Nuclear Energy in a Global Context

This paper is a brief overview of the perspectives of development on nuclear power and nuclear wastes management in a global context. In contrast to a few years ago, nuclear energy is now considered by several countries as an important part of their future energy portfolio. Effective technical solutions for the long-term management of the radioactive wastes produced by current reactors are an industrial reality. Although practical experience in building and operating geologic repositories for high-level waste is still mainly limited to a few pilot-scale facilities, there is today a high level of confidence within the scientific and technical community that the geologic repository approach is capable of safely isolating the waste from the biosphere for as long as it poses significant risks.