How is the Inventory produced?

The Inventory takes several months to compile and quality check.

The process is outlined below.

1. Appointment of Inventory Contractor

The Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) are responsible for appointing a suitable contractor for producing the Inventory.

2. Development of Project Plan and Approach

Producing the Inventory involves engaging with waste producers and collecting information for over 1,300 waste streams and more than 40 material streams. Before we begin collecting any data, time is spent developing and agreeing the best way to work with sites and record information.

3. Preparation of Supporting Material

Producing the Inventory is a major task which only happens every three years. As a result, it’s important that we develop clear guidance and conventions to help sites provide the right information and in a consistent way. The guidance must be updated to ensure that it’s still relevant and takes into account any changes in radioactive waste management approaches since the last Inventory was produced.

4. Development of Data Collection Tools

Time is spent developing the data collection tools. The tools need to be up to date, considering any new waste management technologies and approaches that have been introduced since the last Inventory.

5. Agreement of Baseline Scenarios

Each waste producer is responsible for estimating its future radioactive waste arisings. These forecasts are developed based on planned future operations and decommissioning activities, known as their ‘baseline scenario’.

The baseline scenario for each site must be updated before we collect data. This ensures that we consider any changes to plans which may have been made for technical, commercial or policy reasons.  We also need to be aware of new waste treatment and packaging plans.

6. Collection of Inventory Data

At this stage, the collection of data can begin. The appointed contractor works with waste producers to gather all information needed for the Inventory. The waste producers base their information on data obtained from samples, measurements and calculations. Where there are uncertainties, sites use the best available information to make reasonable estimates. They may use data from surveys and historical evidence to support their assumptions.

The waste producers are responsible for quality checking their data prior to submission. It is then processed and checked by the Inventory contractor.  Care is taken to ensure that the waste producers are involved in verifying assumptions and responding to queries relating to specific waste streams.

7. Data Analysis and Reporting

Once all data has been collected and checked with sites, the entire Inventory is then ‘frozen’ to enable the contractor to analyse the data. The contractor then produces a series of reports which are checked again by the waste producers, the NDA and BEIS.  Finally, the Inventory is ready for publication.

8. Learning

After the Inventory is published, we work with all those involved to agree improvements for the next Inventory cycle.