From left, Gerald Nieder-Westermann, IAEA waste disposal specialist; Andrea Pigorini, ITA president; Karina Lange, IAEA waste disposal specialist and scientific secretary for the IAEA’s Underground Research Facilities Network, Daniel Garbutt, ITA representative; Helen Roth, ITA executive director; Arnold Dix, ITA past president and chair of the ITA special interest group; and Stefan Joerg Mayer, IAEA team lead. (Photo: ITA)
The International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA), a nongovernmental organization made up of 81 member states working to advance the safe, beneficial use of subsurface spaces, is working with the International Atomic Energy Agency to support the advancement of geologic disposal facilities for high-level radioactive waste.
With the cooperation of the IAEA, the ITA has launched a dedicated special interest group to help industry better understand the specific requirements of developing geologic disposal facilities. The initiative is intended to foster cross-border knowledge exchange, promote best practices in underground construction, and support repository designs.
“For ITA, this initiative represents a significant opportunity to contribute our global expertise in underground engineering to one of the most critical and enduring tasks of our time,” said Andrea Pigorini, president of the ITA. “We are committed to contributing our underground expertise to help shape solutions that will protect people and the planet for generations to come.”
Announcement of the collaboration follows a September 26 meeting in Vienna of delegations from the IAEA and the ITA. Arnold Dix, a past president of the ITA, will serve as chair of the new special interest group.
More to come: According to the ITA, the cooperation builds on recent work by the IAEA—developed with support from the ITA—that resulted in a draft publication focused on managing the transition to accessing the underground for geological disposal facilities. Currently in production at the IAEA, the publication highlights the critical stage when programs move from surface investigations to underground access, requiring close integration of scientific, technical, and sociopolitical considerations.
“This work will support bridging the gap between safety case and engineering realities, underlining the importance of engaging with the tunnelling and underground construction community,” the ITA said.
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