Oregon-based activities in support of the Basalt Waste Isolation Project
Rockwell Hanford Operations (Rockwell) is the prime operating contractor responsible for the Basalt Waste Isolation Project (BWIP) at Hanford and has been charged with conducting associated engineering and scientific investigations. The investigations will assess the feasibility of utilizing basalt for nuclear waste storage. As recently noted in a report by the Interagency Review Group to the President in October 1978, Once feasibility is established at various sites, DOE will decide which site is selected for construction of a repository. A portion of the Rockwell program is the design construction and testing of basalts in a near-surface test facility (NSTF) within the Hanford Site. The NSTF is a facility for examination of the behavior of an entire basalt mass. It is composed of rooms embedded in the central portion of a basalt flow. In situ tests will include experiments with electric heaters, followed by experiments with spent fuel where the combined effect of heat and radiation will be examined. Approximately 3000 feet of tunnels and test room area are being constructed in Gable Mountain on the Hanford Site.
- Research Organization:
- Foundation Sciences, Inc., Portland, OR (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-77RL01030
- OSTI ID:
- 7055466
- Report Number(s):
- RHO-BWI-SA-42; CONF-800153-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
Handling
& Storage
052002 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
BASALT
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HANFORD RESERVATION
HEATERS
IGNEOUS ROCKS
MANAGEMENT
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
ROCKS
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
STORAGE
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
UNDERGROUND STORAGE
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
VOLCANIC ROCKS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE STORAGE