Implementing organisations in many countries are involved in the investigation and resolution of issues associated with the design, long-term safety, and practical realisation of underground repositories for radioactive waste. The feasibility and the safety of the disposal solution must be satisfactorily demonstrated by the implementing organisations, with the agreement of regulatory bodies, the wider scientific and technical community, political decision makers and the general public. This requires practical demonstration of key technical elements and confidence in the decision-making process. Especially, convincing arguments are required that instil confidence in all parties in the safety of the disposal solution, taking into account the uncertainties that inevitably exist in forecasting the behaviour of complex natural and engineered systems for long times into the future. The best way to get such arguments is to develop Underground Research Laboratories (URLs).
Generic URLs facilities are developed for research and testing purposes at a site that will not be used for waste disposal ; site-specific URLs facilities are developed at a potential site for waste disposal and may, indeed, be a precursor to the development of a repository at the site.
Table 1 lists and provides basic information on generic URLs in NEA member countries
Table 2 lists and provides basic information on purpose-built generic URLs in NEA Member countries.
Table 3 provides a list of site-specific URLs in NEA Member countries.
Table 4 gives examples of work that has been performed at URLs
Generic URLs in NEA Member countries that take advantage of pre-existing underground excavations
URL | Host rock, location, depth | Organisation, remarks | Other NEA countries co-operating in research |
Asse Mine | Permian rock salt anticline; Germany; several mining levels between 490 and 800 m, mined cavern at 950 m. | GSF; galleries in former potash and rock salt mine, demonstration facility for LLW and ILW disposal from 1965 to 1978, R&D facility until 1997, backfilling of unused excavations underway. | France, Netherlands, |
Tono | Sediments; Japan. | JNC; galleries in former uranium mine, operating since 1986. | Switzerland |
Kamaishi | Granite; Japan. | JNC; galleries in former iron-copper mine, completed in 1998. | Switzerland |
Stripa Mine | Granite; Sweden; 360-410 m. | SKB; galleries in former iron mine, operated from 1976 to 1992. | Canada, Finland, France, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, UK, USA |
Grimsel Test Site (GTS) | Granite; Switzerland; | Nagra; gallery from a service tunnel of a hydroelectric project, operating since 1983. | Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Sweden, USA |
Mt. Terri Project | Opalinus clay (hard clay); Switzerland; 400 m. | SNHGS; gallery from a highway tunnel, initiated 1995. | Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, Spain |
Olkiluoto Research Tunnel | Granite (tonalite); Finland; 60-100 m. | Posiva; Tunnel adjacent to the Olkiluoto repository for LLW, operating since 1992.. | Sweden |
Climax | Granite; USA; 420 m. | DOE; drift mined from existing excavations; spent fuel disposal experiments conducted 1978 to 1983. |
|
G-Tunnel | Tuff; USA; > 300 m. | DOE; tunnel of weapons-testing excavations; operated from 1979 to 1990. |
|
Amelie | Bedded salt; France. | ANDRA; galleries in potash mine, operated 1986 to 1992. |
|
Fanay-Augères | Granite; France. | IPSN; galleries in uranium mine, operated 1980 to 1990. |
|
Generic URLs in NEA Member countries that have been purpose-built
URL
| Host rock, location, depth | Organisation, remarks
| Other NEA countries cooperating in research |
High-Activity Disposal Experiment Site Underground Research Facility (HADES-URF) | Boom clay (plastic clay); Mol/Dessel, Belgium; 230 m. | GIE EURIDICE; shaft sinking began 1980, operating since 1984 and extended 1998-9. | France, Germany, Japan, Spain |
Whiteshell Underground Research Laboratory (URL) | Granite; Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba, Canada; 240-420 m. | AECL; operating since 1984. | France, Hungary, Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States |
Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory | Granite; Japan. | JNC; borehole drilling underway. | Switzerland |
Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory | Sedimentary rock; Japan. | JNC; construction approved 2000. |
|
Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory | Granite; Sweden; several depths between 200 and 450 m. | SKB; operating since 1995. | Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States |
Busted Butte | Bedded tuff, Calico Hills Formation; Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA; 100 m. | USDOE; operating since 1998. |
|
Site-specific URLs in NEA Member countries
URL | Host rock, location, depth | Organisation, remarks | Other NEA countries co-operating in research |
ONKALO | Granite (tonalite); Finland; 500 m. | Posiva; authorised in 2001, construction to begin in 2003. |
|
Meuse/Haute Marne | Shale (indurated clays), Callovo-Oxfordian Argillites; France; 450-500 m. | ANDRA; potential repository site, shaft construction began 2000.
| Japan |
Gorleben* | Salt dome; Lower Saxony, Germany; several depths below 900 m. | BfS, DBE; shafts constructed 1985-1990. |
|
Konrad | Jurassic iron ore deposits (Coral Oolite) covered with shale; Germany; 800 to 1300 m. | BfS, DBE; galleries in former iron mine, operating since 1980, in licensing stage for a LLW/ILW repository. |
|
Morsleben | Salt dome; Germany; several depths between 386 and 596 m. | BfS, DBE; former salt and potash mine, repository for LLW and ILW since 1981 (disposal operations terminated in 1998). |
|
Pécs (Mecsek Mountain) | Indurated clay, Boda Claystone Formation; Hungary; 1000 m. | PURAM; former uranium mine, operated 1995-1999. |
|
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) | Salt (bedded), Salado Formation, Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA; 655 m. | USDOE; operating since 1982, licensed transuranic (TRU) waste repository since 1999. | Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom |
* Exploratory work for potential repository site suspended for 3-10 years by governmental moratorium on 1st October 2000.
Technical information obtained from URLs
Objectives | Examples |
Development of methods and equipment for underground characterisation and testing of the reliability of the different methods |
|
Determine reliability of surfacebased methods of site characterisation |
|
Application of site-exploration strategies and strategies to adapt underground systems as more information is acquired. |
|
Testing and development of conceptual and numerical models of processes potentially relevant to radionuclide transport through rock. |
|
Quantification of impacts of excavation on local system. |
|
Further development and testing of excavation techniques. |
|
Simulation of effects caused by emplacement of radioactive waste (heat, nuclide release, mechanical impact). |
|
Experiments related to long-term processes, post-operational phases, corrosion, geomechanical stability, etc. |
|
Demonstration of engineered barrier systems (feasibility). |
|
AECL
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Canada
ANDRA
National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management, France
BfS
Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Germany
DBE
German Specialized Engineering Company for Final Disposal of Radioactive Waste
ESF
Exploratory Studies Facility, Yucca Mountain, USA
GIE EURIDICE
Groupement d'Intérêt Economique European Underground Research Infrastructure for Disposal of Nuclear Waste in Clay Environment, Belgium
GSF
National Research Center for Environment and Health, Germany
GTS
Grimsel Test Site, Switzerland
HADES
High-Activity Disposal Experiment Site, Mol, Belgium
ILW
Intermediate-Level Waste
IPSN Nuclear Protection and Safety Institute, France
JNC
Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (former PNC)
LLW
Low-Level Waste
Nagra
National Co-operative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste, Switzerland
NEA
Nuclear Energy Agency of the OECD, Paris, France
OECD
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris, France
Posiva
Radioactive waste management company in Finland
PURAM
Public Agency for Radioactive Waste Management, Hungary
R&D
Research and Development
RD&D
Research, Development and Demonstration
SNHGS
Swiss National Hydrological and Geological Survey
SKB
Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, Sweden
TRU
Transuranic waste
URF
Underground Research Facility, Mol, Belgium
URL
Underground Rock (or Research) Laboratory, generic and Lac du Bonnet, Canada
USDOE
United States Department of Energy
WIPP
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States