Progress report of the 600 m borehole project of the CEC programme on radioactive waste management and disposal, July 1989-December 1989

In the programme on radioactive waste of the Commission of the European Communities, for the period from 1985-1990, in situ experiments in salt deposits are conducted. The experiments in boreholes of 600 m depth take place in the Asse-2 saltmine in West Germany. The progress of work during the second half of 1989 is reported. For the drilling of the boreholes a new technique had to be developed. The drilling resulted in two boreholes to a depth of approximately 300 m. In one of the holes drilling will not continue and experiments have started. In the other hole the drilling will continue after major modifications and repair of the drilling rig. A second set of experiments are in preparation. These in situ experiments are conducted to validate analytical techniques for prediction of salt behavior. These techniques have previously been based on laboratory experiments. (author). 10 refs.; 16 figs.; 4 tabs