Waste Technology Section
Geological Waste Disposal
Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste
Responsible Officer: B. NEERDAEL
Objective:
To assist in the development, transfer and demonstration of technologies appropriate for the geological disposal of high level and long lived waste and to supplement national efforts and gain public confidence in waste disposal schemes.
Rationale:
It has been the technical consensus of most waste management specialists for several decades that geological disposal, using a system of engineered and natural barriers, is the preferred option of disposal for high level and long lived radioactive waste. The progress that has been made in the scientific and technical aspects of geological disposal over the last decade, provides increasing assurance to the waste management community that sound technical solutions underpinned by good scientific investigation are available. However, geological disposal for these types of radioactive wastes has not yet been realized in any country. Most geological disposal programmes are the subject of debate and suffering delays as some sectors of society do not have confidence in this option. So the Agency is contributing towards developing confidence in relevant technologies, approaches and concepts for the geological disposal of radioactive waste, and supporting international projects to demonstrate the technology and its implementation.
Major Ongoing Activities:
The current activities in the area of geological disposal of radioactive waste are addressing scientific, technical, institutional and socio-polical issues in support of confidence building for the geological disposal concept and its implementation, which include the following topics:
- Design and planning of geological repositories: Building and operating a geological repository for high level and long lived radioactive waste, including closure of all underground excavations, require considerable technical and scientific information to be used in every aspect of the conceptual approach, design, engineering and safety assessment of such a facility. In this respect a technical report is under preparation to provide Member States with practical and updated information on the way a geological repository programme has to be defined, designed and planned, with special attention to all aspects having an impact on the timing, including the assessment of safety. Both positive and negative experiences associated to the development of repositories may provide the necessary guidance to interested countries on how to outline, implement or improve their national approaches. (2006-2009).
- The issue of retrievability and its technological impact: There are discussions going on in various Member States about whether and to what degree reversibility including retrievability might be built into management strategies for radioactive waste, including disposal into geological repositories. Complementing the discussions and work performed in international forums and reports on reversibility and retrievability already published, a TECDOC is under completion to assess the potential technological impact of retrievability on the design, construction, operation, closure and post-closure monitoring requirements of a geologic repository for long lived and high level radioactive waste and/or spent nuclear fuel. (2003-2007)
- Application of numerical modelling to geological disposal programmes: Member States develop different modelling approaches regarding site characterization and performance assessment. Modelling tools are a prerequisite to integrate existing experimental data and to support/guide the development of new activities and to make predictions for long-term behaviour. Integration and interpretation of data as well as modelling approaches have to be tailored to repository concepts and for geologic conditions prevailing in participating Member States. In the framework of a Coordinated Research Programme (CRP) some commonly used models for simulations/predictions in this field will be screened and assessed in the frame of common cases. (2006-2010) .
- International cooperation in shared disposal facilities: An international Expert Group on Multilateral Approaches (MNA) was established by the Director General IAEA in 2004 to advise the Agency on how multinational initiatives could enhance global security and strengthen non-proliferation regime. Based on past IAEA studies,one of the conclusion of the group was that the final disposal of spent fuel is a candidate for multilateral approaches, offerring major economic and non-proliferation benefits, although it presents legal, political and public acceptance challenges in many countries. The WTS will continue its efforts in that direction by considering further the viability of sharing disposal facilities (2007-2010).
- Training in and development of waste disposal technologies: With the contributions of organisations from several Member States with well developed programmes for the disposal of high level and long lived waste, the ´Network of Centres of Excellenceˇ for training in and development of waste disposal technologies was established. Since 2001, this Network has organised and provided training courses, scientific visits and fellowships to participants from more that 20 Member States. In this respect, whenever possible, appropriate linkages between the Network and the Agency˙s CRPs or Technical Cooperation Programmes are established to optimize resouces. For more details, see network web site.
- Disposal of long lived waste: Disposal of non-heat producing long lived waste is becoming a topical issue as both during operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities such waste streams appear. This problem is addressed in a TECDOC prepared for publication in 2008. It will provide an overview of relevant waste categories and facilities, which may be considered for their disposal, as well as selection factors and procedures to be considered when choosing the most appropriate approach (2002-2007).
Publications (last 10 years):
|
Technology |
Management |
Special Topics |
| Scientific and technical basis for the geological disposal of radioactive Waste TRS-413 (2003) |
Developing multinational radioactive waste repositories: Infrastructural framework and scenarios for cooperation TECDOC-1413 (2004) |
Anthropogenic analogues for geological disposal of high level long lived waste Final Report of a CRP (1999-2004) TECDOC-1481 (2005) |
| The use of scientific and technical results from underground research laboratory investigations for the geological disposal of radioactive waste TECDOC-1243 (2001) |
Geological disposal of radioactive waste CD-ROM (2002) |
Extrapolation of short term observations to time periods relevant to the isolation of long lived radioactive waste Results of a CRP (1995-2000) TECDOC-1177 (2000) |
| Monitoring of geological repositories for high level radioactive waste TECDOC-1208 (2001) |
Technical, institutional and economic factors important for developing a multinational radioactive waste repository TECDOC-1021 (1998) |
Technological implications of comprehensive safeguards for disposal of spent nuclear fuel in geological repositories TECDOC (working material only) |
| Use of natural analogues to support radionuclide transport models for deep geological repositories for long lived radioactive waste TECDOC-1109 (1999) |
Factors affecting public and political acceptance for the implementation of geological disposal TECDOC-1566 (2007) |
CRP on characterization and performance studies and demonstration in underground research laboratories of swelling clays as engineered barriers of geological reprositories TECDOC (in preparation) |
| Hydrogeological investigation of sites for the geological disposal of radioactive waste TRS-391 (1999) |
Planning and Design of Geological Repository Programme TRS(in preparation) |
CRP on the use of numerical models in support of site characterization and performance assessment studies of geological repositories TECDOC (in preparation) |
| Experience in selection and characterization of sites for geological disposal of radioactive waste TECDOC-991 (1997) |
Viability of sharing disposal facilities TECDOC (in preparation) |
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| Technological implications of retrievability on geological disposal of radioactive waste TECDOC (in preparation) |
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| Disposal approaches for long lived low and intermediate level radioactive waste TECDOC (in preparation) |