JRP 06-03

Partners

FZK

Contact

Dr. Horst Geckeis
Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, P.O. Box 3640, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
Phone +49 7247 82 4992
E-mail e-mail

MIGRATION 2007

Status

 
Terminated - Planned from August 2007 till August 2007

Goals

The MIGRATION conference is known as the most important international conference for scientist active in research on the chemistry of actinides and fission products in the geosphere with emphasis on the disposal of nuclear waste in geologic formations. The number of participants has increased from 240 in 1987 to 338 in 2005. The conference takes place alternately in Europe, USA and Asia since 1987. All conference papers are peerreviewed and have been published in special issues of internationally renowned journals. Therefore, the MIGRATION conference is accepted as an international scientific platform for the exchange of research progress in the field of radionuclide geochemistry. MIGRATION 2007 will take place in München, Germany, in August 26–31, 2007. Within the present proposal the organizers ask for financial support to prepare the conference proceedings to be printed in special issues of Physics and Chemistry of the Earth and Radiochimica Acta.

Expected results

The MIGRATION conferences contribute to the EU-programme objectives by offering the forum for the exchange and discussion of the latest scientific status in the research on the long-term safety and performance assesment of geological disposal of nuclear waste. The MIGRATION conference helps to the building of a common understanding and consensus on the key issues in the field of actinides and the long-lived fission products behaviour in the geosphere.
Maintaining and improving a competitive European industry will require stable energy policies within the community. The strategic relevance of scientific progress in the field of nuclear waste disposal is directly related to present and future energy policies within Europe. The Nuclear Energy option can only be maintained if Europe is able to keep and to develop a high level of expertise and competence on nuclear energy and safety, and if public acceptance of waste disposal can be obtained. Assessment of the long-term safety of nuclear waste disposal must be based on scientific understanding of the key safetydetermining processes. Providing a forum for presentation and discussion of interdisciplinary scientific work is a prerequisite for scientific progress. The MIGRATION conferences have realized this forum since now 19 years. Research which in many cases has been supported by the European community in the frame of different EU projects is presented and discussed at the MIGRATION conferences in a wider international context. Due to the different modes of presentation intense communication among authors and participants is guaranteed. The
publication of the scientific results in international journals instead of conference proceedings provides the dissemination of scientific progress in a very efficient way. Presentation of research at an international forum helps to the critical discussion of scientific research and thus provides a critical evaluation of scientific discoveries. The conference is mainly financed by the conference fees and sponsoring by national organisations. Financial support by the EU will directly be used for the dissemination and documentation of the scientific status in the field of radionuclide geochemistry which in turn will catalyse the
national and European research programmes.

The MIGRATION conferences stand for an international instrument where scientists working in the field meet since 19 years. It is believed that this conference will also in the future represent an unique forum for scientists contributing to the individual European projects to exchange information. Thus it provides new impetus to scientific cooperation and catalyses integration.

Reports