Radiological assessment of the consequences of the disposal of high-level radioactive waste in subseabed sediments

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987 · Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:7150984

de Marsily, G; Behrendt, V; Ensminger, D A; Flebus, C; Hutchinson, B L; Kane, P; Karpf, A; Klett, R D; Mobbs, S; Poulin, M; Stanners, D A; Wuschke, D

The radiological assessment of the seabed option consists in estimating the detriment to man and to the environment that could result from the disposal of high-level waste (HLW) within the seabed sediments in deep oceans. The assessment is made for the high-level waste (vitrified glass) produced by the reprocessing of 10/sup 5/ tons of heavy metal from spent fuel, which represents the amount of waste generated by 3333 reactor-yr of 900-MW(electric) reactors, i.e., 3000 GW(electric) x yr. The disposal option considered is to use 14,667 steel penetrators, each of them containing five canisters of HLW glass (0.15 m/sup 3/ each). These penetrators would reach a depth of 50 m in the sediments and would be placed at an average distance of 180 m from each other, requiring a disposal area on the order of 22 x 22 km. Two such potential disposal areas in the Atlantic Ocean were studied, Great Meteor East (GME) and South Nares Abyssal Plains (SNAP). A special ship design is proposed to minimize transportation accidents. Approximately 100 shipments would be necessary to dispose of the proposed amount of waste. The results of this radiological assessment seem to show that the disposal of HLW in subseabed sediments is radiologically a very acceptable option.

• Research Organization: Paris School of Mines (France)
• OSTI ID: 7150984
• Report Number(s): CONF-8711195-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc.; (United States) Journal Volume: 55
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACCIDENTS
ATLANTIC OCEAN
DESIGN
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SEA BED
SEAS
SEDIMENTS
SURFACE WATERS
TRANSPORT
VITRIFICATION
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES