EGU General Assembly: BfE research discussed by international experts

Source: BfE

The Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BfE) and several research institutes are organising and leading a session at this year’s EGU General Assembly in Vienna to promote an international scientific exchange of ideas about the disposal of nuclear waste. The European Geoscience Union (EGU) is the umbrella organisation for European geoscientists. It is the largest European scientific community for geosciences and associated specialist fields. The general assembly, which is expected to attract about 15,000 specialists, takes place on 7 – 12 April 2019.

Session about topics related to disposal

The interdisciplinary session addresses several topics that are relevant to disposal. Sociological issues will be discussed, in addition to various geoscientific, technical aspects.

One of the projects presented by the BfE is examining current developments in participation research. The crucial issue here is how best to organise involvement in the form of a dialogue related to the search for a disposal site.

Other projects involve fundamental scientific and regulatory issues for disposing of high-level radioactive waste in deep geological formations. The BfE is organising the session with partners that include Freiberg University of Mining and Technology, the Technical University of Clausthal and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR).

Following the congress in Vienna, the BfE is also participating in the GeoMünster 2019 conference with a session to further network and promote research in the field of disposal; this is the joint annual conference of the German Geological Society and the German Mineralogical Society.