|The basic national policy of Japan is to dispose high-level
radioactive waste in the deep underground after extracting
usable uranium and plutonium from spent fuel.
Horonobe Underground Research Center
The Horonobe Underground Research Center conducts research
and development on geological disposal of high-level radioactive
waste and geoscientific research to verify the technical
reliability of geological disposal through testing and
research conducted in actual deep geological environments.
|The Horonobe Underground Research Center carries out research and development
on geoscientific study and on geological disposal for high-level radioactive waste.
|The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory (Horonobe URL) project
of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) planned at Horonobe-cho in northern Hokkaido.
The Horonobe URL is one of the underground research laboratories stated in the
"Long-term Program on Research, Development and Utilization of Nuclear Energy
(LTP)", and aims to study the deep geological environment in sedimentary
rocks. The importance of the underground research laboratories is stated in the
revised LTP as providing sites for research and development to confirm geological
disposal technologies and to establish safety assessment methodologies, and also
serving as a facility for the public to learn about geological disposal.
The Horonobe URL project is to carry out two major researches:
"Geoscientific Research," a scientific study
of the deep geological environment, and "Research
and Development on Geological Disposal" for improvement
of reliability on the geological disposal technologies
and advancement of safety assessment methodologies. The
Horonobe URL project is planned over a period of 20 years,
with investigations conducted in three phases.
Phase 1: surface-based investigations (6 years).
Phase 2: investigations during construction of the underground
facility (6 years).
Phase 3: investigations using the facility (9 to 11 years).
There are some overlaps between these phases, and the
terms are subject to change according to the progress
of the project.
The Horonobe URL project aims to confirm the scientific and technical basis for
geological disposal as presented in the "H12: Project to Establish the Scientific
and Technical Basis for HLW Disposal in Japan - Second Progress Report on Research
and Development for the Geological Disposal of HLW in Japan -" through investigations
of the actual deep geological environment in sedimentary rocks.
The results contribute to the formation of the geological disposal program of
the implementing organization and to the safety regulation by the government.
They are to be considered together with the results of the geoscientific research
conducted at the JAEA Tono Geoscience Center in Gifu Prefecture, the research
and development on geological disposal at the JAEA Tokai Research and Development
Center in Ibaraki Prefecture, and with results obtained from international cooperative
Another important role of the Horonobe URL is to enhance public understanding
toward the deep geological environment and HLW disposal by visiting the investigation
sites and actually being exposed to the deep underground.