Four Quintessa employees (Rebecca Newson, Richard Little, Russell Walke and Sarah Watson) provided a series of theory, hands-on and collaborative discussion sessions focussing on safety assessment of radioactive disposal facilities and the associated application of AMBER. The course focussed on the use of the software for post-closure ‘total system’ safety assessment and was structured around international guidance on safety assessment and its contribution to the wider safety case. The training included examples of AMBER’s application to near-surface disposal, site remediation, disposal of wastes containing naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) and the borehole disposal of disused sealed radioactive sources.

SERAW is responsible for the safe management of radioactive waste generated by the nuclear power plants and other nuclear applications. Amongst its activities is the management of the Permanent Repository for Radioactive Waste (PRRAW), situated near the village of Novi Han, which was designed for the storage of radioactive waste arising from medicine, industry, science and education. The second week of the course focussed on the application of AMBER to the assessment of options for the management of PRRAW, resulting in the development of a model that the participants could subsequently refine and develop further.