A reliable assessment of future costs for radioactive waste management (RWM) up to its disposal and adequate mechanisms for providing financial resources for these activities form fundamental prerequisites for responsible management of radioactive waste, in line with the requirements of the Council Directive 2011/70/Euratom of 19 July 2011.
Although there are many technical documents dealing with cost estimations and financing schemes for RWM, countries at an early stage of RWM programmes or small waste inventories and newcomer countries may benefit from the guide presented here, that addresses the cost assessment in a systematic and structured way and gives also practical instructions how to start and estimate the cost of radioactive waste disposal in different stages of development.
This Guidance on Cost Assessment and Financing Schemes of Radioactive Waste Management Programmes describes the cost assessment as a stepwise process. Each of the steps is briefly described and useful practical examples of cost estimations for various aspects of the disposal programme from different countries are added. The guide also provides information on the most common uncertainties and risks related to geological disposal programmes and suggests how they might be addressed. It also gives basic information on financing schemes for RWM.