The concept of removing long-lived radioactive wastes from the human environment by disposal in deep geological repositories was developed several decades ago. In the intervening years, research efforts world-wide have increased our knowledge and understanding of how underground disposal systems...

A key challenge in the development of safety cases for the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste is handling the long time frame over which the radioactive waste remains hazardous. The intrinsic hazard of the waste decreases with time, but some hazard remains for extremely long periods....

Safety assessments of disposal sites for radioactive waste involve analyses of potential releases of radionuclides from the disposed waste and subsequent transport to the human environment. An important stage of assessment is the identification and documentation of all the features, events and...