Events & Courses

The event, aimed at professional geoscientists, engineers and safety case experts but open to all, was organised to raise awareness of the National Geological Screening Exercise and to start the process of getting views from geoscientists, wider technical audiences, and anyone interested in geological disposal.  Further information available at http://www.nda.gov.uk/rwm/assessing-suitability-of-sites

National Geological Screening is a key component of the Government’s recently published White Paper ‘Implementing Geological Disposal’ for higher activity radioactive waste.

RWM is the Government’s designated developer of a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) in the UK and is undertaking this exercise in line with the internationally recognised International Atomic Energy Agency’s safety guide on geological disposal facilities. The IAEA’ s guide includes general recommendations regarding the technical and scientific aspects of siting.

This was RWM’s initial technical meeting on the National Geological Screening process, and Professor John Loughhead, Executive Director of the UK Energy Research Centre, was be the independent Chair.

This will be the first of a series of events aimed at informing the public and interested stakeholders about the initial actions outlined in the White Paper, so that everyone can fully engage in the debate. The event was videoed and will be made available online.

During the coffee and tea breaks and over lunch, the British Geological Survey (BGS) demonstrated their 3D geological model of the United Kingdom.  Part funded by RWM, “GB3D” is a unique tool developed by the BGS to help bring greater understanding and insight into the UK’s subsurface.

Programme

• Welcome (Prof John Loughhead, UK Energy Research Centre) - Independent Chair
   
• Policy Background (Bruce Cairns, DECC)
• The National Geological Screening Exercise (Adam Dawson, RWM)
• What Other Countries are Doing (Neil Chapman, Sheffield University)
• The Role of the Geological Society and the Independent Review Panel (Nic Bilham, Geological Society)
• IAEA Guidelines on Geological Screening (Gerard Bruno, IAEA)
• The Geological Attributes which are Included in RWM’s Generic Safety Cases (Lucy Bailey, RWM)
• Panel Discussion: Developing the Scope of the National Geological Screening Exercise (Introduced and Chaired by Bruce Yardley, Chief Geologist, RWM)
  Dr Andrew Howard, BGS – Geological Attributes
  Dr Adrian Bath, Intellisci Ltd – Hydrogeological Attributes;
  Dr Tony Batchelor, GeoScience Ltd – Geomechanical Attributes; and
  Dr Roddy Muir, Midland Valley Exploration – Structural Geology
   
• Concluding remarks (Peter McDonald, RWM)