NuClean: A Center of Excellence for Nuclear Waste Safety and Remediation

Beth Beloff

AIChEAnnual Meeting November 7, 2013

San Francisco

Agenda

- Introduction - The Need- Organization- Goals- Issues to address- Why AIChE- What makes Nuclean unique- Workshop- Next Steps- Discussion

Background

• Globally, concerns over safety of nuclear waste - from commercial and defense operations - are driving peoples’ perception of the risks posed by nuclear power.

• Shortfalls in providing reliable factual information accessible to the public in order for them to effectively address their risks and drive toward the best solutions.

• Questions regarding current nuclear waste clean up efforts.

The Need

• For a neutral professional voice that can: – provide trusted, factual information to diverse

stakeholders and communities regarding safety issues and uncertainties associated with management of nuclear waste (from both defense legacy and civilian energy)

– improve understanding of the issues– drive development of solutions – increase confidence in nuclear waste processing, storage

and handling

NuClean

• Endorsed to move forward by CEI– RANTC– Environmental Division– CTOC/CDFO– Nuclear Engineering Division– North American Mixing Forum

• Engaged with many people inside and outside AIChE (UNM, UC Berkeley School of Public Health, Rice University Sociology Dept, LANL, ANS, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, GE, DOE, NSF, NETL, PNNL ….. )

• Defined scope and location of first workshop• Refined the focus

Who

• Organization– AIChE Center for Energy Initiatives

• Co-Chair– Beth Beloff, Beth Beloff & Associates and

Bridges to Sustainability Institute– Stuart Arm, Nuclear Engineering Division, WRPS– Richard Calabrese, NAMF, University of Maryland– Vasilios Manousiouthakis, Environmental Div, UCLA– David Kosson, Vanderbilt University, CRESP

Why AIChE? • AIChE provides an independent and unbiased viewpoint

towards nuclear waste treatment and disposal.• AIChE members have an active interest in all forms of energy

and process technology with no particular vested interest in nuclear.

• AIChE offers the perspective of the commercial chemical industry to nuclear waste management, particularly regarding technology application, process safety, process development, analysis and simulation, chemical separations, waste treatment, environmental remediation, and sustainability, a holistic perspective that would benefit the nuclear industry.

• AIChE can address the current and projected future shortage of professionals educated in critical areas supporting national needs in nuclear materials processing and waste management.

NuClean Goals

To establish NuClean as a nuclear waste management center of excellence to leverage chemical engineering expertise on nuclear waste management and engage with broader professional efforts on underlying multi-disciplinary public and technical community information, research, outreach and education needs.

To be an unbiased forum for multiple stakeholders to develop a common understanding of concerns and expectations associated with nuclear waste management, from both commercial and defense activities, legacy and present, and to encourage education and professional development of stakeholders with respect to these topics.

NuClean Goals

To be a source for best practices in risk assessment, education, process development and application of technologies for protecting human health and the environment related to nuclear waste management and disposal, as well as potential ‘sustainable’ nuclear fuel cycle technologies. NuClean potentially can host applicable communities of practice.

Questions to Address

• NuClean will address questions/issues related to waste – identification, data collection– transportation, retrieval – monitoring – remediation– processing, transformation – storage– risk assessment – risk perception and communication– (potential for sustainable nuclear in the future)

Government: Direction and $$

R&D Engineering Practice

Best Practices Community

Gaps and Needs

Why is NuClean Unique

• NuClean can play the role of objective facilitator/mediator in bringing parties together to understand the issues, help develop holistic solutions, and help resolve conflicts.

• The methodologies developed for NuClean should be applicable to other areas of conflict between technological and environmental issues and the community.

Workshop: Who to Engage • The AIChE community: to start the conversation

about the role of chemical engineers in this effort and to define the initial focus and steps for NuClean; however, important to engage people from the broader community to inform the scope of the problem.

• Next Workshop: Collaborative, cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral, with experts from science, technology, public health, business, academic, government, community and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) working together.

Workshop Objectives• To bring together stakeholders primarily from the

chemical engineering community to clarify and focus NuClean efforts on key information gaps and needs, and to formulate a plan of action for NuClean implementation.

• To form the basis for a future workshop, Spring 2014, to continue to engage the chemical engineering community as well as a broader cross section of stakeholders, in developing an implementation plan for a nuclear waste safety and remediation center of excellence.

Workshop Nov. 7Introductions and Background on NuClean Initiative: (Beth Beloff) Project overview; Objectives for the workshop; Why chemical engineering? Why AIChE?

Overview: Nuclear waste management - Technical, Political, Regulatory Challenges regarding Commercial and Legacy Waste (Richard V Calabrese) State-of-the-art in technologies and organizations for responding to current nuclear waste processing, storage and remediation issues, the US Science Policy, and management issues

Assessment and Perception of Risks Associated with Nuclear Waste (Stuart T Arm)Risk assessment and how the public perceives these risks and need for communities to know about waste streams and their consequences

Knowledge Gaps and Needs: Education, Research and Development, Community (Vasilios Manousiouthakis)

Group Discussion: Defining the path forward (All) What are the gaps and needs? Who is needed? How to organize? How to fund?

Workshop Nov. 78:30 – 9:00 Welcome and Introductions9:00 – 9:30 Background on NuClean Initiative: Project overview; Objectives for the workshop; Why

chemical engineering? Why AIChE? – Beth Beloff

9:30 – 10:15 Overview: Nuclear waste management - Technical, Political, Regulatory Challenges regarding Commercial and Legacy Waste, including the state-of-the-art

in technologies and organizations for responding to current nuclear waste processing, storage and remediation issues and the US Science Policy - Richard V Calabrese, moderator

David Kosson, Vanderbilt University, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Engineering, Director of Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP)

10:45 – 11:45 Assessment and Perception of Risks Associated with Nuclear Waste, including how the public perceives these risks and need for communities to know about waste streams and their consequences – Stuart T Arm, moderatorChris Whipple, Environ, Principal, Radioactive Waste Management, Public Health and

Environmental Risk Assessment and Management, and Risk Communication; Ed Jones, LLNL, Deputy Associate Program Leader for Risk Assessment, System Engineering, and Human Performance;

12:30 – 1:30 Knowledge Gaps and Needs: Education, Research and Development, Community – Vasilios Manousiouthakis, moderatorPer Peterson, UC Berkeley, Chair Nuclear Engineering; Steve Krahn, Vanderbilt University, Professor

of the Practice of Nuclear Environmental Engineering, Nuclear Safety and Nuclear Separations Roadmap; Marian Naranjo, HOPE (Honor Our Pueblo Existence)

1:30 – 4:00 Group Discussion: What are the gaps and needs? Who is needed? How to proceed? How to fund?

4:00-5:00 Review, Summary and Path Forward

Workshop Sponsors AIChE Environmental Division, AIChE Nuclear Engineering Division North American Mixing Forum Support for the launch of this effort is provided by

the Center for Energy Initiatives

Next Steps

• Synthesize results from organizational workshop with input from participants

• Develop plans for next extended 2.5 day workshop Spring 2014 Washington DC area

• Develop funding: $45,000 expenses, $12,000 food, ($30,000 hotel) = approx. $60,000

• Invite panelists and attendees, including those from Nov. 7; request white papers (50-60 delegates)

• Develop roadmap for Center of Excellence: what, who, where, how

• Place all presentations of AIChE website

Web Links to Presentations

• http://www.slideshare.net/ChEnected/beloff-nuclean-ppt

• http://www.slideshare.net/ChEnected/kosson-nu-clean112013rev11

• http://www.slideshare.net/ChEnected/ed-jones-llnuclean20131

• http://www.slideshare.net/ChEnected/whipple-nu-clean20131

• http://www.slideshare.net/ChEnected/per-peterson-postblueribboncommissionupdates117131

• http://www.slideshare.net/ChEnected/steve-krahn-vanderbiltpresentation1

• http://www.slideshare.net/ChEnected/naranjo-nu-cleanpresentationfinalfinal1