Is radioactive waste storage a realistic alternative to CIGEO?

The disposal in deep geological layers of high-level radioactive waste is agreed by the scientific community worldwide and governments but in France the CIGEO project rises questions and its opponents propose to develop subsurface storage. The CIGEO project means to dispose waste packages in an isolating clay layer at a depth of 500 m below ground level, it will not require active security systems. The clay layer has been chosen for its stability over millions of years. The disposal is definitive and safe and future generations will have nothing to do about it. On the contrary subsurface storage would be submitted to hazards such as flooding or terrorist attacks and would require surveillance and adequate maintenance implying the periodical recovery of the packages and the reconstruction of the site. We are not sure that future generations will feel responsibility for it and will have the skills and competencies to do it. Disposal in deep geological layers appears to be a safer and more ethic solution than subsurface storage. (A.C.)