Exercise

13. Management and disposal of Waste

14. Geotechnical Engineering

15. Financial assurance for remediation

activities

16. Surface water and erosion protection. Water

treatment, sludge, disposal of other waste

17. Radiation Protection. Remediation and

abatement of radiation hazards

18. Monitoring during remediation and post-

remediation monitoring and control

19. Protection of water resources

20. Unique considerations for ISL facilities,

exploratory drilling, heap leach

21. Environmental Impact Assessment. Dose and

Risk Assessment

22. Stakeholder engagement and risk

communication

23. Long term care and surveillance

24. Regulatory oversight of remediation.

Authorization and, inspection

25. Regulatory checklist for review of

remediation plans

26. Exercise on Regulatory checklist for review

of remediation plans

IAEA


Contract N° 2013/313-757

For both Project B1 and Project B2

In the next six months it is planned to have in place training packages, which

will consist of

14

Training Manual

(TECDOC)

Syllabus

Power Point

Presentations

E-Learning

material

The technical basis for the

training workshops

Methodological

recommendations

to the lecturer

English, French and

Portuguese

Online training e-learning material to be used

as precondition for admission for training.

Workshop

content

Objectives

and content of

each lecture

Lecture’s

notes

Workshop

Agenda

Notes for the

lecturers in each

slide

IAEA


Contract N° 2013/313-757

Next Steps in the Project

Both Project B1 and Project B2

In the next six month the key activities planned are:

• Technical meeting to review for coherence and consistency the training materials

developed in the framework of project B1 (Vienna, 23-27 February 2015).

• Technical meeting to review for coherence and consistency the training materials

developed in the framework of project B2 (Vienna, 9-13 March 2015).

• HBA for the translation of the materials into French and Portuguese.

• Consultancy for the preparation of the CDs with the technical document and related

training materials.

• First workshop on Project B.1. “Practical Intervention Techniques to Reduce Public

Doses at Uranium Mining and Milling Legacy Sites” (South Africa, 15-19 June

2015).

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IAEA


Contract N° 2013/313-757

Difficulties Encountered or Envisaged

• No major difficulties encountered till now in

the implementation of the working plan.

• There is a challenge to organize and

implement the four planned training

workshops in the African region because of

the EBOLA epidemic. Not only with the

selection of the host country but also with the

willingness of experts to participate as

lecturers.

Measures to Address Them

• An alternative measure may be to organize

the training workshops in Vienna.

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IAEA


Contract N° 2013/313-757

Conclusions

• Both projects B1 and B2 will be completed on time in the frame of the

approved budget.

• The outcomes of both projects will be achieved. Note: within the

approved budget, two technical documents will be elaborated and

issued as part of the training package (were not included in the initial

project plan).

• The project could be extended to:

• Expand the training to other interested parties in other regions (operators

and regulators).

• Consider developing model regulations for remediation of uranium

legacy sites.

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IAEA 18


Contract N° 2013/313-757

Luis Jova Sed ([email protected])

Zhiwen Fan ([email protected])

Ron Stenson ([email protected])

John Rowat ([email protected])

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