6.7. During the operational period, the monitoring programme should contribute to operational safety, should measure potential impacts on the public and environment, and should assess the performance of the disposal system. Monitoring should continue to encompass evaluation of the features, events and processes important to the safety case, as part of a programme for confirming the performance of the facility. This will enhance understanding of the behaviour of the disposal system for refining the operational and post-closure safety cases. The monitoring programme should also be focused on collection of data from the short term (operational) performance of the as built disposal system to assist in prediction of the long term performance of the system in the post-closure phase. The objectives of the monitoring programme during the operational period are the following:
- To provide data on the as-built properties of materials and structures, for confirmation of the performance of elements of the disposal system, which may be used to revise, improve or build confidence in the post-closure safety case;
- To provide information necessary for checking whether systems for effluent treatment and control are performing properly;
- To provide early warning of any deviations from normal operation;
- To provide data on the discharge of radionuclides to the environment, for use in predictive modelling for estimating radiation levels and activity concentrations in the environment and exposure of the public (e.g. rates of discharge and radionuclide compositions).