Euradwaste '08 - EU Bookshop - Europa

Advances in Integrating European Research on the Near-Field System
Alain Sneyers 1 , Bernd Grambow 2 , Pedro Hernan 3 , Hans-Joachim Alheid 4 , Jean-François Aranyossy
5 , Lawrence Johnson 6
Summary
1 SCK•CEN, Mol, Belgium; 2 SUBATECH, Nantes, France
3 ENRESA, Madrid, Spain; 4 BGR, Hannover, Germany
5 ANDRA, Châtenay-Malabry, France; 6 NAGRA, Wettingen, Switzerland
In the 1970's, national and international research programmes were established with the purpose
of investigating various options for the long-term management of radioactive waste. Today,
broad consensus exists in the scientific community on geological disposal as the ultimate
solution for the safe management of the radioactive wastes. Through deep disposal, radioactive
waste is isolated from the biosphere by multiple engineered and natural barriers. The Integrated
Project NF-PRO (Sixth Framework EURATOM Programme, European Commission)
has investigated key-processes in the near-field of a geological repository for the disposal of
high-level vitrified waste and spent fuel. In previous EC Framework Programmes, the scope
of individual projects was restricted to specific near-field components and processes. NF-
PRO represents a major step forward since it is the first EU project bringing together all areas
of expertise required for evaluating the performance and the evolution of the near-field system.
Under NF-PRO, interactions between different experts have increased and major advances
have been made with respect to the phenomenological understanding of processes influencing
the performance of the near-field system. NF-PRO's work programme concentrated
on outstanding key-issues and consisted of a wide range of research topics and methodological
approaches including laboratory and in situ experiments, detailed process modelling as
well as broader assessments of the performance of the near-field system. As part of NF-PRO,
models and data on specific and coupled near-field processes were translated to concise data,
parameters and models as input to broader assessments of the performance of the near-field.
The level of integration achieved by NF-PRO, in particular the pooling of all fields of expertise
required for development of a comprehensive and phenomenological understanding of the
behaviour of the near-field system and its evolution in time and space is unique and has not
been achieved in preceding Framework Programmes. The scientific output by NF-PRO is particularly
relevant to repository development programmes in EU Member States where information
derived from the project can be applied in the safety case. This paper gives a summary
overview of key scientific advances made by NF-PRO.
1. Introduction
Since 1984, the European Commission has supported international research on the management of
radioactive waste through the multi-annual EURATOM Framework Programme. In 2002, the Sixth
Framework Programme (FP6) was launched. As part of FP6, new instruments for co-operation, notably
the Integrated Projects and the Networks of Excellence, were established. These instruments
allowed to broaden the scope of research as well as to enlarge the research consortia. Also, the av-
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