French radioactive wastes performances assessment and the natural analogues approach: an overview

One of the main difficulties linked to the Radioactive Waste Performance Assessment calculations lies in the scale of time and space underlying these calculations: mechanisms and parameters can directly be affected by time or space dependancy. The ''natural analogues'' approach has evident advantages, at least qualitative, to enlighten these aspects. It may also provide confidence in our ability to model partial or overall natural systems. The following paper gives the headlines of the use of the ''natural analogues'' methodology in the French Radioactive Wastes Performance Assessment in the field of waste disposal