International progress in developing cases for long-term safety of repositories for transuranic and long-lived intermediate level wastes; Summary of the Third International Workshop

Mathieson, J.*; Hooper, A. J.*; Alexander, W. R.*; Shiotsuki, Masao; Kamei, Gento 

In January, 2005 an international workshop was held in Oxford, UK to discuss research progress in the disposability of transuranic (TRU) waste (also known as long-lived intermediate level waste. This was the third such workshop, with two previous ones being held in Switzerland in 1996 and Japan in 1999. Whilst TRU/ILW represents more complex wasteforms than high-level waste (HLW) or spent fuel (SF), it is recognised that it has not received the same amount of attention. This paper summarises the themes discussed at the workshop and the conclusions derived. Moreover, it provides a status report and future direction of work in relation to TRU and ILW wastes. The overall conclusion of the workshop was a recognition of the uncertainties surrounding the subject and outstanding issues where further work was required. However, there were no insurmountable obstacles to making safety cases for the disposal of TRU/ILW waste - safety assessment strategies were at a mature stage.