Purpose ofthe Workshop In the spirit of enhancing developments in
science and technology by facilitating international scientific
cooperation, the Science Committee of NATO is sponsoring AR W's in
several selected priority areas. The objective of this workshop was to
discuss what microbial mediated problems have been experienced in the
area of nuclear waste management and spent fuel storage. Long term
storage of high-level wastes in repositories is just starting in some
countries. However, low and medium level wastes have been stored for
several decades. In the area of spent fuel interim, storage has been
extended at many locations far beyond the intended time. It was a
priority of the workshop to examine and discuss what deleterious effects
have been observed under these storage conditions or under conditions
used in simulated trial tests for predicting material performance under
the storage conditions. For example, one chronic problem that was
discussed was possibility that microbial influenced corrosion (MIC)
could be taking place in the wet storage of spent fuel thereby
initiating or accelerating the process of corrosion. Another discussion
in the area of waste forms, focused on the presence ofbiofilms which may
be breaking down the structure of the waste form and thereby
jeopardizing its integrity. The meeting focused on discussing the
observations and data collected relating to problems encountered in the
storage of these types of wastes, and sharing this information with
others that have not monitored their facilities for similar problems.