Reducing the likelihood of future human activities that could affect geologic high-level waste repositories

Technical Report · Tue May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1984

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6799619· OSTI ID:6799619

The disposal of radioactive wastes in deep geologic formations provides a means of isolating the waste from people until the radioactivity has decayed to safe levels. However, isolating people from the wastes is a different problem, since we do not know what the future condition of society will be. The Human Interference Task Force was convened by the US Department of Energy to determine whether reasonable means exist (or could be developed) to reduce the likelihood of future human unintentionally intruding on radioactive waste isolation systems. The task force concluded that significant reductions in the likelihood of human interference could be achieved, for perhaps thousands of years into the future, if appropriate steps are taken to communicate the existence of the repository. Consequently, for two years the task force directed most of its study toward the area of long-term communication. Methods are discussed for achieving long-term communication by using permanent markers and widely disseminated records, with various steps taken to provide multiple levels of protection against loss, destruction, and major language/societal changes. Also developed is the concept of a universal symbol to denote Caution - Biohazardous Waste Buried Here. If used for the thousands of non-radioactive biohazardous waste sites in this country alone, a symbol could transcend generations and language changes, thereby vastly improving the likelihood of successful isolation of all buried biohazardous wastes.

• Research Organization: Battelle Memorial Inst., Columbus, OH (USA). Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-83CH10140
• OSTI ID: 6799619
• Report Number(s): BMI/ONWI-537; ON: DE84013725
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
054000* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
COMMUNICATIONS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
HUMAN POPULATIONS
IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS
INTERFERENCE
INTRUSION
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
POPULATIONS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES