After 15 years of investigations conducted in France pursuant to the first research law on radioactive waste voted in 1991, reversible deep geological disposal has been recognised by the Planning Act No. 2006-739 Concerning the Sustainable Development of Radioactive Materials and Waste of 28 June 2006 as the reference solution for the longterm management of high-level and intermediate-level long-lived radioactive waste.

The report outlines the current design and safety concept for the planned repository. It summarises the approach used to formulate scenarios for the evolution of the disposal system over time, describes these scenarios and presents the main models and computer codes used to analyse them. It also discusses compliance with Finnish regulatory requirements for long-term safety of a geological repository and gives the main evidence, arguments and analyses that lead to confidence, on the part of Posiva, in the long-term safety of the planned repository

The long term management of radioactive waste creates site specific issues associated with storage and disposal facilities and the transportation of radioactive material. The resolution of these, sometimes controversial, issues requires an appreciation and accommodation of community issues and an essential element of these activities is an approach to defining the extent and composition of communities affected by radioactive waste management. <br><br>A community perspective can provide an insight into the relationship between a facility and people living in its vicinity.

The European project COWAM in Practice (CIP) was aimed to lead for three years (2007-2009) a process of monitoring, analyzing and evaluating the governance linked with radioactive waste management. This project, in cooperation with a research group and stakeholders, was conducted in parallel in 5 European countries (Spain, France, United Kingdom, Romania, Slovenia).

The objective of the National Insights was to develop as far as possible “a historical and strategic vision of the radioactive waste governance” for participants of a same country. While decision-making processes in radioactive waste management very often remain technically driven, there is a need to put forward and give substance to a more open and inclusive decision-making process. The notion of governance is often used to label this type of decision-making process.