Rethinking Exploration - Requirements for Site Investigation in the Search for a Repository of Radioactive Waste

Summary There is broad international consensus that the use of deep geological formations represents the safest and most technically suitable option for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. The highest priority in the disposal of such waste is to ensure the long-term integrity of the repository and to prevent the release of radionuclides and their migration into the biosphere over a period of 500,000 to one million years. Consequently, very high demands are placed on the properties of the host rock and on the overall geological setting. This opening speech highlighted the special requirements and shows the necessity of multidisciplinary approaches for characterization of the geological situation including the host rock, the underlaying formation and the overburden up to the surface. To find optimized exploration approaches, the research project GeoMetEr has been established in Germany by the federal company for radioactive waste disposal (BGE) as the implementer of the site selection procedure and started in 2023. A consortium of nine partners from research institutions and industry is assigned to realize the project. This workshop shall present the GeoMetEr project and its underlaying concept in order to receive feedback and potential impulses for further projects or extensions.