GEOTRAP is the OECD/NEA Project on Radionuclide Migration in Geologic, Heterogeneous Media carried out in the context of site characterisation and evaluation and safety assessment of deep repository systems of long-lived radioactive waste.
Variability (heterogeneity) in the properties of the rocks over a wide range of spatial scales is a common feature of most geologic media and broad agreement exists that its characterisation and the corresponding analysis of the consequences for groundwater flow and radionuclide transport form an important part of the assessment of the safety of deep geologic repositories.
The second GEOTRAP workshop, “Modelling the Effects of Spatial Variability on Radionuclide Migration” (Paris, France, 9-11 June 1997), addressed these issues and provided an overview of current developments in this technical field- both in national waste management programmes and the scientific community. These developments reinforce confidence in the concepts and models used for repository safety assessment.
In addition to the papers presented, this publication includes a synthesis of the workshop reflecting the discussions that took place as well as the conclusions and recommendations drawn, notably during the working group sessions. The synthesis also puts these conclusions and recommendations into perspective within the scope of the GEOTRAP project and the state of the art in the technical field.