GTS / Nagra Blog

Media Release : The Department of Energy of the USA (USDOE) has become a research partner in Nagra’s Grimsel Test Site, taking part in an international research project looking at the transport behaviour of radioactive substances in granite.

The scientific community in countries producing nuclear power, including Switzerland and the United States of America (USA), has come to recognise that deep geological disposal is the best option for safe, long-term management of high-level radioactive waste resulting from reactor operations. In 2009, the USDOE initiated a Used Fuel Disposition Campaign aimed at conducting research and development for generic repositories in various geological media, including crystalline rock. As a result of its interest in becoming more involved in international collaboration with ongoing R&D programmes, the USDOE decided to join the research programme at Nagra’s Grimsel Test Site. Organisations from eleven other countries are currently partners in the underground laboratory projects.

The GAST section has been updated with new sections and images from recent events. Click to view

Press Release :

Testing a gas-permeable seal for deep geological repositories

Guttannen (Bern) – A multi-year, large-scale demonstration experiment has started at Nagra’s Grimsel Test Site, with the aim of confirming important aspects of the functioning of tunnel seals in future geological repositories. The experiment seal consists of a clay (bentonite)/sand mixture and will be used to demonstrate the feasibility of controlled gas transport from a radioactive waste repository on a realistic scale.