DCE recommendations for Guidelines for the Safe Management of Radioactive Waste generated from the mineral and hydrocarbons industries in Greenland

• Main Authors: Hansen, Violeta, Asmund, Gert, Søndergaard, Jens
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: Aarhus University, DCE - Danish Centre for Environment and Energy 2022
• Subjects: Radioactive waste; safe management; mining; oil and gas; Arctic; Greenland
• Online Access: https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/6cc0a4a6-c273-4a20-827d-808d3201bfdd; https://pure.au.dk/ws/files/271286673/TR243_pub.pdf

These recommendations for guidelines provide safety requirements and guidance to ensure the safe management of waste containing naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM) generated from Greenland's mineral and hydrocarbons industries. The recommendations for guidelines include requirements for all phases of the waste facility, e.g., site selection, site assessment, site design and preparation, construction, operation (e.g., treatment, disposal), closure, site release from licensing, and long-term stewardship. Herein recommendations for guidelines are based on the most recent international standards recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection, European Union, International Atomic Energy Agency, and International Council on Mining and Metals. The recommended herein waste management practice is a graduated approach. This means that the greater the risk, the more stringent the mitigation measures should be. The policy, practice, regulation, and supervision should (shall) be continuously improved to comply with the existing best available technologies (BAT), best environ-mental practices (BEP), and changing levels of understanding within the management of radioactive waste. The Environmental Agency for Mineral Resources Activities (EAMRA) requested in 2018 recommendations for ''Guidelines for the safe management of radio-active waste generated from the mineral activities in Greenland.'' In 2020, EAMRA re-quested that the DCE also include the safe management of radioactive waste generated from Greenland's hydrocarbons activities in the recommendations. As requested, the recommendations are provided in the format of draft guidelines. However, the Greenland administration's administrative setup is only tentatively indicated and should be further addressed by EAMRA.