Offsite radiation doses resulting from seismic events at the Yucca Mountain repository
This paper describes a preliminary study to evaluate the offsite doses resulting from seismic events postulated to occur during the preclosure period at the proposed Yucca Mountain repository. The work reported here is part of a larger preliminary study of the costs and benefits of designing the waste-handling building (WHB) at the repository for seismic events of varying severity. During an earthquake, the quantity of radiological releases is dependent on the damage state of the structure or facility under construction. For the purpose of this study, four damage states are used: light, moderate, heavy, and total. These damage states are characterized by various degrees of spalling of concrete pieces from the walls and cracking of the walls. The spalling concrete may hit the spent fuel assemblies and cause radiological releases. An estimate of the maximum total radionuclide inventory in the WHB is made in Section 2.0. In Section 3.0, the quantities of radioactive material released for each damage state are evaluated. The offsite doses resulting from these releases are calculated in Section 4.0. Section 5.0 presents the conclusions.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Bechtel National, Inc., San Francisco, CA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 137499
- Report Number(s):
- SAND--89-7003C; CONF-890855--45; ON: DE89014690
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
A probabilistic estimation of seismic damage to the waste handling of a repository located at Yucca Mountain, Nevada
Preliminary preclosure radiological safety analysis for normal operations of a prospective Yucca Mountain repository