Undergraduate Course: Nuclear Waste Management and Geological Disposal (EASC10139)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course examines the principles, practice, and policy of nuclear waste management, with a particular focus on deep geological disposal. Students explore how subsurface environments are characterised, conceptualised, and analysed to support long-term environmental safety. Through integrated study of geological interpretation, groundwater flow, and contaminant transport, students develop an understanding of how scientific evidence underpins safety cases, regulatory decisions, and public confidence in nuclear waste storage. The course combines policy, systems thinking, and applied subsurface analysis to reflect the interdisciplinary and professional nature of geological disposal. Lectures and practicals will be supplemented by guest speakers from the nuclear and hydrogeology community - spanning industry, academia, policy, and regulators. |
| Course description |
This course integrates the principles, practice, and policy of nuclear waste management with applied subsurface analysis to provide students with a coherent and practice-oriented understanding of how geological disposal facilities (GDFs) are conceptualised, assessed, justified, and regulated.
The course is structured around the central challenge of managing radioactive waste over geological timescales. Students progressively explore how scientific evidence, geological interpretation, hydrogeological analysis, and societal considerations are combined to support long-term safety and public confidence.
Rather than separating theory and application, the course is deliberately designed as an integrated learning journey. Conceptual understanding, technical analysis, uncertainty evaluation, and ethical reflection are developed in parallel across the semester.
To achieve this the course is delivered through three interconnected strands:
1. A structured lecture and activity-based programme focusing on principles, disposal concepts, and policy.
2. Practical sessions that progressively develop conceptual and numerical models of geologic disposal facilities to explore how the subsurface environment and disposal concepts work together to enable safe disposal
3. Structured synthesis activities including a poster conference and formal debate.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | The course is designed to be accessible to students from a range of degree programmes, including Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geography, and Engineering. No prior experience of numerical modelling or coding is assumed.
Students are expected to have:
- a basic understanding of the subsurface environment (e.g. geology, groundwater, or environmental systems), and
- numeracy skills appropriate to Honours level, including confidence with graphs, simple equations, and data interpretation.
These skills may have been developed through a wide range of prior courses at the student's home institution. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 40 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
156 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
100% coursework«br /»
«br /»
50% Poster, oral presentation and reflective feedback synthesis «br /»
50% Subsurface Analysis and Modelling Report |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
| Critically evaluate the scientific, regulatory, and societal principles that underpin nuclear waste management, with particular emphasis on geological disposal and long-term safety cases.
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Reading List
| Reading lists for each topic or thematic area are provided in the LEARN site and through the library Resource List, also accessible through the course Learn page. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical Thinking: Students critically evaluate disposal strategies, interrogate safety case arguments, and assess evidence from geological and hydrogeological datasets. Structured scenario analysis and sensitivity testing require students to question assumptions, identify biases in modelling approaches, and recognise wider system implications over geological timescales.
Curiosity: The course fosters intellectual curiosity by encouraging students to ask searching questions about long-term environmental safety, ethical responsibility, and societal trust. Scenario design exercises and comparative international case studies promote exploration of alternative perspectives and evolving solutions.
Problem Solving: Students engage with complex socio-technical systems characterised by uncertainty and competing constraints. Through conceptual modelling, groundwater flow analysis, and transport simulations, students translate knowledge across contexts and evaluate alternative approaches to managing long-lived hazards.
Collaboration: Group-based geological screening exercises, safety-system design activities, and structured debate develop students' ability to work respectfully with diverse perspectives, manage disagreement constructively, and build shared understanding of complex issues.
Reflection: Students are required to reflect on feedback from poster sessions, critically evaluate their modelling assumptions, and articulate how uncertainty influences decision-making. Reflection is embedded through iterative development of conceptual models and structured feedback response statements.
Communication: Professional communication skills are developed through conference-style poster presentations, technical reporting, and formal debate. Students learn to synthesise complex scientific, regulatory, and societal information and convey evidence-based arguments to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
Cultural Sensitivity: Through engagement with consent-based siting, intergenerational justice, and international disposal programmes, students consider diverse governance models, community perspectives, and ethical frameworks. This supports openness to different viewpoints and inclusive engagement.
Resilience: Working with long-term uncertainty, incomplete data, and evolving scenarios encourages students to develop adaptability, persistence, and confidence in navigating ambiguity - core elements of professional resilience.
Data and Digital Literacy: Students interpret geological and hydrogeological datasets, evaluate evidence derived from modelling outputs, and consider the ethical use of data in environmental decision-making. Practical sessions develop competence in using digital tools appropriately and critically.
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| Keywords | nuclear waste management,hydrogeology,geology,geological storage,subsurface environments |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Katriona Edlmann
Tel: (0131 6)50 7339
Email: katriona.edlmann@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Rebecca Steele
Tel:
Email: Rebecca.Steele@ed.ac.uk |
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