Research activities, industrial processes, medical applications and electricity generation in nuclear power plants have been continuously producing radioactive waste for decades. These substances must generally be disposed of in a deep geological repository, unless their radioactivity decays to a harmless level within a reasonable time due to natural decay or their activity is so low that they can be released into the environment. According to current planning, deep geological disposal of L/ILW will be possible from 2050 at the earliest, and for HLW from 2060. Until then, the waste must be stored temporarily. Interim storage is an important step in the disposal chain. The Nuclear Energy Act defines the term ‘waste management’ in such a way that it includes conditioning, interim storage and disposal of radioactive waste in a deep geological repository. Conditioning in turn refers to the preparation of radioactive waste for interim storage or final disposal.
The interim storage of radioactive waste must not pose a radiological hazard to humans or the environment and the waste must remain in a condition in which it can later be transferred to a deep geological repository. Interim storage is therefore subject to strict regulations and is supervised by ENSI. Like a nuclear power plant or a deep geological repository, an interim storage facility for radioactive waste is considered a nuclear installation and requires the corresponding licences (general, construction and operating licences), which are issued by the Federal Council or the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC).
