Operational Safety Analysis for Disposal Period of the Future Belgian Geological Disposal Facility - 19249
- ONDRAF/NIRAS (Belgium)
- BGE Technology GmbH (Germany)
For more than 40 years, ONDRAF/NIRAS (the federal agency responsible for managing radioactive waste and enriched fissile materials in Belgium) has been studying the concept of a geological disposal facility (GDF) in poorly indurated clays as an option for the long-term management of both category B waste (low-level and intermediate-level long-lived waste - LILW-LL) and category C waste (high-level waste - HLW and spent fuel). In the absence of a policy decision, the proposed Belgian reference option for disposal of such waste is a GDF in poorly indurated clays, located at a depth between 200 m and 600 m. ONDRAF/NIRAS has developed a reference disposal concept for research, development and demonstration (RD and D) purposes. At the current stage of this program, the primary objective of ONDRAF/NIRAS is to establish the safety and feasibility of constructing, operating and closing a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) at the conceptual design level, without any presumption about the exact location of the facility. This will be evaluated in a first version of the safety and feasibility case (SFC-1 V1) for the geological disposal of category B and C radioactive wastes. Analysis of the operational safety is an important part of the SFC-1 V1. ONDRAF/NIRAS, supported by BGE Technology GmbH, has prepared an operational safety analysis of the current GDF reference design and the processes occurring during the operation and closure period. A SWIFT methodology (Structured What If Technique) is used to identify risks and the measures required to mitigate their consequences. In parallel to this SWIFT analysis, specific attention is also given to fire risk, especially in the blind-ending disposal galleries (DG). Based on understanding of fire risk analysis, recommendations suggest using exclusively electrically driven equipment to reduce fire loads and minimize the fire hazard. In addition, strict working procedures could prevent the presence of workers between the DG dead end and equipment presenting significant fire load. The use of mobile refuge chambers should also be part of the safety concept. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 23003013
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-21-WM-19249; TRN: US21V1129043346
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM2019: 45. Annual Waste Management Conference, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 3-7 Mar 2019; Other Information: Country of input: France; 4 refs.; available online at: https://www.xcdsystem.com/wmsym/2019/index.html
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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