Most experts worldwide agree that radioactive waste disposal in engineered facilities, or repositories, located in appropriate formations deep underground, provide a suitable waste management option for protecting humans and the environment now and in the future.
An NEA workshop was organised on 9-11 December 2003 in Braunschweig, Germany, devoted specifically to argillaceous settings for deep geological repositories. The workshop brought together scientists from academic institutions, engineers from various research institutions or companies, consultants, regulatory authorities and national waste management organisations to establish the scientific basis for stability and buffering capacity of deep geological waste management systems. The present report synthesises the main outcomes of that workshop and presents a compilation of the related abstracts.