Underground laboratory programs in Europe
Underground laboratories for the study of the geological storage of long-life waste

In Sweden, the underground laboratory was built on the island of Äspö, north of the Oskarshamn nuclear facility, between 1990 and 1995. It comprises a tunnel descending from the surface to a depth of 460 m, as well as access and ventilation shafts. Total tunnel length is 3,600 m.

Experiments are conducted in a realistic, undisturbed geological environment, to develop knowledge of all the processes involved in the evolution of a repository.

An important area of research at the Äspö Underground Laboratory is the assessment of processes affecting the function of bedrock as a barrier to the containment of radioactive substances. In particular, groundwater movement and chemical composition...