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The disposal of Canada`s nuclear fuel waste: a study of postclosure safety of in-room emplacement of used CANDU fuel in copper containers in permeable plutonic rock volume 1: summary

Abstract

The concept for disposal of Canada`s nuclear fuel waste involves isolating the waste in corrosion-resistant containers emplaced and sealed within a vault at a depth of 500 to 1000 m in plutonic rock of the Canadian Shield. The case for the acceptability of the concept as a means of safely disposing of Canada`s nuclear fuel waste is presented in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) The disposal concept permits a choice of methods, materials, site locations and designs. The EIS presents a case study of the long-term (i.e., postclosure) performance of a hypothetical implementation of the concept, referred to in this report as the reference disposal system. The reference disposal system is based on borehole emplacement of used CANDU fuel in Grade-2 titanium alloy containers in low-permeability, sparsely fractured plutonic rock of the Canadian Shield. We evaluate the long-term performance of another hypothetical implementation of the concept based on in-room emplacement of used CANDU fuel in copper containers in permeable plutonic rock. The geological characteristics of the geosphere assumed for this study result in short groundwater travel times from the disposal vault to the surface. In the present study, the principal barrier to the movement of contaminants is the long-lasting copper  More>>
Publication Date:
Jun 01, 1996
Product Type:
Technical Report
Report Number:
AECL-11494-1; COG-95-552-1.
Reference Number:
SCA: 052002; 540230; PA: AIX-28:076924; EDB-97:143400; SN: 97001880973
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: Jun 1996
Subject:
05 NUCLEAR FUELS; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; CONTAINMENT SYSTEMS; PERFORMANCE; SAFETY; COPPER; CORROSION; GROUND WATER; HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY; PLUTONIC ROCKS; RADIOLOGY; RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION; SPENT FUELS; UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
OSTI ID:
548290
Research Organizations:
Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Pinawa, MB (Canada). Whiteshell Labs.
Country of Origin:
Canada
Language:
English
Other Identifying Numbers:
Other: ON: DE98606205; TRN: CA9700678076924
Availability:
INIS; OSTI as DE98606205
Submitting Site:
INIS
Size:
45 p.
Announcement Date:
Dec 11, 1997

Citation Formats

Wikjord, A G, Baumgartner, P, Johnson, L H, Stanchell, F W, Zach, R, and Goodwin, B W. The disposal of Canada`s nuclear fuel waste: a study of postclosure safety of in-room emplacement of used CANDU fuel in copper containers in permeable plutonic rock volume 1: summary. Canada: N. p., 1996. Web.
Wikjord, A G, Baumgartner, P, Johnson, L H, Stanchell, F W, Zach, R, & Goodwin, B W. The disposal of Canada`s nuclear fuel waste: a study of postclosure safety of in-room emplacement of used CANDU fuel in copper containers in permeable plutonic rock volume 1: summary. Canada.
Wikjord, A G, Baumgartner, P, Johnson, L H, Stanchell, F W, Zach, R, and Goodwin, B W. 1996. "The disposal of Canada`s nuclear fuel waste: a study of postclosure safety of in-room emplacement of used CANDU fuel in copper containers in permeable plutonic rock volume 1: summary." Canada.
@misc{etde_548290,
title = {The disposal of Canada`s nuclear fuel waste: a study of postclosure safety of in-room emplacement of used CANDU fuel in copper containers in permeable plutonic rock volume 1: summary}
author = {Wikjord, A G, Baumgartner, P, Johnson, L H, Stanchell, F W, Zach, R, and Goodwin, B W}
abstractNote = {The concept for disposal of Canada`s nuclear fuel waste involves isolating the waste in corrosion-resistant containers emplaced and sealed within a vault at a depth of 500 to 1000 m in plutonic rock of the Canadian Shield. The case for the acceptability of the concept as a means of safely disposing of Canada`s nuclear fuel waste is presented in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) The disposal concept permits a choice of methods, materials, site locations and designs. The EIS presents a case study of the long-term (i.e., postclosure) performance of a hypothetical implementation of the concept, referred to in this report as the reference disposal system. The reference disposal system is based on borehole emplacement of used CANDU fuel in Grade-2 titanium alloy containers in low-permeability, sparsely fractured plutonic rock of the Canadian Shield. We evaluate the long-term performance of another hypothetical implementation of the concept based on in-room emplacement of used CANDU fuel in copper containers in permeable plutonic rock. The geological characteristics of the geosphere assumed for this study result in short groundwater travel times from the disposal vault to the surface. In the present study, the principal barrier to the movement of contaminants is the long-lasting copper container. We show that the long-lasting container can effectively compensate for a permeable host rock which results in an unfavourable groundwater flow condition. These studies illustrate the flexibility of AECL`s disposal concept to take advantage of the retention, delay, dispersion, dilution and radioactive decay of contaminants in a system of natural barriers provided by the geosphere and hydrosphere and of engineered barriers provided by the waste form, container, buffer, backfills, other vault seals and grouts. In an actual implementation, the engineered system would be designed for the geological conditions encountered at the host site. 34 refs., 2 tabs., 11 figs.}
place = {Canada}
year = {1996}
month = {Jun}
}