NEA Mandates and Structures


Expert Group on Archiving for Radioactive Waste Management Activities (EGAR)

Chair(s): Secretary:  Rebecca TADESSE
(rebecca.tadesse@oecd-nea.org)
Member(s):All NEA member countries*
Russia (Suspended*)
*Russian Federation suspended pursuant to a decision of the OECD Council.
Full participant(s): European Commission
Under the NEA Statute
Observer(s)(International Organisation): International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
By agreement
Date of creation:10 September 2020
End of mandate:30 September 2022

Mandate (Document reference):

  • Mandate of the Working Party on Information, Data and Knowledge Management 2020-2022 [NEA/RWM(2019)9/FINAL]
  • A New Initiative on Information, Data and Knowledge Management (IDKM) Terms of Reference [NEA/RWM(2019)8]
  • Summary record of the Kick-Off Meeting of the Working Party on Information, Data and Knowledge Management (WP-IDKM) [NEA/RWM/IDKM/M(2020)1]
  • Mandate of Preservation of Records, Knowledge and Memory (RK&M) across Generations – Phase II 2016-108 [NEA/RWM(2016)6/PROV]
  • Sub-Group Reporting to the Parent Committee Document [NEA/CDLM/RWMC(2019)2]
  • Update of the Mandate of the Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC) Following the Creation of the Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations and Legacy Management [NEA/NE(2017)14]
  • The Information, Data and Knowledge Management Roadmap [forthcoming]
  • Mandate of the Working Party on Information, Data and Knowledge Management 2020-2022 [NEA/RWM(2019)9/FINAL]
  • A New Initiative on Information, Data and Knowledge Management (IDKM) Terms of Reference [NEA/RWM(2019)8]
  • Summary record of the Kick-Off Meeting of the Working Party on Information, Data and Knowledge Management (WP-IDKM) [NEA/RWM/IDKM/M(2020)1]
  • Mandate of Preservation of Records, Knowledge and Memory (RK&M) across Generations – Phase II 2016-108 [NEA/RWM(2016)6/PROV]
  • Sub-Group Reporting to the Parent Committee Document [NEA/CDLM/RWMC(2019)2]
  • Update of the Mandate of the Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC) Following the Creation of the Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations and Legacy Management [NEA/NE(2017)14]
  • The Information, Data and Knowledge Management Roadmap [forthcoming]
  • Mandate of the Expert Group on Archiving for Radioactive Waste Management Activities (EGAR)  [NEA/RWM/IDKM(2020)4/FINAL]
  •  

Mandate (Document extract):

Extract from document NEA/RWM/IDKM(2020)4/FINAL

Scope

The EGAR shall consider the archiving needs of RWM related activities both for shorter term, operational period archiving and longer-term archiving needs, tools and processes. This includes all types of records that a radioactive waste management organisation (RWMO) can place in archives, including paper-based documents, objects such as borehole samples, and digital records, digitised documents and “data born-electronic”, sound recordings, films and similar. The scope of work includes both archiving of records which are no longer expected to be used during the repository lifetime but could be important in the future (for example, upon decision of future generations to retrieve the waste), and preservation of records that are no longer actively used but will likely be needed in the near future of the repository programme (for example, for the compilation of the next safety case).

For the EGAR, archiving is considered as an act of sending a record to an archive or place of deposit in accordance with relevant national legislation or other considerations, and also in the technical meaning of the term, as a means of preserving digital records to ensure continued accessibility. EGAR shall consider the archiving needs and processes of both regulators and RWMOs.

Mandate

The Working Party on Information, Data and Knowledge Management (WP-IDKM) has decided to establish the third-level Expert Group on Archiving for Radioactive Waste Management Activities (EGAR). The EGAR shall support RWMOs in their efforts and research in archiving, recommending feasible, resource-saving standards, methods and tools, and considering various roles of archiving under various repository phases.

The EGAR shall carry out the following key tasks:

  1. prepare recommendations to archiving procedures that complement RWM activities with view to existing national or other regulations, as well as formulate a set of recommendations to improve accessibility to archived information;
  2. ascertain the need for alternative archiving and develop recommendations for alternatives that can be applied in the event of special needs, lack of resources or other constraints;
  3. further work already carried out on record selection and the Set of Essential Records (SER)1 by:
  • testing and improving the SER methods and techniques (through their application to existing RWM sites, preferably under different site phases),
  • extending the SER scope to also include RWM data and
  • expanding the SER to include sets of regulator records and data; and

4. prepare recommendations to improve standardisation of RWM related archiving activities.

To support these primary activities, the expert group shall identify relevant secondary activities to be progressed.

Working methods

The mode of operation of the EGAR is based upon plenary meetings and an ongoing, project-oriented working programme.

A Bureau consisting of a Chair and one or more Vice-Chairs shall co-ordinate and facilitate the work of the EGAR. The Bureau shall normally meet once or twice a year, with one meeting normally held in conjunction with the annual EGAR plenary meeting.

Communication within the EGAR shall primarily take place through annual plenary meetings. The plenary meeting is devoted to:

  • the exchange of information on recent developments in the member countries;
  • in-depth discussions of current developments and topical issues, where additional specialists may also be invited;
  • the identification of main outcomes/insights to be reported to the WP-IDKM; and
  • the discussion and coordination of the working programme, including the evaluation of possible collaboration with other projects in and outside of the NEA, in particular with other expert groups of the WP-IDKM.

The EGAR shall report to the WP-IDKM at the annual meetings of the working party.

Additionally, the EGAR shall: (i) identify resources (including funding) and schedules for its activities; and (ii) review the programme of work and its effectiveness.

In fulfilling its Mandate, the EGAR will be supported by the staff of the NEA Division of Radioactive Waste Management and Decommissioning. 

Membership

The EGAR is a task-oriented expert group that should be composed of a diverse range of experts in the field of archiving in RWM, decommissioning and non-related fields from NEA member countries, e.g. engineers and scientists in RWMOs, decommissioning and other technical domains involved with data and information management, knowledge managers and social scientists involved with knowledge management on extended timescales (hundreds of years).

Interactions

The work of the EGAR shall be complementary to that of the IAEA and the EC, and the group should co-operate with its relevant counterparts as well as provide relevant input to the activities of these institutions, as appropriate.

Through the RWMC and Secretariat, the EGAR will co-operate with the NEA standing technical committees and their subsidiary bodies when relevant, in particular those of the Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations and Legacy Management (CDLM) to identify (i) interfaces between the groups and (ii) overlaps and common issues. It may also collaborate with the NEA Data Bank.

In particular, the EGAR will take into account the following NEA publications and reports:

  • Preservation of Records, Knowledge and Memory (RK&M) Across Generations: Compiling a Set of Essential Records for a Radioactive Waste Repository [NEA publication 7423]
  • Preservation of Records, Knowledge and Memory across Generations: Final Report [NEA publication 7421].

Deliverables

The expert group will produce appropriate reports, presentations and workshops with the support of the Secretariat.

 


[1] As described in the NEA publication “.Preservation of Records, Knowledge and Memory (RK&M) Across Generations. Compiling a Set of Essential Records for a Radioactive Waste Repository” [NEA publication 7423].