Public Acceptance as a Driver for Repository Design

The Japanese geological disposal programme for radioactive waste is based on a volunteering approach to siting, which places particular emphasis on the need for public acceptance. This, as established in law, emphasises the development of a repository project as a partnership with local communities and involves stakeholders in important decisions associated with key milestones in the selection of repository sites and subsequent construction, operation, and closure. To date, however, repository concept development has proceeded in a more traditional manner, focusing particularly on ease of developing a post-closure safety case. In the current project, we have attempted to go further by assessing what requirements stakeholders would place on a repository and assessing how these could be used to rethink repository designs so that they meet the desires of the public without compromising critical operational or long-term safety.