Jan 13 Multinational solution?
A number of European countries, recognizing the potential in shared waste solutions and knowledge exchange, have now formalized their collaboration within the newly established ERDO association.
OOver the past ten years, eight European countries have met in the so-called ERDO working group to discuss the possibilities and limitations of a common disposal facility, particularly for long-lived radioactive waste. These are primarily smaller countries, all in the early stages of finding a national waste solution. Therefore, it makes good sense to simultaneously explore the potential of a multinational final repository. In recent years, the group has also worked on the possibility of finding common solutions for the preliminary treatment of the waste.
Danish Decommissioning has actively participated in the ERDO working group since 2012 and has now, together with the Dutch Covra and Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning, taken the initiative to formalize the collaboration into a proper association.
On January 7, 2021, the ERDO association (European Repository Development Organisation) was formally established when the three companies signed the statutes during a Zoom meeting. The association will be headquartered at Covra, and its board consists of: Ewoud Verhoef (Netherlands, Chairman), Ole Kastbjerg Nielsen (Denmark, Vice-Chairman), and Håvard Kristiansen (Norway, Treasurer). Other countries, including Slovenia, Austria, Italy, and Croatia, are expected to join the association shortly.
“We have established a highly effective and constructive collaboration within the ERDO working group, which I now look forward to continuing within the ERDO association. We have initiated several exciting projects, particularly relevant for Denmark, concerning, among other things, the characterization of historical waste and the potential of boreholes – these will proceed under the new framework. I also anticipate that new projects of specific interest to countries with small quantities of long-lived waste will be launched in future collaborations. Beyond these concrete projects, the ongoing knowledge sharing and exchange of experience are of great value,” states the newly appointed Vice-Chairman Ole Kastbjerg Nielsen.
The association's first meeting will be a Zoom meeting on January 15th.
Read this brochure on the benefits and obligations of ERDO members