The IAEA activities and international projects on the safety of radioactive waste disposal

The IAEA safety standards have been developed in order to serve as the global reference for protecting people and the environment from harmful effects of ionizing radiation. The IAEA safety standards provide a robust framework of fundamental principles, requirements and guidance to ensure safety. In the field of disposal of radioactive waste, one specific Safety Requirement has been published, and several safety guides have been developed and published as a supporting document of the Safety Requirement. Those sets of Safety Standards have been maintained and updated periodically with the strong involvement of the Member States. In addition, several international harmonization projects have been organized in order to promote the global acceptance and the harmonized use and application of those Safety Standards. In this paper, the up-to-date information on IAEA's international projects is summarized on the safety of radioactive waste disposal as well as the overview of IAEA Safety Standards. (orig.)