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When compiling specifications for querying the NEWMDB (so users can extract data according to specified parameters), an oversight in the NEWMDB was discovered. This oversight is described below along with a solution for resolving it.
The
instructions for making a submission to the NEWMDB state
(on slide 74 of the
flowchart
for making a submission):
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Scope of Data Collection: In the first two
data collection cycles, Country Co-ordinators were
advised to report the inventory of HLW held at
processing (vitrification) facilities even though
this waste could be considered to be in “interim
storage” (it has an available disposition
option). Country Co-ordinators were also advised
to include waste from the reprocessing of foreign
fuel (i.e., the Member State that was in
possession of the waste at time of reporting would
report the waste). |
In
an NEWMDB workshop, one Country Co-ordinator pointed out
that the reporting of waste inventories to the European
Commission required the “owner” of the waste to report
it, even if the waste was being stored in another country’s
facility. To ensure consistency of reporting at the
international level, the on line Help for the NEWMDB (see
the link that follows) now states “To conform with
European Commission reporting practices, Member States
holding foreign waste, e.g., from the reprocessing of
spent fuel, would not report these wastes to the NEWMDB.
Instead, the Member State that owns the wastes would
report them in their NEWMDB submission (PLEASE NOTE: the
opposite guidance had been used for the first two data
collection cycles with the NEWMDB).”:
http://www-newmdb.iaea.org/showhelp.asp?Topic=6-5-105
The above change will require Country Co-ordinators to
create a waste management Site, which is the one within
the foreign country holding the waste, and to define the
facility (and type) that holds the waste. This will enable
the reporting of the foreign held waste in the Waste Data
Component.
When creating reports for a submission, there currently is
no way for the reporting routines to determine which
facilities are “foreign” facilities. The submission
underway for Japan defines a Reporting Group called “Foreign”
and a Site called “OverseaRP”. However, the reporting
routine cannot tell from the names that these are foreign
facilities (for Japan) since Japan could have used
alternative names.
Therefore, it was necessary to introduce a new “flag”
for the database. The flag will be at both the Reporting
Group and Site levels in Framework. If a CC sets the flag
at the Reporting Group level, all Sites in the Group will
be flagged as foreign Sites. Alternatively, the flag can
be set only at the Site level, which means a Reporting
Group can have both domestic and foreign Sites.
While the new flag will impact upon only a few countries,
all CCs have to be made aware of the change because they
will see the flag on screens in the Framework component
(it is not described in the current version of the
flowchart or the on line help). We will introduce the flag
shortly and will update the on line flowcharts and help
files as soon as time permits.
PLEASE NOTE: If your country does not have any
foreign held waste, you can ignore the flag (if the flag
is not set, this indicates a domestic waste management
Site). In the list of Sites for your submission, the flag
will force foreign Sites to the bottom of your list of
Sites.
PLEASE NOTE: The "Year Opened" field is
required for the processing and storage parts of a waste
management facility. In the special case of facilities in
"foreign" Sites, this data entry rule does not apply
(e.g., Japan does not have to specify when a foreign facility
opened). The names of foreign Reporting Groups and Sites are in
denoted by ITALICS. |
