| Country | Programme | Repository Type | Geology | Status | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | GDF (Geological Disposal Facility) | Deep geological | To be determined (community consent model) | Site selection ongoing via willing communities | Robust waste packages in engineered vaults; backfilled with cement/bentonite |
| Sweden | Forsmark | Deep geological | Granite (crystalline rock) | Site selected; construction approved 2022 | KBS-3: copper canisters surrounded by bentonite clay at ~500m depth |
| Finland | Onkalo (Olkiluoto) | Deep geological | Granite (crystalline rock) | Operational from approximately 2025 — world’s first | KBS-3 method (similar to Sweden); copper canisters in bentonite in crystalline bedrock |
| France | Cigeo (Bure) | Deep geological | Clay (Callovo-Oxfordian argillite) | Design phase; expected operation ~2035 | Waste packages in tunnels at ~500m depth in clay formation |
| USA | Yucca Mountain (halted); WIPP (military) | Deep geological | Volcanic tuff (Yucca Mountain); salt (WIPP) | Yucca Mountain politically blocked since 2010; WIPP operational since 1999 for military TRU waste | Multi-barrier system at Yucca Mountain; WIPP uses salt creep to encapsulate waste drums |
| Germany | New site search (Gorleben abandoned) | Deep geological | Under investigation (salt, clay, granite all considered) | Federal site selection process restarted in 2017; Gorleben excluded 2020 | Methodology to be determined following site selection |
Lesson 6 ◆ 6.13 International Comparison of Disposal Routes