Nuclear energy legislation requires that waste producers submit a waste management programme every five years. This allows new findings to be taken into account, and consideration to be given to the notes and comments derived from the official assessment reports. Following the Federal Council’s decision on the 2016 Waste Management Programme, the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste, Nagra, submitted a research, development and demonstration plan (RD&D plan) together with the waste management programme on behalf of those responsible for waste disposal.
Review of the waste management programme

On the basis of its examination, the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) concludes that Nagra has fulfilled the legal mandate pursuant to Art. 32 Nuclear Energy Act (NEA) and Art. 52 Nuclear Energy Ordinance (NEO) – in relation to those aspects examined by ENSI.
As part of the audit, ENSI assessed all Federal Council requirements for the 2016 Waste Management Programme with respect to their fulfilment. In its assessment report and based on the documents inspected, ENSI recommends further requests for requirements for future disposal programmes. Specific information on individual aspects of the waste management programme and RD&D plan, the safety relevance of which is of secondary importance and which is dealt with within the framework of ongoing oversight, is listed in a separate document (Notes from the assessment of the waste management programme and the RD&D plan 2021 in German).
Realisation of deep geological repositories
ENSI considers the systems of defence-in-depth, passive technical and natural barriers envisaged by Nagra in the disposal concepts for each disposal type to be suitable for ensuring the legally required permanent protection of people and the environment from the ionising radiation of radioactive waste. The principle that both the technical and geological barriers contribute significantly to the barrier effect of the overall system corresponds to official requirements (ENSI-G03). In the waste management programme, Nagra also shows how the repository design is to be optimised in the future approval steps (design and operating approval/licensing).
Based on its review and assessment, ENSI concludes that the waste producers have correctly taken into account the legal and regulatory requirements in the proposed plan for the realisation of deep geological repositories. The implementation plan correctly and transparently maps the successive nuclear licensing procedures, including the site selection procedure. Some aspects are subject to requirements that will continue to apply in the future. New requests for requirements have been formulated in respect of other aspects.
Review of research and development needs
In the current RD&D plan, Nagra explains in detail the planned research and development activities for the next five to ten years. Activities for the future beyond this period are described in more general terms.
ENSI examined whether the time-frame estimated by Nagra for the planned RD&D activities is realistic and whether the research objectives have been chosen in a way that is reasonable to enable the on-time construction of the deep geological repository. Should the targets for the milestones not be achieved or not be achieved in full, Nagra states in the RD&D plan that the only consequence will be delays in the approval process. According to Art. 31 NEA a deep geological repository must be provided in good time by the parties obliged to carry out waste management. ENSI therefore recommends that Nagra explains in more detail in the next waste management programme what measures it intends to take to avoid delays or to keep them as small as possible.
ENSI has also examined how the process of identifying and prioritising research needs at Nagra is conducted. With the roadmaps contained in the RD&D plan, Nagra has listed the important open questions and set a timetable for their answers. With the newly-created roadmaps, Nagra has adequately addressed the topic of outstanding issues. From ENSI’s perspective, the roadmaps must be updated in the next waste management programmes.