Organizational structures, roles and responsibilities within the Swiss waste management program

The organizational structures and the division of responsibilities within the Swiss radioactive waste management program are based strongly on the principle that waste producers must assume full responsibility for choosing and implementing appropriate methods for treatment and disposal of residues while independent oversight and control by government safety authorities must be guaranteed. The structures within the governmental bodies ensure that proper regulatory and control functions are as free as possible from any conflicts of interest and that appropriate technical expertise is available. The more detailed organization within Nagra, which is necessary to over the wide range of tasks--in technical projects as well as in legal matters and in the area of communication--is also described. Important boundary conditions which determine the allocation of roles and responsibilities, and which are rather specific to Switzerland, include the small absolute size of the country and its nuclear program, the absence of a major centralized national geological survey, the high level of technical expertise in engineering organizations and in the university system, and the modest size of all bodies involved