ABSTRACT
In many ways, the United Kingdom's experience with high-level nuclear waste (HLNW) parallels that of the United States. Their experience shows how dramatically wrong things can go, but also reveals some promising changes. The development of dry storage technology has given greater prominence to the idea of deferring reprocessing and long-term HLNW disposal. The waste disposal task has turned out to be very different than originally anticipated, and outside the experience of those mandated to find solutions. As for disposing of HLNW, the French government has considerable discretion and flexibility. Sweden is, in short, close to completing an effective waste management system for its 12 operating nuclear power plants. Like France and the United Kingdom, Canada has redefined and restructured its approach to nuclear waste management. Germany and the United Kingdom envisage lengthy interim storage of wastes before emplacement in a repository.
