Status of R and D program on geological disposal of radioactive waste in the Netherlands

The Netherlands has a policy of interim storage for a period of at least 100 years. During this period, disposal is to be prepared for, socially, technically and economically, such that it can be implemented after the interim storage. After a period of almost 10 years without a national research program, the challenge was to restart the research on geological disposal. This paper describes the Dutch (research) policy, the previous research programs, the restart of the national program in 2011, and the current status of the third national program. (authors)