Design and Construction Issues Associated with Sealing of a Repository in Salt
- Westinghouse Electric Corp., Carlsbad, NM (United States)
- IT Corporation, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
The isolation of radioactive wastes in geologic repositories requires that man-made penetrations such as shafts, tunnels and boreholes are adequately sealed. This paper presents the current design and construction issues for sealing a repository in salt and outlines some proposed solutions. The sealing components include shaft seals, tunnel seals, panel seals, and disposal room backfill. The performance requirements and construction constraints determine the types of materials selected and their necessary properties. The current issues of interest include: (1) selection of materials for rigid bulkheads used to promote recovery of the disturbed zone permeability; (2) the selection of bulkhead geometry to cutoff flow through more permeable zones, or zones where recovery of the backfill properties occurs more slowly or not at all; and (3) the interaction of fluids with hazardous wastes with brine and, subsequently, with seal materials that might affect seal material longevity.
- Research Organization:
- Westinghouse Electric Corp., Carlsbad, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-86AL31950
- OSTI ID:
- 5745042
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/WIPP--90-030C; CONF-910270--48; ON: DE91011481
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
BACKFILLING
BOREHOLES
BRINES
CAVITIES
CONSTRUCTION
CONTROL
DEFORMATION
DESIGN
DISSOLUTION
FAILURES
FRACTURES
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GROUND WATER
GROUTING
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERFORMANCE
PERMEABILITY
PILOT PLANTS
POROSITY
QUALITY CONTROL
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SEALING MATERIALS
SEALS
SERVICE LIFE
SHAFT EXCAVATIONS
TUNNELS
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER
WIPP