Strategic considerations for developing future underground research facilities - 15114

Conference · Wed Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2015

OSTI ID:22822674

Orrell, Andrew; Bruno, Gerard ^[1]

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1. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna International Centre, P.O. Box 100, 1400 Vienna (Austria)

The suite of existing underground research facilities (URFs) and their various operational histories and contexts provides useful insights to consider when deciding a particular URF location and approach (generic or site-specific) for new disposal facility research programmes. Even the smallest URF represents a large capital investment and a significant ongoing operational mortgage when recognizing the typically decades-long site characterization and data collection thought necessary to support a defensible safety case or safety assessment. Thus making such investments should be approached with an understanding of the short- and long-term implications for such factors as cost, location, data quality, public acceptance, operational risk, opportunity for design optimization, etc. and with an understanding of the potential risk management issues to help ensure the URF programme achieves the intended objectives. (authors)

• Research Organization: WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
• OSTI ID: 22822674
• Report Number(s): INIS-US--19-WM-15114
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ACCIDENT MANAGEMENT
INVESTMENT
OPTIMIZATION
RISK ASSESSMENT
SAFETY
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES