The possibility of retrieving spent nuclear fuel or high level waste placed in geological repositories is an
issue that has attracted increased attention during the last decade, not only among technical experts but also
among politicians at different levels, environmental organizations and other interested representatives of the
public. As an argument for retrievability, it is often stated that a repository programme will need to respond
flexibly to:
— New technical information regarding the site and design;
— New technological developments relevant to nuclear waste management;
— Changes in social and political conditions and acceptance;
— Changes in regulatory guidance and its interpretation, or in basic safety standards.
The IAEA, therefore, cooperated with the Swedish National Council for Nuclear Waste (KASAM) in
organizing an international seminar on the issue of retrievability in Saltsjöbaden, a town near Stockholm,
Sweden, in October 1999. Also around this time, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA)
Radioactive Waste Management Committee identified “the reversibility of decisions in waste disposal
programmes and the potential for retrieval of disposed waste from a geological repository” as a key topic within
the area of overall waste management approaches. As an outcome of an ad hoc meeting exploring this topic, in
2001, the OECD/NEA published an overview of the relevant issues based on the current understanding and
views of experts from the waste management community in OECD/NEA member countries. The European
Commission carried out a study on “the retrievability of long lived radioactive waste in deep underground
repositories” during the period 1998–1999 with the objective of comparing approaches in nine European
countries and to establish a clear interpretation and working definition of the concept of retrievability; a report
was published in 2000.