Alan Paulley and Sam Parsons attended the 52nd Annual Waste Management Symposia in Phoenix, Arizona. Quintessa has been attending the Waste Management Symposia since the mid-2000s and Alan is on the Programme Advisory Group, the steering committee for the conference.
The Symposia focuses on nuclear waste management policies and practices. WM2026 was a dynamic forum with several hundred expert panel and paper presentation sessions uniting global experts to drive safe, cost-effective solutions for handling radioactive materials and decommissioning nuclear facilities. WM2026 was an excellent opportunity to learn more about the Featured Country – Finland and the Featured Site – Hanford, Washington.
Alan co-chaired and Sam was rapporteur for an expert planning session on managing attitudes to uncertainty and risk in site closure and remediation planning, considering how to better align options processes with final site outcomes. Alan was also an expert invited to contribute to a panel on proportionality and ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable), and co-chaired technical sessions on decision analysis and risk and performance assessments for repositories and remediation sites.
We are looking forward to WM2027 where the UK will be the Featured Country.
Alan and Sam also took in a Spring Training baseball game. Apologies to Chicago Cubs fans – Quintessa staff attendance seems to bring bad luck!