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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Status of the Canadian nuclear fuel waste management program

Conference · · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)
OSTI ID:5981946
;  [1]
  1. AECL Research, Pinawa, Manitoba (Canada)

The Canadian Concept for the permanent disposal of nuclear fuel waste has been developed extensively over the past several years, and is now well-advanced. The Concept, which involves the construction of a waste vault 500 to 1000 metres deep in plutonic rock located in the Canadian Precambrian Shield, is supported by an R D program with the following objectives: (1) to develop and demonstrate technology to site, design, build and operate a disposal facility; (2) to develop and demonstrate a methodology to evaluate the performance of the disposal system; and (3) to demonstrate that sites are likely to exist in the Canadian Precambrian Shield that would meet the regulatory requirements. A combination of engineered and natural barriers will be used to ensure that the vault design will meet rigorous safety standards. Experimental work is being carried out to elucidate all the important phenomena associated with the safety of the vault, including the performance of engineered barriers, natural geological barriers, and the biosphere.

OSTI ID:
5981946
Report Number(s):
CONF-920414--
Journal Information:
Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States), Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States) Vol. 65; ISSN 0003-018X; ISSN TANSAO
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English