The Nagra-DOE Cooperative Project

The Nagra-DOE Cooperative (NDC-I) research program was sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE) through the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL), and the Swiss Nationale Genossenschaft fuer die Lagerung radioaktiver Abfaella (Nagra). Scientists participating in this project explored the geological, geophysical, hydrological, geochemical, and structural effects anticipated from the use of a rock mass as a geologic repository for nuclear waste. Six joint tasks were defined and are described briefly below. Tasks 1, 2, 3 and 5 were concerned with the characterization of fractured rock. Task 5 in particular was focused on investigations at the Grimsel Underground Laboratory in the Swiss Alps. Tasks 2 and 6 focused on the phenomenology associated with storing radioactive waste underground.