Harpers is a European Commission project with the objective to harmonise the application of the international regulatory framework in waste management and decommissioning across EC member states. The project has 25 partners, including Galson Sciences, from 13 countries and is due to last from June 2022 through until May 2025.
Within nuclear decommissioning and predisposal management of radioactive waste activities, the application of international safety standards and European Union (EU) directives can vary from one country to another, as they are adapted to local considerations and national policies.
The project’s high-level objectives are therefore to:
• Improve scientific- and technology-based solutions and share best practices to improve operational excellence in decommissioning and to minimise operational, dismantling and induced secondary wastes;
• Develop strategies for shared European/International treatment and storage facilities, predisposal operations, treatment solutions, repository solutions, interim storage, operations, safety and monitoring of materials and wastes;
• Engage interested players in sharing experiences on how to fulfil requirements mainly from the industry and innovator perspective;
• Support initiatives of various actors involved, while providing competent evaluation by technical support organisations (TSOs) and regulators;
• Identify the benefits of and the potential for harmonisation of national regulations in line with European and International directives and recommendations and best practices