Significant progress is being made in the management of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, including the development of deep geological repositories, with Finland is expected to start operating its repository in the mid-2020s, while licensing or site selection for facilities are well advanced in Canada, France, Sweden and Switzerland, an International Atomic Energy Agency report has found.

The report warned, however, that the prolonged storage periods for spent fuel caused by the current lack of disposal capacity or limited implementation of recycling have resulted in the need for additional storage capacity worldwide.