IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency

07/22/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/23/2021 07:39

China Begins Construction of its First Underground Research Laboratory for High Level Waste Disposal

China has begun constructing its first underground research laboratory in the Gobi Desert, to determine the area's suitability for future geological disposal of high level radioactive waste (HLW), including spent nuclear fuel, generated in China's 51 operational nuclear power plants. Its construction follows more than three decades of research with the support of the IAEA. Scientists will use the laboratory to characterize and assess the geological, hydrological, geochemical and engineering characteristics of the rocks at the site.

China has been working on identifying a suitable site for a HLW repository since 1985, and since 1999 those efforts have been supported by the IAEA. 'The safe disposal of high level radioactive waste is one of the critical missions for the sustainable development of China's nuclear industry,' said Liang Chen, Vice President of the Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology (BRIUG), which is constructing the underground research laboratory.

The country's strategy for HLW disposal consists of three stages, with stage one - laboratory studies and preliminary site selection - completed in 2020. The second stage, underground in-situ testing, is set to take place from 2021 to 2050, following the construction of the underground research laboratory. The final stage - the construction of the disposal facility - is planned to take place from 2041 to 2050, assuming the in-situ testing confirms the area's suitability.

High-level radioactive waste can remain radioactive from thousands to hundreds of thousands of years. The internationally accepted solution for its safe and secure long term management is geological disposal in a facility several hundred metres underground. A geological disposal facility is under construction in Finland. (Watch the video Onkalo - A Solution for Nuclear Waste for more details).