IC Saayman

About

Irené Saayman is a registered professional natural scientist (PRSciNat) who acts as technical lead on scientific investigations at Eskom’s Nuclear Sites. These site investigations characterise the nuclear sites, and serve as input to their licensing and that of the nuclear installations to be constructed on them, and informs the design and operation of these nuclear installations. Scientific disciplines to which input is provided include geology, seismology, geohydrology, geotechnical characterisation, hydrology, oceanography, meteorology, emergency planning and radiation protection.

 

Within Eskom his role is to guide and/or formulate the Eskom approach, usually through the development and maintenance of position papers, standards and technical specifications, on the characterisation of the site geology, seismology, geohydrology, hydrology, fresh water supply and related external hazards. For Koeberg Nuclear Power Station in particular this requires him to identify, review, assess, formulate and communicate appropriately the risks associated with these external hazards, and assist in the formulation and implementation of risk mitigation measures. He is further responsible for the management and coordination of oversight and quality assurance within these technical disciplines, as well as for the formulation, coordination and review of licensing submissions and interactions with the NNR on related technical issues.

 

He was recognised by Eskom in 2013 for the application of the “SSHAC Level 3” methodology in the assessment of the seismic hazard at the Thyspunt nuclear site. This was the first time that the methodology was applied outside North America. During the South African application many innovations were introduced, all of which were subsequently adopted by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in their guideline documents. While at Eskom he has contributed to the development of Site Safety Reports for the Duynefontein, Bantamsklip and Thyspunt nuclear sites, and to the seismic hazard analysis for the Thyspunt site.

 

Prior to joining Eskom, Irené specialised in research on integrated water resources management, groundwater resource evaluation and pollution assessment. He received his bachelor’s degree in the Earth Sciences in 1994 and an honours degree in Geology in 1995 from the University of the Western Cape (UWC). In 1996 he joined Toens and Partners, a Cape Town based geohydrological consultancy, where he worked on groundwater resource evaluation and pollution studies. In 1997 he registered for post graduate studies at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden, and completed his M.Sc. degree in Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Infrastructure in 1999.

 

He joined the CSIR in 1999 where, over a period of more than 8 years, he contributed to groundwater resource assessment and groundwater pollution/vulnerability assessments, research on the contribution of groundwater to surface water and ecosystems and Integrated Water Resources Management research. Since 2003 Irené has contributed to documents aimed at use by the international water resources management and scientific communities. While at the CSIR he also acted as Head to the Groundwater Research Group.

Industry experience

Education: Masters

Seniority: Expert, Engineer, Consultant

Years of experience: 20 years or above

Work experience

Taxonomy