Editorial: special issue on the Rupel Clay related to research on subsurface disposal of radioactive waste

Abstract

This special issue of the Netherlands Journal of Geosciences is dedicated to geoscientific research related to geological disposal of nuclear waste. Geological disposal of nuclear waste is generally accepted as the optimum solution to the problem, though it has always been politically a hot potato. It was the Secretary of Energy in the first Obama Administration who halted the Yucca Mountain national programme on nuclear waste disposal within six weeks of his appointment, without citing technical or safety issues or presenting alternatives (Alley & Alley, 2013). This contrasts sharply with the Finnish situation where the government granted a construction licence for a final disposal facility on 12 November 2015. Sweden is expected to follow soon.