This document is the technical overview of the SAFIR 2 report that synthesises all of the technical and scientific knowledge available at the end of the second phase (1990–2000) of the ONDRAF/NIRAS programme of methodological research and development on the final disposal of category B and C waste in a poorly-indurated clay formation. The SAFIR 2 report will be handed over by ONDRAF/NIRAS to its supervisory Minister at the beginning of 2002, after publication approval by its Board of Directors.

This report is part of the research project International Socio-Technical Challenges for Implementing Geological Disposal: InSOTEC (see www.insotec.eu), funded by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme.<br/>This report is a contribution to Work Package 1 of the project, which aims to identify the most significant socio-technical challenges related to geological disposal of radioactive waste. To achieve this objective, a comparative analysis of 14 national programmes will be performed.