Current status of R&D activities and future plan and role of JAEA's two generic URLs

Koide, Kaoru; Osawa, Hideaki  ; Ito, Hiroaki ; Tanai, Kenji ; Semba, Takeshi ; Naito, Morimasa ; Sugihara, Kozo; Miyamoto, Yoichi

JAEA has promoted R&D on HLW geological disposal technology. JAEA launched the Mizunami and the Horonobe URL Projects to cover the diversity of geological environments in Japan. The Mizunami URL Project is a geoscientific research project in the crystalline rock environment. The Horonobe URL Project consists of geoscientific studies and R&D on geological disposal technology in the sedimentary rock environment. Both URL projects have been planned to proceed in three overlapping phases, Surface-based investigation Phase, Construction Phase and Operation Phase. Currently, the construction of research galleries in both of the Mizunami and the Horonobe URLs has been completed to 500 m and 350 m depths, respectively. JAEA will promote R&D activities in Phase III including study of the long-term evolution of the geological environment, and contribute to international cooperation, development of human resources and communication amongst stakeholders through both URL projects.