19 May Danish Waste Management Evaluated

From May 1st to 9th, Danish Decommissioning hosted seven independent, international experts dispatched by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The visit provided the framework for an assessment of Denmark's system for the safe management of radioactive waste.

The extensive preparations for the visit, called an ARTEMIS mission, have been underway since autumn. In addition to the host organisation, the main actors have been Ministry of Higher Education and Science, The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science and The Danish Health Authority, Radiation Protection. The latter participated in the mission as coordinator and liaison between the international experts and the Danish representatives.

ARTEMIS missions (Integrated Review Service for Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Management, Decommissioning and Remediation) must be conducted in all EU member states at least every ten years. These missions are managed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Based on the submitted material, subsequent dialogue, interviews, and visits to Risø's nuclear facilities, a preliminary report was prepared during the visit, assessing the Danish system for radioactive waste management against IAEA standards. The report contains seven recommendations and two suggestions for strengthening the organisational and practical frameworks for the work. The final report will be published within a couple of months.

“The ARTEMIS mission has been extremely useful and comes at an opportune time, as Danish Decommissioning has just completed a comprehensive waste strategy. This strategy will now be operationalized into two-year action plans, and we will incorporate the report's recommendations,” says Director Ole Kastbjerg Nielsen.

Read IAEA’s press release on the preliminary results
Read also The Danish Health Authority's press release