Overview of NUMO’s Policy for Implementing Safe Geological Disposal and Developing Supporting Technologies

Based on the Act on Final Disposal of Specified Radioactive Waste, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan (NUMO) was established in October 2000 as the implementing organization for geological disposal of the radioactive waste. Since its establishment NUMO has been developing the technologies required for implementation of the project and initiated the solicitation of the disposal site by volunteering from the municipalities. However, no effective application has been received as yet to initiate the site investigation. Thus NUMO decided to prepare the NUMO 2010 Technical Report as a tool for improving the general understanding of the geological disposal project. The report will present the safety policy that describes how NUMO aims to achieve safe geological disposal through the ca.100-year-long project and will document the progress made with developing the technologies that support the safety concept. Three policies for ensuring safety are described namely a) staged and flexible project implementation and decision making based on iterative confirmation of safety, b) project implementation based on reliable technologies and c) technical activities for building confidence in NUMO’s safety concept. The report also summarizes the technological development for implementation of the geological disposal project in Japan.Copyright © 2010 by ASME