Grimsel Test Site
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 "Grimsel region") | Grimsel region
View of the Juchlistock between the Grimsel (left) and Räterichsboden (right) reservoirs. The Test Site is located at an altitude of 1730 metres above sea-level, around 450 metres beneath the east flank of the Juchlistock. (Image: Nagra)
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 "Grimsel Test Site") | Grimsel Test Site
Section of the tunnel system at the Test Site. The laboratory has been operated by Nagra since 1984 as a facility for conducting research into the disposal of radioactive waste. The diameter of the tunnels is 3.5 metres. (Image: Comet Photoshopping)
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 "Tunnel system Grimsel Test Site") | Grimsel Test Site
The tunnel system at the Grimsel Test Site has a total length of around 1100 metres. The facility also has various caverns and around 5000 metres of cored boreholes. (Image: Nagra)
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 "Access to the Test Site") | Access to the Test Site
The Test Site is accessed from the road leading over the Grimsel Pass. (Image: Nagra)
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 "Tunnel boring machine") | Tunnel boring machine
The tunnel boring machine shown here was used to construct the tunnels of the Test Site in 1983. (Image: Nagra)
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 "Tunnel boring machine FEBEX") | Tunnel boring machine
A full-face tunnel boring machine was used in 1996 to excavate a tunnel 70 metres long and 2.3 metres in diameter for the large-scale FEBEX (Full-scale High Level Waste Engineered Barriers Experiment) project. (Image: Comet Photoshopping)
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 "Installation of the FEBEX components") | Installation of the FEBEX (Full-scale High Level Waste Engineered Barriers Experiment) components
The FEBEX experiment allows researchers to test a possible emplacement concept for spent fuel assemblies on a 1:1 scale. The heat produced by the spent fuel is simulated by two heating elements embedded in bentonite. (Image: Comet Photoshopping)
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 "Dismantling the first FEBEX heating element") | Dismantling the first FEBEX heating element
After a test duration of five years, the first heating element was removed at the beginning of 2002. (Image: Comet Photoshopping)
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 "Installation of the Gas Migration Test") | Installation of the Gas Migration Test (GMT)
Gas may be generated in a backfilled repository, for example by the corrosion of metals. In the GMT experiment, which was completed in 2006, researchers were able to investigate how gas migrates through the engineered barrier system. The test involved a large-scale demonstration of an emplacement concept for low- and intermediate-level waste. The photograph shows the concrete disposal silo and the test instrumentation. (Image: Comet Photoshopping)
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 "HPF") | HPF (Hyperalkaline Plume in Fractured Rock)
The HPF experiment was completed in 2005. Scientists investigated the influence of high-pH cement porewaters on the retention of radioactive substances in the rock. Cement porewaters are solutions containing dissolved cementitious substances. The photograph shows researchers removing rock material at the end of the experiment for closer investigation. (Image: Comet Photoshopping)
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 "Drilling as part of Criepi’s Fractured Rock Studies (C-FRS) project") | Drilling as part of Criepi’s Fractured Rock Studies (C-FRS) project
Research institutes from both Switzerland and abroad use the GTS as a platform for scientific experiments. Boreholes are drilled for collecting samples and installing measuring equipment. (Image: Comet Photoshopping)
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 "Setting up the CFM experiment") | Setting up the Colloid Formation and Migration (CFM) experiment
In the CFM experiment, researchers are investigating the effects of colloids on the retention of radioactive materials. Colloids are microscopically small particles suspended in water contained in the rock. Highly radioactive substances in a repository will come into contact with water only when the engineered barriers no longer completely fulfil their protective function. (Image: Comet Photoshopping)
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 "The CFM experiment") | The Colloid Formation and Migration (CFM) experiment
The aim of the CFM project is to investigate the influence of colloids in the vicinity of fractures and shear zones on the mobility of radionuclides. Complex in situ experiments are realised under boundary conditions as close to reality as possible. (Image: Comet Photoshopping)
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 "Gerstenegg mineral fracture") | Gerstenegg mineral fracture
The now protected mineral fracture was discovered in 1974 during construction of an access tunnel of the Oberhasli hydropower company. The «crystal cave» can be visited during tours of the hydropower plant and the Grimsel Test Site. (Image: Comet Photoshopping)
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 "25-year anniversary of the Grimsel Test Site") | 25-year anniversary of the Grimsel Test Site
In September 2009, research partners and guests from both Switzerland and abroad joined Nagra to celebrate 25 years of research at the Test Site. (Image: Comet Photoshopping)
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 "Guided tours") | Guided tours
Nagra offers guided tours of the Grimsel Test Site for interested groups from the middle of June to the middle of October (registration with Renate Spitznagel on 056 437 12 82). (Image: Nagra)
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 "Rock structures at the Grimsel Test Site") | Rock structures at the Grimsel Test Site
(Image: Comet Photoshopping)
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