Design and construction issues associated with sealing of a repository in salt

Conference · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:5745042

Cook, R ^[1]; Case, J ^[2]

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1. Westinghouse Electric Corp., Carlsbad, NM (USA). Waste Isolation Div.
2. I. T. Corp., Albuquerque, NM (USA)

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. 19 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Westinghouse Electric Corp., Carlsbad, NM (USA). Waste Isolation Div.
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-86AL31950
• OSTI ID: 5745042
• Report Number(s): DOE/WIPP-90-030C; CONF-910270-48; ON: DE91011481
• Resource Relation: Conference: Waste management '91, Tucson, AZ (USA), 24-28 Feb 1991; Related Information: Conference archives: https://www.wmsym.org/archivedproceedings/
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
SEALS
SERVICE LIFE
WIPP
BACKFILLING
BOREHOLES
BRINES
CONSTRUCTION
DEFORMATION
DESIGN
DISSOLUTION
FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GROUND WATER
GROUTING
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
PERFORMANCE
PERMEABILITY
POROSITY
QUALITY CONTROL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
SEALING MATERIALS
SHAFT EXCAVATIONS
TUNNELS
US DOE
CAVITIES
CONTROL
FAILURES
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PILOT PLANTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER
052002* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage