Nanomaterials describe, in principle, materials of which a single unit is sized (in at least one dimension) between 1 to 1000 nanometres (10−9 meter) but usually is 1 to 100 nm (the usual definition of nanoscale).
While near-surface disposal of short-lived nuclear waste has reached industrial maturity, deep geological disposal of long-lived spent fuel is not yet as far. An EU-funded initiative brought together regulators and technical safety organisations (TSOs) to develop a network of independent experts and evaluate deep geological repositories.