1INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Siting of Near Surface Disposal Facilities, Safety Series No. 111-G-3.1, IAEA, Vienna (1994).

2The term ‘development’ covers all stages before operation of a near surface disposal facility. It includes siting, design, construction and commissioning.

3Examples include: the management system, including quality assurance arrangements; the system description, including the waste inventory, the facility design and engineering, the host rock and surrounding geology, and the surface environment; the safety assessment, including the scenarios, models, assumptions, data and parameters, exposure pathways and exposed and potentially exposed groups considered, and the calculations performed and their results; the relationship between the assessment results and the relevant regulatory limits, controls and conditions; and integrated conclusions relating to the overall safety and management of the disposal facility.

4Environmental impact assessments are not defined in the IAEA safety standards, although they are included in many international instruments and national legislations and regulations. In the context of a Safety Guide in preparation on radiological environmental impact assessment for facilities and activities, the definition from the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention) is adopted. According to Article 1 of the Espoo Convention, ‘environmental impact assessment’ means a national procedure for evaluating the likely impact of a proposed activity on the environment, while ‘impact’ means any effect caused by a proposed activity on the environment, including human health and safety, flora, fauna, soil, air, water, climate, landscape and historical monuments or other physical structures, or the interaction among these factors. It also includes effects on cultural heritage or socioeconomic conditions resulting from alterations to those factors.