News

The HARPERS project -HARmonised PracticEs, Regulations and Standards in waste management and decommissioning – officially concludes after three years of intensive and fruitful collaboration.

Launched in June 2022, HARPERS brought together 30 partners from 14 countries with the shared objective of identifying, promoting, and clarifying the benefits of aligned practices, methodologies, and standards in the fields of radioactive waste management and decommissioning.

The project followed a two-phase approach:

• Phase 1 focused on stakeholder engagement to assess the advantages and limitations of harmonisation, and to identify high-priority topics for further investigation. Key focus areas included cross-border services and facilities, circular economy, and advanced technologies.
• Phase 2 involved deeper engagement and thorough analysis of selected topics, supported by gap analysis and intensive interactions with stakeholders. Nine priority topics of high interest were identified, and a deeper analysis was performed on obstacles/issues, opportunities for more aligned practices/methodologies/approaches and their benefits & impacts. To steer the analysis, the following categories were considered: Technological, Environmental/regulatory, Commercial/economic, Operational, (socio-)Political (abbreviated as T-E-C-O-P).

Thanks to the valuable contributions of all partners, the project has achieved significant and impactful outcomes. They can be summarised in:

i) Position Papers with recommendations towards policy makers:

    a. Deliverable D3.2 - WP3 Cross Border Waste Management Summary Position Paper

    b. Deliverable D4.2 - WP4 Circular Economy Summary Position Paper

    c. Deliverable D5.2 - WP5 Advanced Technologies Summary Position Paper.

ii) Business Cases with the highlight of potential benefits of harmonisation practices compared to current existing situations as base line. Deliverable D2.4 – Consolidated outcome of the HARPERS project

iii) Regulatory impacts with the consolidation of insights from expert consultations, stakeholder input, and regulatory analyses to identify recurring challenges and propose areas for improvement. Deliverable D6.1 - Regulatory framework and criteria report (WP6)

For more details about the project’s conclusion, please refer to our final newsletter.