Activities of AVN in the Belgian context of safety assessment of radioactive waste disposal

In a previous publication, the involvement of AVN as a TSO in the safety analysis of radioactive waste disposal was described and the different kind of activities were presented. Since then, the pre-project phase for the disposal of LLW in near-surface facility developed by ONDRAF/NIRAS is approaching an end as ONDRAF/NIRAS is now in a phase of introducing the pre-projects to the government for further decision making. AVN involvement in the safety analysis of radioactive waste disposal has continued with an increasing effort in the safety assessment of I/HLW in deep geological repositories. Indeed, since 2003, the discussions between FANC, AVN and ONDRAF/NIRAS were extended towards the disposal of Category B (low or medium-level and long-lived) and Category C (high-level short or long-lived) waste (further referenced as Cat. B and C waste). The main themes of discussions between ONDRAF/NIRAS, FANC and AVN are developed in this paper. Finally, AVN activities concerning the safety of radioactive waste disposal in the international context are also presented. (authors)