Nuclear-waste disposal in geologic repositories

Conference · Mon Aug 02 04:00:00 EDT 1982

OSTI ID:5096284

Isherwood, D

Deep geologic repositories are being widely studied as the most favored method of disposal of nuclear waste. Scientists search for repository sites in salt, basalt, tuff and granite that are geologically and hydrologically suitable. The systematic evaluation of the safety and reliability of deep geologic disposal centers around the concept of interacting multiple barriers. The simplest element to describe of the geologic barrier is the physical isolation of the waste in a remote region at some depth within the rock unit. Of greater complexity is the hydrologic barrier which is determined by the waste dilution factors and groundwater flow rates. The least understood is the geochemical barrier, identified as a series of waste/water/rock interactions involving sorption, membrane filtration, precipitation and complexing. In addition to the natural barriers are the engineered barriers, which include the waste form and waste package. The relative effectiveness of these barriers to provide long-term isolation of nuclear waste from the human environment is being assessed through the use of analytical and numerical models. The data used in the models is generally adequate for parameter sensitivity studies which bound the uncertainties in the release and transport predictions; however, much of the data comes from laboratory testing, and the problem of correlating laboratory and field measurements has not been resolved. Although safety assessments based on generic sites have been useful in the past for developing site selection criteria, site-specific studies are needed to judge the suitability of a particular host rock and its environment.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 5096284
• Report Number(s): UCRL-86582; CONF-820154-1; ON: DE82020176
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
BACKFILLING
BASALT
ENGINEERED SAFETY SYSTEMS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GRANITES
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
IGNEOUS ROCKS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
PLUTONIC ROCKS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
ROCKS
SAFETY
SALT DEPOSITS
TUFF
VOLCANIC ROCKS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES