National radioactive waste repository programmes are collecting large amounts of data to support the long-term management of their national programmes for radioactive waste management. The data and the related records increase in number, type, and quality as programmes proceed through the successive stages of repository development: pre-siting, siting, characterisation, construction, operation and finally closure. Regulatory and societal approvals are included in this sequence. Some programmes are also documenting past repository projects and facing a challenge in allowing both current and future generations to understand actions carried out in the past.

Metadata, "data about data", are a key tool of the modern data management. It helps the radioactive waste management organisations (RWMOs) better utilise their data in carrying out their statutory tasks and can also help verify and demonstrate that their programmes are appropriately driven. Metadata also allow context to be stored with data and information so that they can be located, used, updated and maintained. They provide provenance to the data (who, what, when, where, why and how), they describe data quality and they support searching for information (e.g. promote scientific research, engineering, safety assessment).

RepMet initiative

The Radioactive Waste Repository Metadata Management (RepMet) project is a four year  initiative launched in January 2014 under the Integration Group for the Safety Case (IGSC) of the NEA Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC). The initiative has aimed to bring about a better understanding of the identification, administration and application of metadata to support national programmes in managing their radioactive waste repository data, information and records in a way that is both harmonised internationally and suitable for long-term management and use.

Several worldwide RWMOs and research laboratories from NEA countries have been involved in the RepMet project: ANDRA (France), ENRESA (Spain), JAEA (Japan), NAGRA (Switzerland), NDA/RWM (UK), NWMO (Canada), ONDRAF/NIRAS (Belgium), POSIVA (Finland), PURAM (Hungary), DoE Sandia National Laboratories (USA), SKB (Sweden), SURAO (Czech Republic). The RepMet group meets twice yearly; working groups, composed of RepMet members and contractors, carry on the project work in the intervening periods.