The IAEA Coordinated Research Programme on the Performance of High-Level Waste Forms and Packages Under Repository Condi
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THE IAEA COORDINATED RESEARCH PROGRAMME ON THE PERFORMANCE OF HIGH-LEVEL WASTE FORMS AND PACKAGES UNDER REPOSITORY CONDITIONS VLADIMIR S. TSYPLENKOV International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramerstrasse 5, P. 0. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria ABSTRACT The IAEA initiated, in 1991, a Coordinated Research Programme (CRP), with the aim of promoting the exchange of information on the results obtained by different countries in the performance of high-level waste forms and waste packages under conditions relevant to final repository. These studies are being undertaken to obtain reliable data as input to safety assessments and environmental impact analyses, for final disposal purposes. The CRP includes studies on waste forms that are presently of interest worldwide: borosilicate glass, Synroc and spent fuel. Ten laboratories leading in investigation of high-level waste form performance have already joined the programme. The results of their studies and plans for future research were presented at the first Research Coordination Meeting, held in Karlsruhe, Germany, in November 1991. The technical contributions concentrated on effecting an understanding of dissolution mechanisms of waste forms under simulated repository conditions. A quantitative interpretation of the chemical processes in the near field is considered a prerequisite for long-term predictions and for the formulation of a "source term" for performance assessment studies.
INTRODUCTION A Coordinated Research Programme (CRP) has been designed as one vehicle for carrying out the general programme of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Its primary objectives are: to stimulate advances in scientific knowledge; to assist the developing countries, whenever possible, to increase their participation in nuclear research and coordinate research between the Agency and national centres. A detailed list of subject areas covered by the CRPs is circulated each year to Member States, so as to invite submission of research proposals. Under the programme, the Agency places contracts and cost-free agreements with research centres, laboratories, universities, and other institutions in Member States, for the conducting of research projects in relation to its scientific programmes. Research institutes are invited to submit their proposals directly to the IAEA, without going through government channels. Once a CRP is formed, research teams from an average of ten to twelve institutes are normally selected for participation in the programme, which lasts three to five years. Cooperation between institutes is strongly encouraged and supported by Research Coordination Meetings (RCMs), which are financed by the IAEA and held at appropriate intervals for each CRP (normally every 18 months). At these meetings, the progress of the CRP is reviewed in detail and the future direction of work is established. At the final RCM, results are reviewed and evaluated by all participants. Summaries of the contractors' final reports are prepared by the Agency and published in Technical Reports Series (TRS
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