RD&D-Programme 2004 - SKB

Global changes
The establishment of the deep repository is a unique project with unique features. In the end,
only one location in Sweden will be chosen. At the same time it is a question that is very clearly
interrelated to what is happening in the rest of the world. The purpose of the research is to
gain greater knowledge about the deep repository, relevant global factors and global changes.
This knowledge can make a very valuable contribution to planning, studies, consultations and
decision-making leading up to a permit application. The knowledge may also be important for
the future operation of the deep repository.
The economic situation and trend in the local community is dependent on a variety of
circumstances in the surrounding world. What will the Swedish state, which bears responsibility
for the deep repository, look like in the future? National legislation, regulation and financing,
as well as the country’s economic situation, are factors of importance. Another important and
concrete change in the global situation is Sweden’s participation in European political and
economic cooperation. What kind of relationship will Sweden have with the EU in 30 years?
What will the EU look like? What impact will deeper European integration in the future have in
general on nuclear waste management, and to what extent will this affect Sweden’s own nuclear
waste management programme?
Programme
The principal emphasis of the research in the areas which SKB has now identified and intends
to support is on applied research. The results should preferably be able to be put to practical
use, but there may also be an interface with basic research. Furthermore, SKB’s research areas,
site-specific studies and investigations should have clear links with each other and support each
other.
An external evaluation and screening group has been appointed to make sure that the projects
have the necessary scientific quality and relevance, and that the assignments go to suitably
qualified researchers and research teams. The screening group consists of researchers in the
social and behavioural sciences.
Relevant parts of the results obtained in the research programme will be included in the
supporting documentation for permit applications and EISs for the encapsulation plant and
the deep repository. The programme will primarily be carried out during a three-year period,
followed by evaluation and a decision regarding possible extension.
Decision-makers and other stakeholders will be kept informed of the results from the ongoing
research. A part of the research task is therefore to communicate interim results to different
target groups during the course of the research. This includes active participation in seminars
and meetings and publication of research results both in scientific journals and in a more
accessible and popular form. The main target groups for the popular presentations are the
consultation parties.
An interest inquiry, based on the work plan drawn up in the autumn of 2003, was sent out to a
number of universities and institutes of technology in the spring of 2004. Eight research projects
to be included in SKB’s social science research programme were selected in an initial application
round and granted funds. Most are two-year programmes to allow time for supplementary
work after the research results start coming in. The principal focus of the projects are presented
below under the main theme covered.
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