Lunch & Learn | Steps for sharing

EC directive 2011/70/Euratom acknowledges that disposal is the end-point for radioactive waste and spent fuel, which implies that all member states must prepare a credible disposal strategy. The chosen disposal strategy can be implementation of a national disposal facility but also participation in a multinational repository (MNR). Only the first option is currently being implemented, with the most advanced programmes being in Finland, Sweden, and France. However, for technical, financial, and societal reasons, disposal in most countries - and in particular for new or small nuclear programmes - lies decades into the future. Accordingly, a prudent strategy is to keep options open: adopt a dual track strategy. For more than 20 years the MNR track has been studied, with varying degrees of support from the IAEA, the NEA and the EC. The ad-hoc ERDO-Working Group that has been dedicated to developing the dual track approach since 2009, has in January 2021 established a formal ERDO Association with headquarters at COVRA, the radioactive waste organization of the Netherlands. Why this new association? What will it do for multinational solutions? In this Lunch & Learn sessions you will hear all about the status and future goals of the ERDO association.