2009 Report to Government on National Research and

3.62 BGS is conducting three projects relevant <strong>to</strong> geological disposal within its NERC
Science Programme remit. These are: Bio-Tran, investigating microbial transport
and microbial indica<strong>to</strong>rs of mass transport through geological media; Geosphere
Containment, developing fundamental understanding of the mass transport
properties and hydromechanical behaviour of low permeability media
(anthropogenic and natural) with application <strong>to</strong> radioactive waste disposal,
carbon dioxide sequestration, gas s<strong>to</strong>rage and contaminant transport; and
Paleohydrogeology, developing paleohydrogeology techniques <strong>to</strong> support
geological disposal. Direct support from NERC for these programmes was about
£470K over a seven-year period from 2003-2010.
3.63 BGS is involved in, and in some instances leads, research programmes directed
at understanding the behaviour of the engineered components of a GDF in the
sub-surface and characterising host rock masses and their fracture systems. The
areas include projects on ben<strong>to</strong>nite, the engineering disturbed zone (EDZ)
fracture transmissivity and near-field chemical containment. A series of
geological disposal-related research studies have been carried out by BGS for
Japanese contrac<strong>to</strong>rs. These focused on the characterisation of fluid pathways
and fluid-rock interactions in the Mizunami URL site, Honshu, Japan.
3.64 NERC also has the ability <strong>to</strong> fund research through CEH, which is a NERCfunded
institute for integrated research in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems
and their interaction with the atmosphere. In recent years, no research of direct
relevance <strong>to</strong> the management of higher activity wastes has been funded by
NERC via the CEH.
Other Research Councils
3.65 BBSRC funds research relating <strong>to</strong> the understanding and exploitation of
biological systems. Its remit includes research at all levels of biological systems,
from molecules and cells through tissues <strong>to</strong> whole populations and their
interactions; it covers plants, animals and microbes. It also supports a number of
important industrial stakeholders, including the agriculture, food, chemical,
healthcare and pharmaceutical sec<strong>to</strong>rs. Its current budget is about £420M per
annum. Its current strategic priorities include global security, living with
environmental change and bionanotechnology. BBSRC does not have any
current grants in the area of radioactive waste management or remediation of
radioactively contaminated land. This contrasts markedly with the USA
programme, where biological effects on radioactive contamination, and
bioremediation, have been strongly supported over many years, initially through
the dedicated Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Program (NABIR) and
subsequently within the wider Environmental Remediation Sciences Program
(ERSP). 6 Similarly, the Swedish Deep Biosphere Labora<strong>to</strong>ry 7 has existed for
over 20 years, conducting a biological research programme in support of
geological disposal.
3.66 ESRC is the UK’s leading agency for research funding and training in economic
and social sciences. It receives most of its funding (about £203M per annum)
from BIS. It has recently reviewed its strategic plan which now includes a
6 http://esd.lbl.gov/research/projects/ersp/generalinfo/intro.html
7 http://www.gmm.gu.se/groups/pedersen/index.php
CoRWM Document 2543, Oc<strong>to</strong>ber <strong>2009</strong> Page 41 of 151