Slovenia's project to build a dry storage facility for used fuel is set to be completed later this year with the transfer of the first 592 used fuel elements.

Deep borehole disposal cannot replace the UK's need for a geological disposal facility but may nevertheless have a helpful role to play in the disposal of some of the country's nuclear waste inventory, according to a study conducted by Deep Isolation on behalf of the UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

The Slovak Republic is committed to the safe and effective management of radioactive waste and used fuel, an International Atomic Energy Agency team of experts has concluded. The team commended Slovakia for its decommissioning activities while noting opportunities to enhance preparations for geological disposal.

Finnish radioactive waste management company Posiva Oy has completed the drilling of the first two deposition holes at the Onkalo underground used nuclear fuel repository near Olkiluoto using a new boring machine which was operated by its own personnel. The holes are located at a depth of 430 metres in the deposition tunnel built for the Joint Functional Test.

Belarus is creating an organisation for radioactive waste management, the Ministry of Energy has said. The target is to put a facility into operation by 2030.

A ground-breaking ceremony has been held in Mol in north-east Belgium to mark the start of construction of a facility to recycle radioactive residues from the production of medical radioisotopes. The RECUMO facility - which will recover uranium - is scheduled to begin operating in 2026.

The project is a collaboration between Deep Isolation, the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, the University of Sheffield and NAC International and aims to engineer canisters that meet UK regulatory requirements for long-term storage of used fuel and high-level waste in boreholes up to 3 kilometres underground.

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation has begun a project at its Lucas Heights facility near Sydney to remove general solid waste, building waste, and some mineral sands used in rare earth metals research, to make way for future site redevelopment.

Swiss nuclear trade organisation, swissnuclear, will later this year begin discussions with local communities and cantons on possible payments and compensation for hosting a deep geological repository for radioactive waste. In September, Nördlich Lägern in northern Switzerland was proposed as the site of a repository.

A metal overpack for cask storage of used nuclear fuel, jointly developed by Doosan Enerbility of South Korea and NAC International of the USA, has received design certification from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

While many agree the benefits of using nuclear energy to fight climate change and build energy security are clear, there is still a major hurdle to overcome before it is widely accepted as a safe and clean part of the energy mix: the perception that the nuclear industry has a waste "problem", writes Laurie Swami, president and CEO of Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organization.

French radioactive waste management agency Andra has applied for a construction licence for the planned Centre Industriel de Stockage Géologique (Cigéo) deep geological disposal facility for high-level radioactive waste.