Nuclear waste; Can we contain it
This paper reports that the safe disposal of nuclear waste requires that the waste be isolated from the environment until radioactive decay has reduced its toxicity to innocuous levels. The disposal of such wastes deep in stable geological formations has been extensively researched since the late 1970s and is now the preferred option internationally. In all of the proposed disposal concepts, the natural barrier of the geological formation is supplemented by a series of engineered barriers each of which retards the transport of radionuclides to the environment. The geological formations being considered usually fall into one of three general categories: crystalline rock (Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States); salt deposits (United States, Germany); and sedimentary deposits, such as clay or seabed sediments (Belgium, United Kingdom, United States), illustrates the Canadian disposal concept based on disposal in igneous rock in the Canadian Shield. The waste will consist of either used fuel bundles or immobilized reprocessed material. In the multibarrier approach the principal engineered component, and the only absolute barrier, is a metallic container enclosing the waste. The required period of containment will influence the choice of material and the thickness of the container.
- OSTI ID:
- 7112651
- Journal Information:
- CHEMTECH; (United States), Vol. 22:4; ISSN 0009-2703
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SAFETY ANALYSIS
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
CONTAINMENT
DESIGN
EVALUATION
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
MATERIALS TESTING
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
COOPERATION
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
STORAGE
TESTING
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE STORAGE
052002* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
054000 - Nuclear Fuels- Health & Safety
053001 - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects- Siting- (1992-)
053004 - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects- Design Basis & Hypothetical Accidents- (1992-)