Management of high level radioactive wastes

Abstract

Many groups of workers throughout the world are considering possible methods of storage or disposal of high level fission product wastes. It is the view of the United Kingdom that these wastes must be fixed in solids and must be retrievable, that is they should be stored and not disposed of. Mankind can plan ahead for a hundred years with a reasonable degree of safety, it is doubtful whether he can anticipate or plan ahead for a thousand years, and it is quite unrealistic to consider any non-retrievable disposal for periods as long as 10⁵ yr, which is a quite incomprehensible period of time.