EducTUM

an interactive platform to provide basic and advanced training, maintain skills and impart general information in the fields of radioactive waste characterization and product control.

07. April 2026, 12:30
to
09. April 2026, 15:00

The summer school teaches the theoretical and practical basics of the process of non-destructive characterization of a typical 200 L container with low-level radioactive waste in product control, declaration, or clearance measurement. The process is a common thread running through the content taught at the summer school.

Starting with the delivery of the container, its introduction into a control area, and the necessary control measurements, such as wipe tests, dose rate measurements, weighing, etc., the necessary theoretical basics of radiation protection will be taught and reinforced in practical exercises.

An important aspect before starting the characterization of radioactive waste is the compilation of information that can be used in the selection of the measurement methods and modes to be applied, as well as in the evaluation of the measurement results. A brief overview of this topic concludes the preparatory work and allows us to move on to the actual metrological methods for non-destructive characterization.

Segmented gamma scanning (SGS) is usually the first choice for waste containers. This is based on gamma spectrometry, which we teach in theory and practical exercises before delving deeper into the topic of segmented gamma scanning in open and collimated geometry in practical applications on site. We show how the nuclides contained in the waste container can be identified from the measurement data obtained and their distributions in the waste container can be (roughly) determined. Suitable evaluation models and procedures are required for the subsequent quantification of the activities of the identified nuclides. A selection of the most frequently used models is discussed and implemented for a model in a practical application.

The results of SGS measurements alone can still be associated with considerable uncertainty due to a lack of information. This problem is discussed and various possibilities for reducing it are presented. These include, for example, the use of nuclide vectors or the application of additional measurement methods, such as transmission measurements.

The latter include radiography and tomography measurements. The RCM's Integrated Tomography System (ITS), a training CT system, and mobile X-ray radiography systems are used for the practical exercises. At the same time, the necessary fundamentals of beam attenuation, radiation detection, reconstruction algorithms, etc. are taught, and approaches for combining all available information are discussed.

In some cases, despite the considerable effort involved, the available non-destructive measurement methods alone are not sufficient to obtain a final characterization. In these cases, destructive analyses of the contents of waste containers must be carried out. The problems of representative sampling, the measures to be taken before sampling, and the further possible analysis steps to be applied afterwards are outlined. Selected analytical methods are explained during a tour of radiochemical laboratories.

In a concluding block, current topics in the field of non-destructive characterization of radioactive waste will be addressed. These include the use of AI and evaluation methods based on Bayesian statistics. The current DIN 11929 standard for determining measurement uncertainties is also based on the latter.

The summer school focuses on practical relevance. In addition to teaching the necessary theoretical basics, the main emphasis will be on practical application. Under the guidance of experienced technicians and scientists, participants will have the opportunity to independently perform measurements with systems that are used daily at the RCM for the non-destructive characterization of radioactive waste and waste packages.

On the last day of the summer school, participants will attend the morning technical meeting of the European Network of Testing Facilities for the Quality Checking of Radioactive Waste Packages (ENTRAP*), which is taking place at the same time. In several specialist presentations, international experts from the field of waste management will give short talks on current topics, including decommissioning and scaling factors.

There will be plenty of time for questions and discussions during the summer school. The participants of the ENTRAP meeting will also be available for this purpose.

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^*ENTRAP was founded in October 1992 to promote European collaboration to “examine the needs, incentives, scopes and ways of implementation of a European network of national QA/QC facilities for radioactive waste products”, based on an EC Plan of Action for Radioactive Waste in 1989.

(Contributions are subject to change)

Usage of the very specialised equipment and lab infrastructure that has to be available for the licensed operation in any case also for: