Analysis of alternatives for greater-confinement disposal of low-level radioactive waste

Technical Report · Fri Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:6452794

A comparative method for evaluating technical alternatives for greater-confinement disposal (GCD) of low-level radioactive waste (LLW) is developed and applied to nine GCD alternatives. The bounding alternatives are a conventional shallow-land burial (SLB) facility (used as a reference facility for comparative determination of costs and risks) and a deep geologic repository. The other alternatives include a deep trench, improved waste form, engineered structures, boreholes, hydrofracture, and a shallow repository. The method ranks the alternatives based on a ranking parameter, RP equals C (cost in dollars) plus H (health risk converted to dollars), which is derived from benefit-cost-risk analysis. Costs are developed for a GCD facility that is co-located with a conventional SLB facility and has a capacity of 10,000 m/sup 3/ of GCD waste; risks are based on a pathway analysis for estimating the dose to individuals resulting from waste placed in a GCD facility. Application of the method, using a generic analysis based on representative waste streams of intermediate-activity and high-activity LLW that would require GCD, indicates that all alternatives except the reference SLB facility can be expected to meet performance objectives (500 mrem/yr wholebody dose to onsite intruders; 25 mrem/yr whole-body dose to members of the general public from releases to the environment). All of the alternatives considered are equivalent within the resolving power of the generic analysis, except for the repository designs, which are considerably more costly with negligible concomitant reduction in health risks. Site-specific application of the method, with more detailed design information, would be needed in order to provide a basis for selecting an optimum GCD alternative in any actual situation.

• Research Organization: EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-76ID01570
• OSTI ID: 6452794
• Report Number(s): DOE/LLW-31T; ON: DE86005107
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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054000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
DEPTH
DIMENSIONS
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RISK ASSESSMENT
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES