Introduction
From early discussions on Risk
Assessment, the key message was that to gain public
acceptance of CO2 capture
and storage, two key areas will need to be demonstrated:
that the technology is safe and that its environmental
impact is limited. Safety can be demonstrated
to some extent through monitoring programmes at
CO2 injection operations
that are currently underway. However, whilst early
results from these injection operations indicate
leakage is not occurring, such programmes do not
necessarily provide confidence in the long term
i.e. 1000’s years after injection has ceased.
Risk assessment (RA) studies can assist the development
of monitoring programmes for injection sites,
relying on predictions of the long term fate of
the injected CO2 and
assessing the potential for leakage in both the
short and long term. To gain public acceptance
of CO2 capture and storage
(CCS) the regulators and public will also need
to have confidence in the predictions made by
the risk assessment studies. To gain such confidence
it will be necessary to understand the different
approaches being used and the assumptions underlying
the results. The results should be produced in
an open and transparent manner, so that the results
are understood and the implications for ecosystems
and human health can be fully appreciated.
The outcome of the launch meeting
was the agreement of the creation of an International
Risk Assessment Network under the terms stated
in a draft proposal. It was also agreed that the
research network should also aim to address what
the regulators are expecting and whether risk
assessment can provide the answers they require.
The scope of the Risk Assessment Network can be
divided into a number of smaller and more specific
subject areas, Data Management and Risk Analysis,
Regulatory Engagement and Environmental Impacts.
To continue to promote the progress of the network,
it was decided that subgroups should be created
that focused on these more specific areas and
could run alongside the operation of the network.
A summary report of the initial
workshop is available below.
Contact
If you are interested in becoming
involved in the Risk Assessment Network please
contact Sian Twinning (sian@ieaghg.org). |
