Evaluation and optimisation of the long-term durability of digital storage media - current results from the ‘Labest Digital’ research project

With regard to the interim and final storage of radioactive waste and the requirements of long-term documentation, the long-term durability of digital storage media poses a particular challenge. According to § 38 StandAG, it is the task of the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) to permanently store data and documents that are or may become important for the final and interim storage of radioactive waste. Permanent integrity must be guaranteed for this so-called storage data.

In accordance with § 26 StandAG, selected data and documents must be preserved for a period of at least 500 years after closure of the repository in order to enable the retrieval of the emplaced waste if necessary. The aim of the ‘Labest Digital’ research project commissioned by BASE is to clarify which digital storage media strategy is most suitable from a long-term perspective and what options exist for optimising individual storage media.

The ‘Labest Digital’ project will be presented in compact form as part of the lecture. The latest findings from the ageing tests on a variety of digital storage media will take centre stage. The test results for DVD, SSD and HDD, which are considered typical standard storage media, will be discussed in detail. In addition, the results of microfilm, M-Disc and NanoFiche, which are regarded as representatives of durable and resistant storage media, are placed in a comparative discourse. This comparison provides valuable insights into the long-term reliability and optimisation potential of the individual digital storage media. It therefore forms a solid basis for the development of concepts for the sustainable preservation of digital data.