Two major EU-funded nuclear waste-disposal projects have allowed researchers to reach a consensus on several key issues surrounding the chemical durability of both high-level waste glass and spent nuclear fuel, thanks to the publication of their results.

The GLAMOR project ('Critical evaluation of the dissolution mechanisms of high level nuclear waste glasses in conditions of relevance for geological disposal') and MICADO project ('Model uncertainty for the mechanism of dissolution of spent fuel in a nuclear waste repository') have allowed, with their results, researchers to reach a consensus on several key issues surrounding the chemical durability of both high-level waste glass and spent nuclear fuel.

The GLAMOR project, which was funded with €232,351 as part of the 'Nuclear energy' Thematic area of the Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), was agreed that a residual dissolution rate exists for nuclear waste glass in pure water. This residual final dissolution rate can be very important for the assessment of the barrier function and the lifetime of the glass, because it is as much as 10,000 times smaller than the initial dissolution rate.

On the other hand, the subsequent MICADO project, which received €1.3 million as part of the 'Management of radioactive waste' Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) of the Treaty of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), built on this groundwork made by the GLAMOR researchers. MICADO research team found that spent fuel can serve as an effective isolation barrier for tens of thousands to millions of years.

The two projects set out to assess the uncertainties in several descriptive and predictive modelling procedures, and to describe the dissolution processes of nuclear waste glass containers and spent nuclear fuel in a repository over geological time periods. Both projects paved new paths in this research field by using a common set of existing experimental data and existing models. Scientists now hope that the results from both projects will lead to significant further research in the field.