Microorganisms in nuclear waste disposal. Part I

This article gives information about the structure of the multi-author review. Block I contains a general introduction on the possible effects of microorganisms in nuclear waste disposal, a summary of basic information on how a repository is planned and constructed, and on the type and composition of waste deposited. In Block II some important basic topics of microbial ecology relevant to repository conditions are presented; subsoil microbiology, adhesion to surfaces, starvation and survival in oligotrophic environments, and bioenergetics. Block III reviews some examples of general metabolic behaviour relevant to microrganisms in nuclear waste disposal such as tolerance to heavy metals, transformation of elements or gas formation. In block IV experimental data are presented which have been obtained in applied research directed to specific questions emerging from safety assessments, such as examination of microbial population in future repository sites, degradation of bitumen or sorption of nuclides. In the final block V, an attempt is made via modelling and computer simulation to foresee the behaviour of a complex system 'repository' in the future, on the basis of our present knowledge. (author) 1 fig