Euradwaste '08 - EU Bookshop - Europa

hand focuses more on the product rather than the process, bringing together key research players in
an ambitious project to go beyond the current state of the art in a particular field. Both instruments
stress the need for training of researchers and required specific training programmes to be established
within the projects.
On a purely technical level, the aims of research in RWM, as stated in the Council Decision establishing
FP6 Euratom, were the establishing of a "sound technical basis for demonstrating the safety
of disposing spent fuel and long lived radioactive wastes in geological formations", and "to determine
practical ways of reducing the amount and/or hazard of the waste to be disposed of by partitioning
and transmutation and to explore the potential of concepts for nuclear energy to produce
less waste". However, on a more strategic level, the Euratom programme also actively encourages
more cooperation between research bodies in Europe. This is illustrated in Table 1, which shows
the trends and programme emphasis in recent FPs in the area of geological disposal (similar trends
are evident in P&T).
Table 1. The changing emphasis in geological disposal – comparison of the last four FPs
Framework Programme
Total Euratom
contribution
No. of
projects
95
No. of projects aimed at coordination
and networking
FP4 (1994-1998) €33.5 M 42 2 RS
FP5 (1998-2002) €29 M 43 10 RT, RS
Programme emphasis
1
FP6 (2002-2006) €45 M 17 all major projects I&N, RT, RS
FP7 (2007-2011) - - all major projects I&N, PA, LI
1 RS = repository system behaviour (near-field / far-field basic phenomena)
RT = repository technology / URLs
I&N = integration and networking
PA + LI = performance assessment & licensing issues
The introduction of the new funding instruments in FP6 was an opportunity to improve still further
the degree of collaboration between research players in both geological disposal and P&T. During
FP6, four major IPs (totalling some €27M of EU funding) were launched in the field of geological
disposal, and a further two major IPs (totalling some €29M) were launched in the area of P&T.
These IPs cover all the principal thematic areas listed in 2.1 above: engineering and repository design;
near-field behaviour; far-field studies; performance and safety assessment; partitioning; transmutation.
In addition, a major cross-cutting NoE was funded in the area of actinide science. Project
details and descriptions are provided in Tables 2 & 3.
Though there was initial reticence on the part of the research community to go along this route of
large multi-partner projects, and indeed the added administrative burden has occasionally been considerable,
there is nonetheless consensus regarding the overall benefits, especially from the point of
view of increased networking, integration of practices and results and the development of an harmonised
EU vision on the key issues. These projects not only pushed back the frontiers of knowledge
in Europe, but also greatly enhanced the effectiveness and the efficiency of the overall European
research effort in this field. Both these aspects must be capitalised upon during FP7.