12th US/German Workshop on Salt Repository Research, Design and Operation
In the past two and a half years, the collaboration between Germany and the United States in the field of Salt Repository Research, Design, and Operation – like many other activities – was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Joint projects were limited to virtual interactions and even in 2020, the US/German Workshop had to be cancelled for the very first time. In 2021, the workshop took place as an online-only event. All participants were thus more than happy that the 2022 event was again held in presence. Sandia National Laboratories, Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA), and BGE TECHNOLOGY GmbH were proud to host the workshop as well as the OECD NEA Salt Club Meeting in Braunschweig (Germany).
In best tradition of the previous workshops, the event enabled discussions of the latest developments in the different national repository programmes as well as of the results of R&D activities. Engineered Barrier Systems and backfilling material, numerical modelling, and geochemistry were three of the session topics. Within these sessions, special emphasis was given to the joint projects of both nations, such as WEIMOS, RANGERS, and KOMPASS II. The session called “exploration” was an excellent example of mutual exchange. Experts from both national programmes explained what was done in the past and what can be learned for future research activities.
The importance of the workshop was underlined by the participation of experts from countries other than Germany and the US. Members from the Waste Management Organisations of the Netherlands, Romania, and Australia gave contributions to the workshop. In addition, representatives of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, of the US Department of Energy as well as of the IAEA at-tended. Thus, the tradition of the previous workshops was continued, and it became evident once again that interest in the activities is growing steadily.