Belgium: The recent decommissioning of a former military base at Baronville in the Ardennes was regarded by ONDRAF/NIRAS as an unique opportunity to reuse storage bunkers, originally for explosives, to build a shallow-land disposal site for low level and short-lived radioactive waste. Preliminary ground investigations confirmed that it could prove to be an interesting site for the long-term storage of those wastes. ONDRAF/NIRAS presented a step by step characterisation of the site to the local authorities. They requested a public consultation for the local population in the form of a poll which was organised on 28 June 1998. The local population rejected the idea of having in-depth site investigations on the Baronville site.

Canada: The search continues for a solution to large volumes of low-level waste, arising primarily from past radium processing. A series of siting task forces, appointed by the federal government starting in 1986, attempted to find a volunteer community in Ontario to host a central waste repository. This effort was abandoned in early 1998 when the last potential host community failed to reach agreement with the federal government on appropriate terms of compensation. The federal Department of Natural Resources is now negotiating with the three communities within which most of this waste currently resides to find a local solution to the problem.

Finland: The latest opinion poll was performed in February 1999. The results show that about 60% of the local population from Eurajoki and Loviisa supported the final disposal of nuclear waste in their home municipality, whilst some 30% were against. In Kuhmo and Aanekoski, the support was considerably lower: 30-35% were in favour, and 55-60% were against.

Eurajoki, the host municipality of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant, has shown interest in developing a geological repository for Finnish spent fuel. The municipal council has advocated the repository in its latest strategic plan in 1998. Posiva signed a contract in May 1999 with Eurajoki, agreeing on future co-operation should the final disposal facility be built.

France: The latest survey of December 1998 is part of a regular series conducted by the BVA Institute on behalf of the four main players within the French nuclear industry, Electricité de France, COGEMA, Framatome and the atomic energy commission, the CEA. Regarding the public perception of risks, storage sites for nuclear waste were ranked fourth among people's main worries, after road accidents, crime and air pollution. The poll showed continued acknowledgement that France should to find storage sites for radioactive waste.

Germany: The councils of several communities of the Gorleben region published a joint categorical resolution with a sharp protest against the moratorium which was announced by the new anti-nuclear government regarding the further exploration of the site.

Japan: The Japan Atomic Energy Industrial Forum (JAIF) called for a greater consensus on the high level waste (HLW) issue. In the March 1999 edition of its journal Atoms in Japan, JAIF points that it is currently conducting 'explanatory and discussion' meetings in major Japanese cities, addressing the issue of HLW management and disposal. The general message is, 'although a huge gap still exists between the perception of nuclear power interest and that of the public, . the only way to solve the problem of disposal - which cannot be avoided - is for governmental administrators, technicians and the general public to cooperate with each other'.

Sweden: SKB is carrying out feasibility studies at four municipalities: Nyköping, Östhammar, Oskarshamn and Tierp as part of the siting programme of an underground disposal facility for spent fuel. Information meetings and public consultations will play an important part of these studies.

UK: A citizen panel was convened from 21 to 24 May 1999 to identify key issues of public concerns regarding ILW and HLW long-term management and to suggest how best these could be addressed, considering public doubts on deep geological disposal following rejection of the NIREX Rock Characterisation Facility in 1997. As a result, a switch in UK government thinking from deep disposal to subsurface monitored and retrievable storage became apparent for the first time on 24 May 1999 as the Environment Minister endorsed the panel's recommendations to this effect. However, those recommendations contradict the conclusion of the UK House of Lords Committee issued in March 1999.

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