scholarly journals Some logistical considerations in designing a system of deep boreholes for disposal of high-level radioactive waste.

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genetha Gray ◽  
Patrick Brady ◽  
Bill Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
Deep Boreholes ◽  
High Level

scholarly journals Preliminary Performance Assessment for Deep Borehole Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste

2012 ◽  
Vol 1475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter N. Swift ◽  
Bill W. Arnold ◽  
Patrick V. Brady ◽  
Geoff Freeze ◽  
Teklu Hadgu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
Deep Boreholes ◽  
High Level ◽  
Long Term Performance ◽  
Term Performance

ABSTRACTDeep boreholes have been proposed for many decades as an option for permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. Disposal concepts are straightforward, and generally call for drilling boreholes to a depth of four to five kilometers (or more) into crystalline basement rocks. Waste is placed in the lower portion of the hole, and the upper several kilometers of the hole are sealed to provide effective isolation from the biosphere. The potential for excellent long-term performance has been recognized in many previous studies. This paper reports updated results of what is believed to be the first quantitative analysis of releases from a hypothetical disposal borehole repository using the same performance assessment methodology applied to mined geologic repositories for high-level radioactive waste. Analyses begin with a preliminary consideration of a comprehensive list of potentially relevant features, events, and processes (FEPs) and the identification of those FEPs that appear to be most likely to affect long-term performance in deep boreholes. The release pathway selected for preliminary performance assessment modeling is thermally-driven flow and radionuclide transport upwards from the emplacement zone through the borehole seals or the surrounding annulus of disturbed rock. Estimated radionuclide releases from deep borehole disposal of spent nuclear fuel, and the annual radiation doses to hypothetical future humans associated with those releases, are extremely small, indicating that deep boreholes may be a viable alternative to mined repositories for disposal of both high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.

scholarly journals Alternative Disposal Options for High-Level Radioactive Waste

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 259-260
Author(s):  
Matthias Englert ◽  
Simone Mohr ◽  
Saleem Chaudry ◽  
Stephan Kurth
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Final Disposal ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
Disposal Options ◽  
Deep Boreholes ◽  
High Level

Abstract. Are alternatives to the disposal of high-level radioactive waste in a geology repository conceivable? We present the results of the first phase of a research project on the state of the art in science and technology for alternative disposal options. The project is financed by the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management. Most recently, in 2015, the German Commission on the Storage of High-Level Radioactive Waste (Endlagerkommission) evaluated possible disposal technologies and classified them as either promising, conceivable, or to be pursued further. Only final disposal in a geological repository was considered promising. Conceivable, but not immediately available or not advantageous, were storage in deep boreholes (DBs), long-term interim storage (LTIS), and partitioning and transmutation (P&T). All other alternative disposal options by burial, dilution, or removal from the planet were determined not to be worth pursuing. The Disposal Commission did conclude that none of the three conceivable methods (DBs, LTIS, P&T) would result in earlier disposal of high-level radioactive waste than the preferred final disposal in a mine. However, it recommended continued tracking and regular monitoring of the future development of alternative disposal options, e.g., disposal in deep boreholes. Finally, in 2017, with the amended Site Selection Act, the federal government specified disposal in a repository mine with the option of retrieval during operation or recovery for 500 years after closure. In a learning site selection process, the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal (BASE) reviews the proposals of the project managing company, the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE), and prepares a reasoned recommendation to the federal government for a site with the best possible safety. Part of the reasoned recommendation is, among other things, a discussion of alternative disposal options to final disposal in deep geological formations. In the presentation, we report on the status of international research on alternative disposal options, discuss advantages and disadvantages of the technologies, and evaluate the potential of the technologies for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste in Germany. The LTIS is designed as dry storage in a building to be constructed above ground or near the surface and is expected to last for a period of several hundred years. With LTIS it would be possible to gain time for the development of a suitable final disposal option; however, this also postpones the disposal issue indefinitely into the future with undetermined methods. DB storage would involve sinking the storage containers into boreholes with depths of up to 5000 m. This could reduce the expense and be particularly advantageous for smaller inventories, although the potential for the use of engineered barriers would be limited and retrievability precluded according to the current state of the art in science and technology. P&T is primarily intended to separate long-lived transuranic elements from high-level radioactive waste and then convert them to short-lived fission products by neutron irradiation in reactors. The main goal is to reduce the necessary containment times in the repository by changing the inventory, but the effort to treat the waste would be significant and a repository for high-level nuclear waste is still needed. More exotic ideas for alternative disposal include deep geological injection of liquid waste, waste forms that melt themselves into rock, storage inside the ocean floor or subduction zones, shipment to space, burial in ice sheets, or dilution in the atmosphere and oceans. None of these exotic options is currently being actively pursued.

New extractant for selective recovery of palladium from high level radioactive waste

1994 ◽  
Vol 187 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Guyon ◽  
A. Guy ◽  
J. Foos ◽  
R. Chomel ◽  
T. Moutarde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Selective Recovery ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
High Level

scholarly journals EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON MANUFACTURE OF BLOCK-TYPE BUFFER FOR HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL

2003 ◽  
pp. 203-208
Author(s):  
Hideo KOMINE ◽  
Nobuhide OGATA ◽  
Akira NAKASHIMA ◽  
Hajime TAKAO ◽  
Hiroyoshi UEDA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Radioactive Waste Disposal ◽  
Block Type ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
High Level
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