ABSTRACT
Nuclear waste must be confined from human communities because of the detrimental effects of short- and long-lived radioisotopes present. Nuclear waste, particularly intermediate-level and low-level, contains a variety of organic materials including cellulose, polyvinylchloride, and neoprene and hypalon rubbers which are subjected to radiolytic, chemical, and possibly microbial attack. Mathematical modeling techniques describing microbial activity in relation to nuclear waste disposal are at the infancy stage. For deep subsurface microbiology studies, there has been emphasis on the recovery of uncontaminated samples in terms of nuclear waste disposal it is not the origin of the organisms which is important but whether they are active within the repository environment. Deep subsurface microbiology studies in Europe have been funded by national agencies such as Nirex and the Department of the Environment in the UK, National Co-operative for the Storage of Radioactive Waste in Switzerland, and Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Co in Sweden.
