Geological Disposal: Global Status and Key Issues

The aim of this article is to give an objective appraisal of the development of the concept of geological disposal of radioactive wastes and of its status today. It addresses the key issues associated with geological disposal of used nuclear fuel and other high-level radioactive wastes. The text is based upon a review originally prepared for the Canadian waste management organization, NWMO. In an abbreviated form, the article text addresses the following issues: the need to protect humans and the environment from the hazards and the risks presented by radioactive wastes in general, and by used nuclear fuel in particular; the strategies for minimizing long-term risks and the reason why this goal has led to the development of the geological repository concept; the different technical, societal, and economic challenges faced by a geological disposal program; the description of the multiple safety barriers in a geological repository and of how they function; the specific problems involved in siting of deep geological repositories; the series of activities performed throughout the several decades for which a repository program must run; the status of geological disposal programs in various nations around the world; and the key challenges and outlook for further developments in the implementation of geological repositories.