Long-Term Waste Planning Course
300-hour online course in long-term waste planning. 6 modules covering Directive 2011/70/Euratom (spent fuel and waste management), the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management and GoldSim (behaviour assessment). Assigned tutor and open enrolment.
Take the controls.
Run a real engineering trade-off from this programme. Move the sliders, watch the model react in real time and beat the challenge.
What you will be able to do
Explain the technical and ethical challenges of very long-term waste management.
Analyse the role of centralised temporary storage in the management strategy.
Describe the concepts of deep geological disposal and its barriers.
Interpret the structure of a long-term safety case.
Evaluate evolution scenarios and uncertainties in repository behaviour.
Assess funding, decision-making and public participation mechanisms.
Develop a long-term planning project for a waste programme.
Who it's for
- Radioactive waste management technician wishing to specialise in Long-term waste planning.
- Long-term safety assessment specialist wishing to specialise in Long-term waste planning.
- Repository geologist wishing to specialise in Long-term waste planning.
- Strategic planning analyst wishing to specialise in Long-term waste planning.
- Waste policy consultant wishing to specialise in Long-term waste planning.
- Regulatory body technician wishing to specialise in Long-term waste planning.
- Engineering or science graduates seeking to enter radioactive waste management.
What you'll work with
- Directive 2011/70/Euratom (spent fuel and waste management)
- Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management
- IAEA SSR-5 (disposal of radioactive waste)
- IAEA SSG-14 (geological disposal facilities)
- IAEA SSG-23 (safety case for disposal)
- ICRP Publication 122 (protection in geological disposal)
- Royal Decree 102/2014 (spent fuel and waste management)
- 7th General Radioactive Waste Plan
6 modules · 300 h
1.1Time scales of high-activity waste1.2National waste inventory and its projection1.3Classification by activity and by period1.4Management options: storage, disposal and transmutation1.5Reversibility and retrievability1.6Principle of not imposing undue burdens on the future1.7Applicable regulatory framework and international convention1.8Responsible bodies and national plans1.9Comparative experience of different countries1.10Exercise: compare two national strategies
2.1Functions of a centralised store2.2General design and capacity2.3Reception, inspection and inventory management2.4Monitoring and ageing management2.5Planned operating timeframes2.6Construction and operating costs2.7Physical protection and safeguards2.8Associated transport and national logistics2.9Fit with the final solution2.10Practice: size a store for an inventory
3.1Concept of multiple barriers3.2Candidate geological formations and their properties3.3Design of galleries and disposal cells3.4Canisters, backfill materials and sealing3.5Site characterisation3.6Long-term evolution of the system3.7Degradation and radionuclide transport processes3.8Construction, operation and closure phases3.9Projects under way worldwide3.10Practice: analyse the barrier system of a concept
4.1Concept of the safety case4.2Normal and disturbed evolution scenarios4.3Future human intrusion4.4Transport models in geological media4.5Dose calculation over hundreds of thousands of years4.6Acceptance criteria and reference levels4.7Treatment of deep uncertainty4.8Sensitivity and robustness analysis4.9Independent review of the safety case4.10Practice: build a disturbed scenario
5.1Site selection processes5.2Public participation and informed community consent5.3Compensation and local development5.4Social opposition and conflict management5.5Financing fund and its adequacy5.6Transfer of responsibility to the State5.7Memory of information for future generations5.8Markers, archives and knowledge transmission5.9Applied intergenerational ethics5.10Practice: design a participation process
6.1Choice of inventory and time horizon6.2Comparison of management options6.3Proposal for a phased national strategy6.4Technical requirements for each stage6.5Outline of the safety case6.6Financing and guarantee plan6.7Public participation plan6.8Knowledge transmission mechanisms6.9Strategy report6.10Project defence
How you'll learn
100% online training on the SEIUM campus, with downloadable material, recorded classes and an assigned technical tutor. There are no fixed timetables: students progress at their own pace within the intake, which makes it possible to combine study with work.
Each module combines theory, guided reading of the original standard and applied exercises. The working software is GoldSim (behaviour assessment), PFLOTRAN, COMSOL Multiphysics, QGIS, in free, academic or evaluation versions. Tests are studied using real procedures for analysing repository safety cases, comparative studies of national programmes and assessments of long-term evolution scenarios. Assessment is continuous per module, plus the final integrating project.
Build it end to end
Your final project follows the real engineering workflow, step by step, reviewed by your tutor.
Explain the technical and ethical challenges of very long-term waste management.
Analyse the role of centralised temporary storage in the management strategy.
Describe the concepts of deep geological disposal and its barriers.
Interpret the structure of a long-term safety case.
Evaluate evolution scenarios and uncertainties in repository behaviour.
Where this takes you
Requirements
- No prior qualification 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 totals 300 hours, spread over 3 to 5 months. That equates to an average of 10 to 15 hours per week, compatible with full-time work.
The course uses GoldSim (behaviour assessment), PFLOTRAN, COMSOL Multiphysics, QGIS. Free, academic or evaluation versions are used, and the tutor indicates the free alternative where one exists.
An own-award diploma from SEIUM Institute upon passing continuous assessment and the integrating 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 count towards the advanced programme. Check the recognition policy when you enrol.
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