KEY ACHIEVEMENTS AND REMAINING UNCERTAINTIES OF THE LAST DECADE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE BELGIAN HIGH-LEVEL AND LONG-LIVED RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL PROGRAMME: THE SAFIR 2 OUTCOMES

摘要

In publishing the SAFIR2 report (December 2001), ONDRAF/NIRAS has provided its supervising minister and the various parties involved with a document that enable them to assess the progress made during the period 1990-2000 with regard to the feasibility and safety of a possible solution for the long-term management of high-level and long-lived waste, that is, its deep disposal into a poorly-indurated argillaceous layer in Belgium. The research and development (R&D) work done during this period mainly concerned the Boom Clay beneath the Mol-Dessel nuclear zone as the host formation and reference site, and, to a much lesser extent, the Ypresian Clays beneath the Doel nuclear zone as an alternative host formation and site. This methodological work in no way implies that a decision has been taken on a location for the implementation of the studied solution. At present, none of the research findings indicates any prohibitive flaw surrounding the disposal into the Boom Clay of the high-level and long-lived waste. Major achievements from the R&D programme are the confirmation of the qualities of the clay host formation and the vitrified waste matrices as robust barriers, the feasibility of excavating underground galleries without disturbing significantly the barrier properties of the host formation and the favourable results of the long-term safety assessments. The next phase of the ondrafiras programme of methodological research and development should consider the priorities identified in the SAFIR 2 report and presented in this paper.