EURAD-2 - D11.3 - Outcomes to Member States and End Users

WP11 CLIMATE examined existing knowledge gaps regarding how climate change impact on the safety and resilience of radioactive waste storage and disposal facilities across Europe during construction, operation, and post-closure. Its central message is that climate change can directly affect infrastructure performance, barrier functions, hydrological and hydrogeological conditions, erosion processes, and the long-term robustness of radioactive waste disposal facilities. For Member States, regulators, waste management organisations, and other End Users, this means that climate change needs to be integrated into both near-term programme decisions and long-term safety assessments.
The Work Package shows that climate-driven risks differ by location, facility type and timescale. Surface and near-surface facilities are more directly exposed to extreme weather, erosion, and changing surface conditions, while deep geological repositories are more sensitive to long-term hydrogeological and geological evolution. WP11 also shows that approaches to climate-driven risk assessment across Europe still vary considerably. Some programmes already use structured climate scenarios and dedicated climate studies, while others continue to rely on simplified or qualitative approaches.
Overall, WP11 CLIMATE provides a stronger basis for integrating climate change into programme development, safety assessment, and regulatory review across different national contexts. Its main practical message is that future work should focus on four priorities: more harmonised assessment methodologies, clearer links between climate evolution and safety-relevant processes, more robust site-specific data and process understanding, and improved modelling and uncertainty treatment.