Unclassified NEA / RWM ( 2010 ) 10

Because they touch on freedom of choice and its relationship to safety, the concepts of Reversibility and Retrievability (R&R) link societal and technical considerations, and tend to be central in the debate on " disposal " when, besides the technical audiences, the public and society at large are involved; hence the continued interest in these topics. This draft report deals with the concepts of reversibility and retrievability for the deep disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent fuel. It documents the results of an initiative that was started by the NEA in 2007-2008 with the goal of providing a neutral overview of relevant issues and viewpoints in OECD countries. Some of the discussion will also be applicable to related situations such as that of planning a repository for low-and intermediate-level wastes. The point of view and intended audience for this report is that of someone planning or designing a final repository for high-level wastes or spent nuclear fuel, not that of someone contemplating retrieval. At this stage in the project, the arguments and conclusions that are presented are based on the work of the R&R Working Group. Inasmuch as the discussions of that group have been largely limited to members of the waste management community, these conclusions may not reflect adequately the views of other constituencies. It is hoped that the discussions at the Reims conference in December 2010 will help remedy this. FOREWORD At one time disposal was often treated as if it were a relatively short-lived activity to be completed in the time span of perhaps a single generation – the goal being to provide a facility that could safely contain radioactive waste without any further action or intervention by future generations. Increasingly, the implementation of a disposal project has come to be viewed as an incremental process in a series of successive steps, likely taking several decades to complete. Apart from the concept of protection of future generations, this changing vision includes an assumption of the involvement of succeeding generations in the process and a need to preserve as much as practicable their ability to exercise choice. As a result of this evolution, monitoring is an activity under study to inform this process prior to closure of the facility, and monitoring, surveillance, and information and memory keeping are also being studied for consideration after closure of the facility. At the same time, the chosen policy of concentrating …