Summary of Investigations on Technical Feasibility of Direct Disposal of Dual-Purpose Canisters

Technical Report · Fri May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1504860· OSTI ID:1504860

Hardin, Ernest ^[1]; Price, Laura L. ^[1]; Kalinina, Elena Arkadievna ^[1]; Hadgu, Teklu ^[1]; Ilgen, Anastasia Gennadyevna ^[1]; Bryan, Charles R. ^[1]; Scaglione, John M. ^[2]; Banerjee, Kaushik ^[2]; Clarity, Justin ^[2]; Jubin, Robert ^[2]; Sobes, Vladimir ^[2]; Howard, Rob ^[2]; Carter, Joe ^[3]; Severynse, Thomas ^[3]; Perry, Frank ^[4]

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1. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States)
2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
3. Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)
4. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

This study has evaluated the technical feasibility of direct disposal in a geologic repository, of commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in dual-purpose canisters (DPCs) of existing designs. The authors, representing several national laboratories, considered waste isolation safety, engineering feasibility, thermal management, and postclosure criticality control. The 3-year study concludes that direct disposal is technically feasible for most DPCs, depending on the repository host geology. Postclosure criticality control, and thermal management strategies that allow permanent disposal within 150 years, are two of the most challenging aspects. This document summarizes technical results from a series of previous reports, and describes additional studies that can be done especially if site-specific information becomes available from one or more prospective repository sites.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), Aiken, SC (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Fuel Cycle Technologies (NE-5)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 1504860
• Report Number(s): SAND-2015-8712R; FCRD-UFD-2015-000129-Rev.0; 615260
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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