2473-34

Joint ICTP-IAEA School on Nuclear Energy Management

I. Rotaru

15 July - 3 August, 2013

Management Proiecte Nuclear, Bucharest, Romania

Siting and Environmental Aspects of a New NPP

ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT

FOR A NEW NPP

Dr. Ioan Rotaru

Romania

Invited IAEA Expert

ICTP/IAEA Nuclear Energy Management School

Italy, Trieste, 2013 July-August

IMPLEMENTATION OF NUCLEAR POWER

• Implementation of a nuclear power program involves several complex and interrelated activities with long duration.

• IAEA recommendations (guidance):

» “Milestones in the Development of National

Infrastructure for Nuclear

Power” (NG-G-3.1/2007)

provided an overview of

the overall program to

develop the national

infrastructure for nuclear

power.

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IAEA MILESTONE DOCUMENT (1)

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IAEA MILESTONE DOCUMENT (2)

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (1)

• Environmental protection are policies and procedures aimed at conserving the natural resources, preserving the current

state of natural environment and, where possible, reversing its

degradation.

• Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the natural environment on individual, organizational or

governmental levels, for the benefit of the natural environment

and humans.

• Environmental protection should receive careful attention as a national nuclear program is contemplated.

• Stakeholders should be involved in all environmental protection activities, but the involvement timeline differs from one country

to another.

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ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (1)

• Environmental protection should be a high priority goal during all NPP project phases, namely: design, construction, normal operation,

and in terms of accident conditions, and decommissioning activities.

• Environmental studies should be performed to ensure that environmental laws and regulations can be met.

• Two types of the impact assessments are known and carried out:

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA): assess the

consequences of polices and programs

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): assess the

consequences of individual projects.

• SEA does not replace or reduce the need for project-level EIA, but it can help to streamline and focus the incorporation of environmental

concerns into the decision-making process, often EIA being a more

effective process.

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ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (2)

• Environmental studies should:

identify and assess the potential direct and indirect

environmental impacts of the planned nuclear facilities

on the selected site and its surroundings

identify environmental radiological sensitivities and any

gaps between the projected environment quality

condition during construction and operation and the

environmental conditions without the plant.

• This comparison should then be used to plan the development of capabilities to prevent, mitigate and monitor

any significant changes in the environmental.

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ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES SCOPE (1)

Scope of the study should cover the effects of any potential

impact on key environmental component such as:

land use

water

meteorology

air quality

ecology

culture

socio-economics

radiological

waste

impact from accident conditions

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ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES SCOPE (2)

• Environmental studies should also address the long term issues of:

potential contamination,

changes to the population density and land usage,

future ability to restore the affected locations to unrestricted use.

• Economic implications of environmental restrictions both in terms of limiting activities, providing funds for future

restoration, and for the solution of any possible specific issue

should be analyzed.

• Studies should address all environmental issues, not just those associated with the use of nuclear materials, in order to

provide the public with all the facts.

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ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES SCOPE (2)

Learned lessons: Environmental Impact Assessment for the accident situations can be performed only

when:

• the postulated NPP accidents have been defined;

• safety studies (accident analyses) were performed and accident conditions were determined.

National environmental and safety regulatory frameworks need to be well

coordinated and responsibilities between the regulators clearly defined.

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SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS

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Environmental

Assessment (EIA)

CONTENT OF EIA STUDY (EXAMPLE)

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EXPERIENCE WITH THE EIA STUDY

• Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA) study is one of the key requirements in obtaining environmental license prior to

apply the license of construction and operation nuclear

power plant

• EIA covers the aspect of physic, geology, biology, chemistry, social, economy, culture as well as public health

impact due to the NPP project.

• Implementation of the EIA study should be more professional, accountability, and integrity so that this

instrument can be used as an effective decision making

process

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ENVIRONMENTAL LICENCE

• Environmental licence is a pre-requisite document/ requirement for applying for a construction licence of a

Nuclear Power Plant

• Steps for obtaining the Environmental licence:

Developing EIA

Assessing EIA

Applying and obtaining the Environmental Licence from

Environmental Authority.

• Public participation in this process will be assure through an announcement of project plan and public consultation

made by the Environmental Authority.

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ACTIVITIES IN PHASE 1

Existing environmental laws and regulations may

need to be reviewed and enhanced to cover nuclear

facility construction and operation (radiological

impact).

Responsibilities of the Regulatory Body and other

environmental agencies should be clearly defined.

Formal environmental studies and reports should be

conducted early, beginning with NPP site selection

process.

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ACTIVITIES IN PHASE 2

Environmental studies should be performed for the potential

or selected site for nuclear facilities to ensure that

environmental laws and regulations can be met and

particular environmental sensitivities identified.

Particular environmental sensitivities should be addressed

in the Bid Invitation Specification where unique plant design

provisions or construction techniques are necessary to

address those sensitivities.

Early knowledge of the environmental characteristics of the

intended sites for the first NPP and the identification of

design or construction provisions to address them are the

main activities of this Phase.

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ACTIVITIES IN PHASE 3

Identification of specific environmental requirements

and their inclusion in the licensing conditions for

NPP operation.

Complete characterization of the NPP site and its

surroundings to create a baseline condition.

Development and full implementation of

Environmental Monitoring Programs in

accordance with international standards.

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ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS ON NPP SITING

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NPP siting process for nuclear power plants will be strongly influenced by

specific environmental considerations for the regions or sites of interest .

ENVIRONMENTAL AND NPP SITING

Environmental effects are important factors of the

NPP site selection and characterization process.

Specific environmental considerations typically

involve the protection of air, water, wildlife (flora and

fauna) and cultural resources.

Obtaining the necessary environmental permits may

differ considerably for various potential NPP sites.

Finding a site with less environmental concerns will

not only shorten the permitting process, but it will also

reduce the NPP construction and operation costs.

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STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVEMENT (1)

Who are the stakeholders? A stakeholder is usually defined as

anyone who feels impacted by an activity, whether physically or

emotionally.

There are “statutory” and “non-statutory” stakeholders.

Statutory stakeholders therefore include the regulator, local or

national planning authorities, various service related bodies (e.g.

power, water and emergency planning) and national and local

government entities involved in policy making and implementation.

Non-statutory stakeholders include those organizations and

individuals who feel in whatever way impacted or affected by an

activity, including local communities and non-governmental

organizations (NGOs).

First step in an effective stakeholder involvement process is the

development of an appropriate strategy and a plan to implement the

strategy.

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STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVEMENT (2)

• Open communication with stakeholders should address all of the benefits of nuclear power, nationally and locally, as well as risks,

commitments and obligations.

• Environmental issues to be discussed with stakeholders may include:

Reducing the environmental impact of fossil fuels;

Benefits to the area can include jobs, tax revenues, economic

output, labour income and incentives to the local community

Explaining plans for long term preservation of the environment;

Compensation for damage or potential damage to local industry

(fishery for example);

Cost sharing for local infrastructure building;

Land use after decommissioning;

Water supply.

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STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVEMENT (3)

Stakeholder involvement is a mandatory component of various

international conventions and treaties that detail the role of

Governments and developers in Strategic Environmental Assessment

(SEA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), not just for nuclear

facilities (NPP).

Development of a major national policy such as the introduction of a

nuclear power program is subject to SEA requirements, and NPP

project is subject to EIA requirements.

Not all States are signatories to the relevant conventions and treaties

such as Aarhus, Espoo, EURATOM or various EU Directives, which

represent examples of how to involve the stakeholders (including

public), both nationally and in neighboring countries.

Taking those examples into consideration, the levels of stakeholder

involvement should be determined by the States themselves.

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Thanks ! 23