Course in Ethics in Military Radioactive Waste Management
Online 300-hour course in ethics in military radioactive waste management. 6 modules covering the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (1997), Directive 2011/70/Euratom (radioactive waste management) and RESRAD. Assigned tutor and open enrolment.
Take the controls.
Run a real engineering trade-off from this field. Move the sliders, watch the model react in real time and beat the challenge.
What you will be able to do
Characterise radioactive waste of military origin.
Analyse the ethical dilemmas arising from secrecy and opacity.
Apply principles of intergenerational equity and responsibility.
Evaluate options for responsible technical management.
Design mechanisms for independent oversight and public participation.
Apply the international and European framework for waste management.
Prepare an integrative project on the management of a radioactive legacy.
Who it's for
- Radioactive waste management technician who wishes to specialise in Ethics in Military Radioactive Waste Management.
- Radiation protection specialist who wishes to specialise in Ethics in Military Radioactive Waste Management.
- Nuclear policy analyst who wishes to specialise in Ethics in Military Radioactive Waste Management.
- Public participation manager who wishes to specialise in Ethics in Military Radioactive Waste Management.
- Environmental remediation consultant who wishes to specialise in Ethics in Military Radioactive Waste Management.
- Nuclear safety inspector who wishes to specialise in Ethics in Military Radioactive Waste Management.
- Engineering or science graduates seeking to enter the nuclear energy sector.
What you'll work with
- Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (1997)
- Directive 2011/70/Euratom (radioactive waste management)
- Directive 2013/59/Euratom (radiation protection)
- IAEA Safety Requirements GSR Part 5 (predisposal management)
- Aarhus Convention (1998)
- Royal Decree 102/2014 (responsible management of spent fuel and radioactive waste)
- Law 25/1964 on Nuclear Energy
6 modules · 300 h
1.1Typology: propulsion fuel for naval vessels, sources and legacy1.2Sites inherited from historical programmes1.3Difference from civil waste in terms of regime and transparency1.4Known inventory and its gaps1.5Applicable legal framework and defence exceptions1.6Role of the civil regulator and its limits1.7International conventions and their scope1.8Actors: ministry, operator, regulator and population1.9Field vocabulary and acronyms1.10Exercise: mapping the actors and competences in a case
2.1Legitimate secrecy versus the right to information2.2What can be published without compromising safety2.3Aggregated inventories and partial publication2.4Deferred declassification of historical information2.5Access for environmental and health authorities2.6Access for affected communities2.7Risk of loss of institutional memory2.8Costs of opacity for public trust2.9Comparative experience from other countries2.10Debate: how far should an inventory be published?
3.1Who bears the cost of the legacy3.2Long-term responsibility of the State3.3Communities that hosted facilities3.4Exposed workers and recognition3.5Compensation and its effective access3.6Territorial equity in the siting of facilities3.7Intergenerational equity of the legacy3.8Transfer of the problem to civil management3.9Financing and guarantees over decades3.10Practice: equity analysis of a site
4.1Waste characterisation and a reliable inventory4.2Conditioning and safe storage4.3Integration with the civil management system4.4Acceptance criteria and compliance with them4.5Environmental radiological monitoring of sites4.6Remediation of contaminated sites4.7Decommissioning of facilities and its planning4.8Transport and its regime4.9Long-term documentary traceability4.10Practice: characterisation plan for an inventory
5.1Independent oversight and its design5.2Parliamentary control of the programme5.3Role of the audit court5.4Local information committees5.5Public participation in siting decisions5.6Environmental and compliance auditing5.7Public indicators of progress5.8Transmission of memory to future generations5.9Most frequently proposed reforms to the model5.10Practice: designing an oversight scheme
6.1Choice of programme or site6.2Inventory and analysis of the legal framework6.3Identification of the dilemmas present6.4Analysis of responsibility and equity6.5Technical management proposal6.6Oversight and participation scheme6.7Transparency and indicators plan6.8Financing and guarantees plan6.9Report of the analysis6.10Defence of the work
How you'll learn
100 % online training on the SEIUM campus, with downloadable material, recorded classes and an assigned technical tutor. No fixed timetable: students progress at their own pace within the intake, making it compatible with work.
Each module combines theory, guided reading of the original standard and applied exercises. The working software is RESRAD, QGIS, advanced Excel, Python (pandas), in free, academic or evaluation versions. Case work is based on real procedures from radiological impact assessments, public participation processes and case studies of military legacies. Assessment is continuous per module, plus the final integrative project.
Build it end to end
Your final project follows the real engineering workflow, step by step, reviewed by your tutor.
Characterise radioactive waste of military origin.
Analyse the ethical dilemmas arising from secrecy and opacity.
Apply principles of intergenerational equity and responsibility.
Evaluate options for responsible technical management.
Design mechanisms for independent oversight and public participation.
Where this takes you
Requirements
- No prior degree is required.
- Internet connection and a computer capable of running the programme's software.
- Sufficient Spanish to follow technical regulatory texts.
Ready to start?
Send your application today. Our admissions team replies within 72 hours with your study plan and funding options.
Frequently asked questions
The programme comprises 300 hours in total, spread over 3 to 5 months. That is between 10 and 15 hours per week on average, compatible with a full-time job.
The work uses RESRAD, QGIS, advanced Excel and Python (pandas). Free, academic or evaluation versions are used, and the tutor indicates the free alternative where one exists.
A SEIUM own diploma upon passing the continuous assessment and the integrative project. This is in-house training, not an official qualification from the Ministry.
Yes. Modules passed in a course or Postgraduate Diploma in the same area are recognised towards the higher-level programme. Check the recognition policy when you enrol.
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