Spanish Huelva Site case study of long-lasting NORM ... · 1967-68 In order to proceed with the stacking of the phosphogypsumsin rafts, two concessions (one on March 14, 1967 and

This project has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014-2018 under grant agreement No 662287.

Spanish Huelva Site case study of

long-lasting NORM exposure

situation:

Analysis of Social Impact and

stakeholder involvementRoser Sala & Danyl Pérez-Sánchez

CIEMAT, Spain

3rd Technical Meeting. MODARIA II (22 to 25 October 2018, Vienna)


TERRITORIES Project WP3

• TERRITORIES project: “To Enhance unceRtainties

Reduction and stakeholders Involvement TOwards

integrated and graded Risk management of humans

and wildlife In long-lasting radiological Exposure

Situations”

• WP3: Stakeholder engagement for a better management of uncertainty in risk assessment and decision-making processes including remediation strategies


Huelva Site


Case Description

• The FERTIBERIA industrial plant in Huelva produces fertilisers using phosphate rock as a raw material for the production of phosphoric acid, various phosphates and fertilizers. In the production process, phosphogypsum are generated containing uranium and thorium and exhalate radon.

• Phosphogypsum piles and ponds in Las Marismas cover an area of approximately 850 hectares and it is estimated that the total amount accumulated during the nearly 40 years of operation is 70 million tonnes.


Case Description


Phosphate Industry Installations


Physical and Radiological Characterization

Area of Zone : 1 Km2

Height from salt marshes: Between 6 an 8 m

Water content: 20-22% very uniform with depth only in the first 30cm decrease to 15 to 17%. In these conditions in the surface of PGscab that decrease the Rn222 emanation.

Uniform concentration with depth only shown a light incrementabout 10 to 20% in the more depth layer for Uranium radionuclides.Explain the tendency of uranium to leaching in acid conditions.

Divide in different Zones according to the historical explotation.


Zone 3

Zone 4

Zone 1

Zone 2

Fetilizer

Industry

Tinto Estuary

Description of the installation


• Groundwater Release

• Simple source term for groundwater release is assumed: a constant concentration of contaminants in the pore water of tailings. The characteristics of gypsum tailing are quantified below.

• Surface Area: 1 Km2

• Height or Depth: 7m

• Infiltration rate (Calculate from precipitation regime about 400 mm per year)

• Porosity, Material distribution coefficient

• Atmospheric Release

• A constant solid emissions rate from the mailing pile due to wind erosion is assumed for the atmospheric release.

• Wind Rose, Deposition velocity, resuspension factor

Physical and Radiological Characterization


Applied Remediation Options

• The stacks, which contain 120 million t of PG, are restored by placing an overlying 30-cm layer of soil and re-vegetation.

• Although studies have shown that the radiological impact to the public due to the stacks is not significant, they remain a source of social concern and receive sustained media coverage.

• The success of ongoing remediation works e radon exhalation from restored zones is eight times lower than active PG stacks and gamma dose rates are reduced to almost background levels has failed to change public perception of risk.

• However, the operating license for the stacks (shown in Fig. 2) was declared null by the National Court in 2007 for failure to comply with the National Shores Act. As a result, both factories will either halt their operations or modify their production process by 2011.


Tinto River

North PondSouth Pond

PerimetralChannel

Regulation DamEstero del Rincón

Industry-PondsPipeline

Huelva City

Pump Station Perimetral Wall

Applied Remediation Options


Legal Framework

An organizational overview over the administrative structures in Spain dealing with the example Huelva NORM sites is shown in the following figure.


Radionuclides Legal Framework

• BOE, (2001). Royal Decree RD 1439/2010 of November 18th, By which Regulation for Health Protection against Ionising Radiations, approved by Royal Decree783/2001 of July 6th, is modified, 2010 .

• BOE, (2013) Order IET/1946/2013 for regulating the management of

waste generated by activities that use materials containing natural

radionuclides (in Spanish).

• CSN (2012a) Safety Instruction: IS-33 of December 21th, On Radiological

Criteria for the Protection against Exposure from Natural Radiation, 2012.

• CSN (2012b). Safety Guide: GS-11.02, Control of the exposure to natural

sources of radiation, 2012.


Decision Making Process

Schematic representation of an integrated environmental decision-making process


MCDA Objective hierarchy.


NORM and Social corcern

• Long lasting NORM contamination sites and the required environmental remediation are an element of radiation risk that sometimes generates public concern, social controversy and risk amplification.

• In general, it is assumed that inform and engage with a wide range of stakeholders (versus a more passive approach) can be of particular interest to modulate these social effects (Booth,2015).


Cronological recap link with societal

Year Event

1965 The installation started to operate

1967-68 In order to proceed with the stacking of the phosphogypsums in rafts, two

concessions (one on March 14, 1967 and the other on May 17, 1968) were

approved by the ministerial order so that the company occupies a plot

located in the right margin of the Rio Tinto and build there decantation

tanks for the dumping of phosphogypsum

2002 The Board of the Ría de Huelva is constituted

2007 Citizens’ protests begin

2010 The National Court dismisses FERTIBERIA's appeal and confirms the

cessation of the phosphogypses discharges

2014 The National Court sets criteria and measures for regeneration of the area

affected by phosphogypsum residues

2017 Both the City of Huelva and the Junta de Andalucía present allegations to

the FERTIBERIA project for the restoration of the phosphogypses ponds.


Social controversy

• From 2002, environmental NGOs and other associations start to mobilize.

• There have been demonstrations and collection of signatures against this waste

• Recent efforts for stakeholderinvolvement


Case study Research objectives

• To examine the process of public and stakeholder involvement around the Phosphogypsum ponds

• To relate it with wider socio-ethical issues around the management and restoration of the Phosphogypsum ponds


TERRITORIES Methodology


Following the Methodology

Data collection tools:

• Documentary review

• Media content analysis(N=98 from 2005-2017)

• Semi-structured interviews with representatives of thestakeholder groups (N=15)

• Semi-structured interviews with members of the local population (N=11)

Stakeholder group N

Environmental NGOs 3

Industry representatives 2

Public authorities 5

Experts 4

Media 1

Public representatives 11

Case study designed in WP3 and specified in the document

“Case studies: Guidelines for researchers” (Perko &

Abelshausen, 2017)


Analysis framework

Social sciences have

develop frameworks to

analyze and evaluate the

processes public and

stakeholder involvement

and participation:

- Rowe and Frewer

(2000)

- Abelson (2006)


Media analysis

• Territorial category: national, regional and local.

• Time period: 2005-2017

• Most read newspapers from the General Mass Media Survey

• Keywords used for selection: Fosfoyesos and Huelva and NORM

20

8 8

32

17

14

4 5

29

14

3 4

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Press coverage (2005-2017)


Media analysis

Sample: 140 news appeared in

the printed mass media

(searched in an electronic media

database: My news)

Newspaper Number of news

El País 67

El Correo de

Andalucía

28

Huelva información 45

Codification in a database: inductive

process taking into account the list of

uncertainties from D3.1.

Content analysis in progress: MAXQDA

Quantitative analysis?


Semi-structured interviews

Key persons (cca N=15) Affected population

(cca N=15)

Government representatives: national,

regional, local

Neighbors (lay people)

Representatives of the involved company Teachers

Experts (university and research centers) Doctors

NGOs

Journalists

• By phone and face-to-face

• Transcription and summary

• Content anaylsis with MAXQDA: deductive coding

(pre-set of codes) and inductive

• Objective:

� Explore the views, experiences, knowledge, beliefs and motivations of the

individuals related to the NORM contamination case

� Identify the uncertainties they face.

Interview topic

list

List of potential

interviewees


Interviews methodology

• Procedure:• Thematic guide (awareness and knowledge, risk perception,

communication and engagement, trust, satisfaction with the involvement, etc.)

• Semi-structured interviews by phone

• Audio-taped and transcript

• Sample: • N=13 local population

• N=15 key persons (data collection on-going) including industry, public authorities, environmental NGOs, experts from universities and research centers, media)

• Analysis: Qualitative content analysis with MAXQDA software.


� To identify socio-technical

uncertainties around the

management and

remediation of the

phosphogypsum waste

repository in Huelva, Spain.

� To identify key actors

Case study overview

Media analysis Interviews

� Explore the views,

experiences, knowledge,

beliefs and motivations

of the individuals related

to the NORM

contamination case

� Identify and understand

the uncertainties they

face


Preliminary list of uncertainties

Technical decisions 67 Choice of remediation 29

The time necessary for remediation steps. 25

Site characterization: extent 5

Site characterization 4

Exposure dose 2

Site characterization: level of radiation 1

Types of contamination. 1

Socio-ethical decisions and risk perception 60 Different risk perceptions/lack of consensus 32

Impact on the socioeconomic development 15

Health impact 9

Protection of vulnerable social groups. 4

Societal uncertainties 29 Lack of trust between stakeholders in the remediation process 9

Groups and individuals opposed to the programme 9

Different demands and concerns among stakeholders. 7

Poor stakeholder involvement 3 Little recognition of the links between environmental, economic and social concerns of the stakeholders. 1


Preliminary list of uncertaintieseconomic and social concerns of the stakeholders. 1

National policy and the legal and regulatory framework 20 National policy and regulatory framework 9

Lack of synergies among regulators. 8

Lack of uniform standards. 1

Ineffective 1

Ineffectiveness of the authority 1

Financial decisions 20 Assignment of responsibility 10

Availability of funds 6

Who will pay? 3

Cost of remediation 1

Management of NORM waste 10 Classification of material 6

Uncertainties of management of NORM waste. 2 Uncertainties due to lack of clear national approach to waste management. 1

Waste characterization 1

Communication 2 Lack of transparency 2


Preliminary results

• Uncertainties expressed by affected population:

• Lack of knowledge about the repository and the remediation

process

• Different risk perception: health and environment

• Different views of the impact on the socioeconomic

development of the region

• Lack of trust in different actors

• Lack of reliable information

• Lack of involvement

• High cost of the remediation


Panel Challenge

Participatory workshop in Huelva

- Presented as a workshop of the project to share and comment about our results, as neutral as possible

- Invite some stakeholders to present some topics (e.g. remediation Project, risk perception,…) to get better commitment

- Post-it methodology to rate uncertainties (level of importance) and propose methods of reduction


Panel Challenge

Social conflict

Lack of trust

Very polarized views

Many years of fighting

Previous Social context:

•High polluted area

•Low income

•Lack of knowledge about

•Lack of interest

How to involve them altogether in a panel?


Stakeholder Panel Participants

Type of stakeholder Name

Industry Fertiberia, AIQBE

Experts University of Huelva, University of Sevilla,

COAMBA, IGME, CEDEX

Authorities Local: City hall

Regional: Junta de Andalucía

National: Coasts General Directorate

(Ministerio de Medio Ambiente), CSN

Civil society representatives Environmental NGOs (WWF-Adena,

Greenpeace,…)

Neighbourhood association

Media Huelva Información, El País


‘A stakeholder can be described as a group or individual with an interest in or a role to

play in a project, or a decision-making process’.

Stakeholder Panel Challenge


Results: Evaluation of the process

• Very low level of participation

• Late involvement

• Low incorporation of values and beliefs: stakeholder interests and concerns had not been taken into account until the last years.

• Lack of transparency: site operator did not demonstrate in a transparent manner to its stakeholders that they were managing the isssue appropriately.

• Low perception of openness

• Low influence in the decision-making


Results: Evaluation of outcomes

• Different risk perceptions

• Antagonism

• Lack of trust in the industry but also in authorities and experts

• Social controversy has not reduced

• Lack of consensus around the solution: opposed preferences for the remediation option (1600 allegations presented to the environmental impact assessment)

• No conflict resolution: it is in the Court (National Audience)


Conclusions

• Limited and late stakeholder involvement

• Low effects in the conflict resolution

• The lack of stakeholder engagement could be one of the causes of the social controversy and opposition

• But… other wider socio-ethical aspects could also explain the outcomes, for instance:

• Existing irreconcilable interests for the land use

• Socio-economic issues related to the industry operation (e.g. employment)

• Risk amplification


Discussion

• Need to improve:

• Understanding stakeholder concerns, needs and interests

• Better risk communication

• Public and stakeholder involvement strategy (SNIFFER, 2010; IAEA, 2014; )

• Adequate explanation of the adopted approach in a transparent manner could be crucial to obtain support and trust in the decision-making (Booth, 2015).

Documents

Spanish Huelva Site case study of long-lasting NORM ... · 1967-68 In order to proceed with the stacking of the phosphogypsumsin rafts, two concessions (one on March 14, 1967 and