24th to 27th October, 2011, Brugg, Switzerland

Online course registration is available here.

Changed Dates : 24th- 27th October

This short 3 day course is presented by the ITC-School and is designed for anyone with an interest in repository safety assessment, whether they are working directly in the area or on other aspects of deep geological disposal. This is a novel course looking at all aspects of developing a safety case and includes the views of the implementer and regulator alike. Within the statutory framework that regulates the nuclear industry, there is an over-riding requirement to demonstrate through an adequate and appropriate safety case that all risks and hazards associated with a geological repository are understood, effectively managed and controlled. This short course introduces the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively judge and influence the adequacy of licensees’ repository safety cases. On completion, participants should:

• Understand the requirement for a modern repository safety case
• Have an appreciation of the main building blocks of a repository safety case
• Have an awareness of the main supporting processes and methodologies used in developing a repository safety case.

The 3 day course for 2011 includes:

• Lectures ranging from Safety Philosophy, through to the Safety Strategy and the place of Safety Assessment in the Safety Case
• There is also an examination of the modeling tools available to the safety assessor and presentations on two distinctly different case studies (for LLW repositories and combined HLW/SF/LILW repositories)
• A course exercise where the participants are split into small groups and are encouraged to develop a safety case for a hypothetical repository

Sufficient time will be allocated for questions and discussions in each presentation module and the tutors will be on-hand over coffee, at lunch and in the evening to answer more detailed questions.

Brugg old town

While the course is ideal for those involved in any component of a national waste disposal programme, the main focus is on those staff working on disposal in a geological repository. The course should be attended by participants from a wide range of stakeholders in sectors such as national/provincial level decision-making authorities, implementing and regulating organisations, research organisations and universities, including both member and non-member organisations of the ITC-School.

In addition to formal teaching, each course participant is required to prepare a short pre-assignment related to the course. The purpose of the assignment is that the participants devise a specific safety case-related topic to focus on during the course (see details and application form below).

Course Location

The course will be held in the impressive 15th century Hotel Rotes Haus (see http://www.roteshausbrugg.ch/), in the beautiful Roman town of Brugg in north Switzerland. Participants will also stay in the hotel. The town, which straddles the river Aare and nestles up to the Jura mountains on its northern side, has been a tourist destination since the Romans first established a rest camp in nearby Windisch (Vindonesia). Even today, the rich cultural and architectural history of the area attracts many visitors each year.

Brugg is easily accessible by train from Zürich (4 times an hour), Basel (three times an hour) and Geneva (twice hourly) airports (see http://www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm for details) and the hotel is approximately 150 m from the northern exit of the railway station. Alternatively, Brugg lies just off the main A1 motorway linking Zürich and Bern-Geneva and the A3 linking Zürich and Basel and a covered car park is directly across the street from the hotel.

Hotel Rotes Haus, Brugg

Course Organiser

The course is organised by the ITC-School (www.itc-school.org)

Teaching

The course will be held in an informal, workshop atmosphere and participants will be encouraged to interact and question at all times. Each course topic will be taught by highly qualified and internationally recognised specialists from around the world. They will provide the most up to date and comprehensive information and discussions. Course materials will be provided for each topic. Modules will generally be taught throughout the day, with an extended lunch break. In addition, the course tutors will be present at dinner and afterwards in the hotel for free discussion and information exchange. The course language is English and course materials are printed in English.

Participants’ profile – is this course for you ?

The course is ideal for those involved in any component of a national waste programme and who have a desire to learn about all aspects of developing a Safety Case. While some background in either radioactive or chemo-toxic waste is useful, the modules have been so designed as to ensure that any participant who currently only has a rough idea of what a Safety Case is or how a Safety Case is used in waste disposal, will profit from this course. A basic grasp of geological waste disposal is required, but more important is a genuine interest in being involved in safety case-related issues in waste disposal. If you are unsure if this course is for you, please feel free to contact the course director, Russell Alexander ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ), for an informal chat.

To help you to get the most out of this course, we would like you to produce a short pre-course assignment. But don’t worry, we are not asking you for much effort, just a little thought in advance of attending the course which will focus your thinking and give us an insight into your requirements. And don’t worry if you cannot express yourself fluently, this is not a test, rather it is simply intended to help us get to know you a bit in advance. In return, you will be given the course tutors’ CVs when you start the course.

The Course Assignment can be found at the bottom of the application form and should be returned by 23rd September, 2011.

Course Fees

The course fees directly cover tuition, course notes, room and equipment hire and other materials. The accommodation, breakfast, lunch, dinner and morning and afternoon refreshments for three days (arriving Sunday 23rd October, departing Wednesday 26th October after the course), plus a course dinner and a welcome reception are charged separately.

CHF3290- ITC Members. This total is split between
• accommodation, food and course refreshments – CHF590
• ITC course fee – CHF2700

CHF3590- non-members. This total is split between
• accommodation, food and course refreshments – CHF590
• ITC course fee – CHF3000

If anyone would like to stay in the hotel on the Wednesday night (26th), this will cost an additional CHF120.

Final deadline for registration is 23rd September, 2011. The course fee is due within four weeks of your registration and registration is not guaranteed until we have received the course fee. If you have to withdraw from the course after paying your fee, it will be refunded in full up to 9th September, 2011. After this date, it is not refundable.

Application form

You can register on-line using the registration form. The number of places is limited, so we would advise you to register early.

Insurance

Please note that participants on this course, or their employing organisations, are responsible for their own personal insurance.

Course Programme

Download the Course Programme PDF: Safety_Principles_2011.pdf (74 kb PDF)

Geological Society of London

The ITC is directly associated with the CPD training scheme of the Geological Society of London (GSL – see http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/gsl/op/www%3C/page1.html) and periodically runs courses which have been endorsed by the GSL. These enable Fellows of the GSL to earn credits towards their CPD and offer them a 10% discount on the normal registration fee. This course is currently under consideration by the GSL and the results will be posted soon.

And finally…

Course Assignment – please email to Christine Wiestner ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) by 23rd September, 2011 with ‘Safety Case’ in the subject line.

• why have you chosen this course?
• what are your learning objectives for the course?
• what other objectives do you have for the course?
• tell us a little (a couple of sentences) about your educational and professional background
• tell us a little about your current job – and about any relevant projects you are currently working on or have recently completed. How do these relate to the safety case development in waste disposal?
• if not covered in the previous question, what is your previous experience in safety assessment/safety case in general and in the field of waste disposal in particular?
• is there any specific area of the geological disposal of radioactive waste where you expect to increase your knowledge by the end of the course?

-pick at least one topic bearing in mind that this should be your ‘guiding theme’ during the course
-how is this topic relevant to your disposal system?
-what is already known about the topic?
-what more do you need to know on the topic?

As an outcome of the course, we expect you to prepare a short note (a couple of paragraphs will be sufficient) on how you are going address your topic using the additional knowledge gained during the course – this will help both you and us assess if we have addressed your training requirements appropriately.