Underground laboratories for the study of the geological storage of long-life waste

There is an international consensus that "a potential storage site can only be characterized and assessed if it has underground infrastructure.

To support the development of a storage project, an underground laboratory research program provides relevant information for assessing the overall feasibility of the proposed concept. This research also takes place in so-called "generic" laboratories. This term means that their geological and geographical location does not coincide with a future disposal site, but that their purpose is to study a particular type of rock (clay, salt, granite, etc.).

Subsequent development stages involve firstly confirming the qualities of the host rock at a storage site, and then the detailed design of the storage system.