By WANG Xiaoxia

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has established the world's first collaborating center for the geological disposal of high level radioactive waste (HLW) in China, according to the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA).

Zhang Kejian, chairman of CAEA, and IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi had a meeting via video link on October 12, and witnessed the signing of the agreement between IAEA and Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology (BRIUG) of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).

BRIUG was designated as IAEA Collaborating Center for Geological Disposal of HLW.

This is the world's first HLW geological disposal center established by IAEA. The center will promote international academic exchanges, strengthen joint research and personnel training in the research and development of geological disposal technology of HLW and the design and construction of underground laboratories, so as to facilitate the global research and development process in this field.

Safe disposal of HLW concerns the health and safety of humankind. Zhang Kejian said that CAEA should further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with other countries in the geological disposal of HLW, improve the disposal technology, promote the safe and sustainable development of the nuclear industry, and share China's experience and proposals on the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Mikhail Chudakov, deputy director general and head of the Department of Nuclear Energy of IAEA, said that the safe disposal of HLW is a major issue affecting environmental protection and the sustainable development of nuclear energy, and it requires the joint efforts of scientists from all countries to solve the problem.

HLW could remain radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years. The internationally accepted solution for its safe and secure long term management is geological disposal in a facility several hundred meters underground.

China has begun constructing its first underground research laboratory for HLW disposal in the Beishan region of Gansu province, to determine the area's suitability for future geological disposal of HLW, which will be the world's largest underground laboratory with the most comprehensive functions.