Abstract

The project "Comparative Assessment and Management of Radiological and Non-Radiological Risks Associated with Energy Systems" aims to develop a method for the comparison of environmental and human health impacts of electricity generating systems. Two energy systems serve as cases: the coal fuel cycle in Germany and the nuclear fuel cycle in France ; they are compared on the basis of a Multi Attribute Utility Analysis (MAUA). This report presents a set of indicators to describe the environmental impacts. The indicators are described in more detail for a limited number of environmental concerns, i.e. climate change, depletion of natural resources, acidification and eutrophication, contamination with radionuclides and with heavy metals ; they are illustrated with sample calculations. The examples show that it is possible to define environmental indicators based on no-effect levels which can be easily calculated and intercompared. However, problems arise in the comparison of the pressure indicators, on the one hand, and chemical-state indicators on the other. This comparison should be executed in the MAUA, where the different indicators are weighted.