A Fresh Look at Greater Confinement Boreholes for Greater-Than-Class C Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal

Conference · Sun Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2007

OSTI ID:21290833

Tonkay, D W; Joyce, J L ^[1]; Cochran, J R ^[2]

---

1. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Disposal Operations, Washington, DC (United States)
2. Sandia National Laboratories1, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

The United States Federal government has responsibility for disposal of low-level radioactive waste (LLW) with concentrations of radionuclides that exceed limits established by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for Class C LLW. Since Greater-Than-Class-C (GTCC) LLW is from activities licensed by NRC or NRC Agreement States, a disposal facility by law must be licensed by NRC. The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) has the responsibility to site, design, construct, operate, decommission, and provide long-term care for GTCC LLW disposal facilities. On May 11, 2005, DOE issued an advance notice of intent to begin preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for GTCC LLW disposal. Since the initiation of the EIS, analysis has focused on compiling the inventory of commercial GTCC LLW and DOE GTCC-like wastes, reviewing disposal technologies, and other preliminary studies. One of the promising disposal technologies being considered is intermediate depth greater confinement boreholes. Greater confinement boreholes have been used effectively to safely dispose of long-lived radioactive waste at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The DOE took a fresh look at global experiences with the use of greater confinement borehole disposal, including current considerations being given for future applications in the U.S., and concluded that the U.S. is positioned to benefit from international collaboration on borehole disposal technology, and could ultimately become a pilot project, if the technology is selected. (authors)

• Research Organization: WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9 - 332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
• OSTI ID: 21290833
• Report Number(s): INIS-US--09-WM-07234
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
BOREHOLES
CONFINEMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS
INVENTORIES
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
NEVADA TEST SITE
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL