DOCSLIB.ORG

Deep Borehole Disposal of Nuclear Spent Fuel and High Level Waste As an Opportunity for Regional Cooperation

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Deep Borehole Disposal of Nuclear Spent Fuel and High Level Waste As an Opportunity for Regional Cooperation DDeeeepp BBoorreehhoollee DDiissppoossaall ooff NNuucclleeaarr SSppeenntt FFuueell aanndd HHiigghh LLeevveell WWaassttee aass aa FFooccuuss ooff RReeggiioonnaall EEaasstt AAssiiaa NNuucclleeaarr FFuueell CCyyccllee CCooooppeerraattiioonn David von Hippel and Peter Hayes 12/8/2010 www.nautilus.org 1 Nautilus Institute Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................... 4 1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................. 6 1.1. SUMMARY OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL AND RELATED PROLIFERATION SITUATION IN EAST ASIA.................................................................................................................................. 7 1.2. SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT OPTIONS—STORAGE AND DISPOSAL .................................. 10 1.3. REPROCESSING/RECYCLING OF SPENT FUELS .................................................................. 11 1.4. DEEP BOREHOLE DISPOSAL OF NUCLEAR SPENT FUEL AND HIGH LEVEL WASTE AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION ................................................................. 13 1.5. GOALS AND STRUCTURE OF THIS STUDY......................................................................... 15 2. USE OF DEEP BOREHOLES TO DISPOSE OF NUCLEAR WASTES .................... 15 2.1. GENERAL DBD CONCEPT ............................................................................................... 16 2.2. KEY RESEARCH TO DATE ................................................................................................ 17 2.3. SITING OF BOREHOLE FACILITIES ................................................................................... 19 2.4. PREPARATION OF BOREHOLES ........................................................................................ 20 2.5. PREPARATION OF WASTES FOR DISPOSAL ....................................................................... 24 2.6. EMPLACEMENT AND ENTOMBMENT OF WASTES ............................................................. 26 2.7. SITE SECURITY ................................................................................................................ 29 2.8. COSTS ............................................................................................................................. 30 2.9. TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT IN RELATED INDUSTRIES ............................................ 31 2.10. KEY ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY CONCERNS .................................................................... 32 3. KEY UNKNOWNS, UNCERTAINTIES, REGARDING DBD OF NUCLEAR WASTES, AND POTENTIAL BARRIERS TO APPLICATION ................................ 34 3.1. TECHNOLOGICAL UNCERTAINTIES .................................................................................. 34 3.2. LEGAL UNCERTAINTIES .................................................................................................. 35 3.3. POLITICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS ..................................................................... 36 4. WORK ON DBD CONCEPT IN EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC TO DATE ......... 38 4.1. WORK ON DBD CONCEPT AND RELATED WORK IN JAPAN ............................................. 38 4.2. WORK ON DBD CONCEPT AND RELATED WORK IN ROK ............................................... 39 4.3. WORK ON DBD CONCEPT AND RELATED WORK IN THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLES‘ REPUBLIC OF KOREA (DPRK) ........................................................................................ 39 4.4. WORK ON DBD CONCEPT AND RELATED WORK IN CHINA ............................................ 39 4.5. WORK ON DBD CONCEPT AND RELATED WORK IN AUSTRALIA..................................... 40 4.6. WORK ON DBD CONCEPT AND RELATED WORK IN RUSSIA ........................................... 41 4.7. WORK ON DBD CONCEPT AND RELATED WORK ELSEWHERE IN EAST ASIA .................. 41 5. POSSIBLE REGIONAL DEEP BOREHOLE REGIONAL COLLABORATION CONCEPTS ........................................................................................................................ 42 5.1. GEOLOGICAL SUITABILITY AND FEASIBLE LOCATIONS ................................................... 42 5.2. DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHOICES ......................................................................... 43 2 Nautilus Institute 5.3. HAZARDS AND STANDARDS ............................................................................................ 43 5.4. PUBLIC EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ACCEPTANCE ..................................................... 44 5.5. ECONOMICS OF SCALE .................................................................................................... 44 5.6. INSTITUTIONAL DESIGN .................................................................................................. 45 5.7. SAFEGUARDS IMPLICATIONS OF ALTERNATIVE DESIGNS ................................................ 45 5.8. RELATIVE PROLIFERATION RESISTANCE OF DEEP BOREHOLE VERSUS COMPETING REGIONAL SCHEMES ....................................................................................................... 46 5.9. RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS ............................................................................................... 46 3 Nautilus Institute Executive Summary This study explores a possible technological strategy that would avoid security and sustainability dilemmas associated with the management of the rapidly growing quantities of nuclear spent fuel in the East Asia region. The region‘s spent fuel inventories from nuclear power are growing rapidly. The standard approach is to store spent fuel in retrievable surface storage or relatively shallow (tens to hundreds of meters) shallow geologic repositories. In contrast, this study examines the disposal of spent fuel directly into very deep boreholes after a once-through cycle (that is, without separating its radioactive components of reprocessing). The deep borehole disposal approach would avoid many of the proliferation-prone steps involved with reprocessing and recycling fissile material from spent fuel. It also could prove to be more acceptable socially and politically, more economic in the short and long run, and less hazardous with respect to the technological and ecological risks arising from the disposition of large amounts of radioactive material. To date, no systematic investigation into the deep borehole disposal option has been done in the major nuclear power states in East Asia, nor has an assessment been made of the regional cooperation potential from its implementation in lieu of various proposed regional spent fuel storage and reprocessing schemes. Deep borehole technology is advancing rapidly, and there are many opportunities for regional cooperation to explore the potential for deep borehole disposal, to compare it with other regional cooperation schemes to manage spent fuel, and to avoid safeguards and security dilemmas associated with accumulating large amounts of separated fissile material from spent fuel. This issue is especially salient in the Korean Peninsula, where spent fuel storage is already in scarce supply. It could also play a role in the eventual resolution of the North Korean nuclear weapons issue if a regional nuclear weapon free zone is adopted that includes collaboration between national nuclear fuel cycles. Deep borehole disposal of nuclear materials is not a new concept, but has attracted a resurgence of interest in recent years. In this concept, boreholes of 0.5 to 0.8 meters in diameter would be drilled on the order of 5 km deep into stable, crystalline basement rocks. Nuclear materials to be permanently and (essentially) irretrievably disposed of—potentially including spent nuclear reactor fuel, high level nuclear waste from spent fuel reprocessing and similar processes, and separated or partially-separated plutonium—would be placed in canisters and buried in a disposal zone at depths of 3 to 5km in the borehole, which would be capped. This approach presents potential technical simplicity and cost implications, relative to other approaches to nuclear materials, as well as for its promise of permanent disposal. It is also attractive for its potential to offer more robust safeguards against diversion of nuclear materials, reduction of nuclear materials stocks and transport, reduction in spent fuel handling, and other considerations, relative to some of the other fuel cycle options. Possible institutional configurations for deep borehole disposal in East Asia include the use of the technology for nuclear materials disposal by each nation going it alone, by some nations contracting for disposal with a few service supplying nations, or through the coordinated 4 Nautilus Institute development and operation of one or a few central deep borehole facilities used and governed by all of the key nuclear user (present and future) nations of the region. In the study that follows, we describe the nuclear power sector in East Asia, note some of the attributes and questions related to deep borehole disposal of nuclear wastes, explore the barriers and uncertainties that may be involved in applying the concept, review the status of research on or related to deep borehole disposal of nuclear wastes in the countries of East Asia, and present some key research questions that need answering in order to compare different deep borehole disposal concepts with other national and regional proposals for managing spent fuel. We conclude this study by proposing a multi-disciplinary collaborative program
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Nuclear Waste Primer September 2016 What Is Nuclear Waste?
    The Nuclear Waste Primer September 2016 What is Nuclear Waste? Nuclear waste is the catch-all term for anything contaminated with radioactive material. Nuclear waste can be broadly divided into three categories: • Low-level waste (LLW), comprised of protective clothing, medical waste, and other lightly-contaminated items • Transuranic waste (TRU), comprised of long-lived isotopes heavier than uranium • High-level waste (HLW), comprised of spent nuclear fuel and other highly-radioactive materials Low-level waste is relatively short-lived and easy to handle. Currently, four locations for LLW disposal exist in the United States. Two of them, Energy Solutions in Clive, Utah and Waste Control Specialists in Andrews, Texas, accept waste from any U.S. state. Transuranic waste is often a byproduct of nuclear weapons production and contains long-lived radioactive elements heavier than uranium, like plutonium and americium. Currently, the U.S. stores TRU waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico. High-level waste includes spent nuclear fuel and the most radioactive materials produced by nuclear weapons production. Yucca Mountain is the currently designated high-level waste repository for the United States. 1 | What is Spent Nuclear Fuel? Spent nuclear fuel (SNF), alternatively referred to as used nuclear fuel, is the primary byproduct of nuclear reactors. In commercial power reactors in the U.S., fuel begins as uranium oxide clad in a thin layer of zirconium-aluminum cladding. After several years inside of the reactor, around fi ve percent of the uranium has been converted in some way, ranging from short-lived and highly radioactive fi ssion products to long-lived actinides like plutonium, americium, and neptunium.
    [Show full text]
  • BGE TEC Borehole Disposal
    Technical Report Deep Borehole Disposal Concept Authors: Tilman Fischer Hans-Joachim Engelhardt Toivo Wanne Germany, September, 2020 AINS - Civil Engineering Tel. +358 207 911 888 VAT-number FI01135548 AINS - Civil Engineering Tel. +358 207 911 888 VAT-number FI01135548 0 Project name: Technical Assistance “National Facility” Report title: Deep Borehole Disposal Concept Version: 1.0 Date: 30 September 2020 Additional information: Author Approved by Accepted by Tilman Fischer, BGE-TEC Antti Ikonen, Håvard Kristiansen, Joachim Engelhardt, BGE-TEC AINS NND Toivo Wanne, BGE-TEC Date date date 30.9.2020 6.10.2020 Reviewed by Reviewed by Reviewed by Antti Ikonen, AINS Date date date 6.10.2020 AINS - Civil Engineering Tel. +358 207 911 888 VAT-number FI01135548 1 ABSTRACT Norway’s inventory of high-level radioactive waste originates from the research reactors in Halden and Kjeller, taken out of operation. NND is developing a comprehensive strategy for management of radioactive waste. For high-level waste this includes two options: Deep Geological Repository, OR Deep Borehole Repository. This report explored the deep borehole repository concept for Norway. The borehole disposal concept consists of drilling a borehole to a depth of several kilometres, emplacing waste containers containing spent nuclear fuel or high-level waste in the lower part of the borehole and then sealing the upper part of the borehole. The report provides basic information about deep borehole disposal. The main part of this is a literature study to summarize the information available. In combination with some information about the radioactive waste in Norway (inventory of the existing waste), some parts of the concept have been adapted to the Norwegian project.
    [Show full text]
  • A Review of Potential Cementing Systems for Sealing and Support Matrices in Deep Borehole Disposal of Radioactive Waste
    energies Review A Review of Potential Cementing Systems for Sealing and Support Matrices in Deep Borehole Disposal of Radioactive Waste Nicholas Charles Collier 1, Neil Brennan Milestone 2 and Karl Patrick Travis 1,* 1 Deep Borehole Disposal Research Group, Immobilisation Science Laboratory, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK; [email protected] 2 Callaghan Innovation, 69 Gracefield Road, PO Box 31310, Lower Hutt 5040, New Zealand; [email protected] * Correspondence: k.travis@sheffield.ac.uk Received: 7 May 2019; Accepted: 15 June 2019; Published: 21 June 2019 Abstract: Cementitious grouts are being developed for use as sealing and support matrices (SSMs) in deep borehole disposal (DBD) where temperatures do not exceed 190 ◦C. They will seal radioactive waste containers into the bottom 2 km of holes drilled up to 5 km deep into the crystalline basement. The temperature and pressure is likely to be similar to those in hydrocarbon and geothermal energy wells, where grout placement and durability are affected. This paper reviews the potential cementing systems suitable for this application and explains why a single solution of a formulation of Class G oil well cement, silica flour, water, fluid loss additive, and retarding admixture has been selected. This type of formulation has been used extensively for over 100 years in well cementing. It should provide the short-term performance and durability required for an SSM, maintaining the seal around the waste packages within the disposal zone long after the boreholes are sealed back to the surface, and thus augmenting the safety case for DBD.
    [Show full text]
  • Inquiry Into the Prerequisites for Nuclear Energy in Australia
    Input to Parliamentary Inquiry Application of Deep Isolation’s Radioactive Waste Management System for the Disposal of Australian Highly Radioactive Wastes September 2019 Introduction and Executive Summary On August 6, 2019, the Australian House of Representatives’ Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy resolved to conduct an inquiry into the prerequisites for nuclear energy in Australia. Deep Isolation is providing this submission addressing the question of the management of radioactive wastes from nuclear power in the event that this technology was introduced into the country. Radioactive waste produced by nuclear power can be safely managed. The low- level radioactive waste produced by nuclear power is safely managed around the world. The transportation and storage of spent nuclear fuel has also been safely managed for decades. Recent developments by Deep Isolation have made disposal of spent nuclear fuel achievable in a safe, timely, cost-effective manner. Thus, the waste management, transport, storage and disposal aspects of nuclear power can be safely managed over the life-cycle of nuclear power. 1. Deep Isolation offers the following input specific to the disposal of nuclear waste to this matter: Australia possesses superior geology that is suitable for the disposal of radioactive wastes that would be produced by nuclear power. 2. Deep Isolation offers an inherently safe method for the disposal of Australian radioactive wastes. 3. The Deep Isolation system is environmentally superior to the development of a mined repository. 4. The Deep Isolation system allows radioactive wastes to be safely managed for a fraction of the capital outlay that is associated with the development of a mined repository.
    [Show full text]
  • Deep Borehole Disposal of Nuclear Waste
    DEEP BOREHOLE DISPOSAL OF NUCLEAR WASTE 1Patrick V. Brady, Geoffrey A. Freeze, Kristopher L. Kuhlman, Ernest L. Hardin, David C. Sassani, and Robert J. MacKinnon 1Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA 87185; [email protected] February 27, 2016 Chapter X in Geological Repository Systems for Safe Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuels and Radioactive Waste, 2nd Edition Ed. Joonhang Ahn and Michael Apted Abstract Radioactive waste disposal in deep boreholes may be more “ready” than disposal in mined geologic repositories since mankind has greater experience operating small deep holes – boreholes, than big shallow holes - mines. There are several thousand precedents for constructing > 2 km deep boreholes and several hundred precedents for disposing long-lived wastes in boreholes. Borehole disposal is likely to be faster, cheaper, and more flexible than mined disposal, while also offering greater long-term isolation. Isolation would rely on the great depth, water density gradients, and reducing conditions to prevent vertical movement of waste up the borehole. Keywords Boreholes, radioactive waste, disposal, geologic repositories. Introduction Mankind has a long history drilling boreholes. The Chinese drilled oil wells in Sichuan Province to ~ 240 m depth in 347 AD using percussion drilling with bits attached to bamboo poles. Oil was used to evaporate brine to produce salt. By 1835 Chinese boreholes exceeded 1000 m depth. In the meantime, the Chinese had worked out pipelines; of split bamboo, well casing; of wooden logs, downhole cables; of bamboo twine, variable speed drilling, and “fishing” techniques for retrieving objects from the bottom of the well (Kuhn 2004). The number of deep boreholes ballooned in the 20th century with the search for oil, gas, and geothermal energy.
    [Show full text]
  • Waste Wikipedia Waste Or Wastes Are Unwanted Or Unusable Materials
    Waste wikipedia Waste or wastes are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance which is discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. It may be no longer useful as it has served its purpose, and at the end of the process have no further use, and it is generally discarded. It is unwanted materials and objects that people have thrown away. It is often also called trash , garbage , rubbish , or junk. It can be solid , liquid , or gas , or it can be waste heat. There are many different kinds of waste. Garbage is the waste we produce daily in our homes, including old or unwanted food, chemical substances, paper, broken furniture, used containers, and other things. When waste is a liquid or gas, it can be called an emission. This is usually pollution. Sanitation is proper handling of human waste. Waste can also be something abstract something that you cannot touch , for example "a waste of time" or "wasted opportunities". When people use the words waste or wasted in this way, they are saying directly or indirectly that something has been used badly using too much of it or using it incorrectly. People have thrown away waste in heaps for thousands of years. In modern homes and businesses , garbage is normally placed in waste containers of some sort. It is then moved to the street, where it can be collected and taken to a place designed to hold, destroy or recycle garbage. Some waste materials, such as paper , wood , glass , metals , and plastic containers , can be recycled reused.
    [Show full text]
  • International Panorama of Research on Alternatives to Geological Disposal of High-Level Waste and Long-Lived Intermediate-Level Waste
    R E PORT Faire avancer la sûreté nucléaire International panorama of research on alternatives to geological disposal of high-level waste and long-lived intermediate-level waste IRSN Report/2019-00318 Report prepared in response to a request by the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP) May 2019 IRSN/FRM-285 Ind 9 REPORT SUMMARY Within the framework of the preparations for the public debate on the French National Plan for the Management of Radioactive Materials and Waste 2019-2021 (PNGMDR 2019-2021), the President of the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP) asked the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) to complete the project management report with an inventory, on an international level, of the research conducted on alternatives to the geological disposal of high-level (HLW) and intermediate-level long-lived waste (ILW-LL). The literature review conducted by IRSN in response to this request was based on the use of freely available information published by international agencies (IAEA, OECD/NEA in particular) or national organizations, as well as in scientific journals. The resulting panorama identifies the main alternatives to geological disposal explored around the world, historically or currently, to ensure the long-term management of HLW and ILW-LL. It provides historical and scientific background to appreciate the context within which the various options emerged and were explored. It also identifies the concerns of technical and societal natures with which these options are associated, without however stating IRSN position with regard to their relevance or technical feasibility. The panorama highlights the diversity of alternatives to geological disposal explored since the 1950s.
    [Show full text]
  • Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal in a Deep Horizontal Drillhole Repository Sited in Shale: Numerical Simulations in Support of a Generic Post-Closure Safety Analysis
    DI-2020-01-R0 Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal in a Deep Horizontal Drillhole Repository Sited in Shale: Numerical Simulations in Support of a Generic Post-Closure Safety Analysis Revision 00 May 5, 2020 Deep Isolation, Inc. 2120 University Ave., Suite 623 Berkeley, California 94704 USA This work was supported by Deep Isolation, Inc., Berkeley, California, USA DISCLAIMER This report may concern work in progress that may have had limited review. While this document is believed to contain correct information, neither Deep Isolation Inc. nor any Sponsor of this work make any warranty of any kind, either expressed, implied, or statutory, or assumes any legal responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of this information, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Any use which a third party makes of the information presented in this work, or any reliance on or decisions to be made based on it, are the responsibility of such third parties. © 2020. Deep Isolation Inc. All Rights Reserved. REVISION HISTORY Revision Date Description 00A 12/20/2019 Initial draft, for internal review 00B 01/06/2020 Internal review comments addressed; concurrence copy 00C 01/24/2020 Final draft 00D 01/28/2020 Added instant waste mobilization scenario; addressed additional review comments 00 05/05/2020 Sensitivity to repository depth added; editorial changes and other minor additions _________________________________________________________________________ POST-CLOSURE SAFETY CALCULATIONS, REV00 i IMPORTANT NOTE This document describes post-closure safety calculations for a generic deep horizontal drillhole repository. The calculations are preliminary and do not derive from a specific geographic location or geological site.
    [Show full text]
  • Deep Borehole Disposal Research: Demonstration Site Selection Guidelines, Borehole Seals Design, and RD&D Needs
    Deep Borehole Disposal Research: Demonstration Site Selection Guidelines, Borehole Seals Design, and RD&D Needs Prepared for U.S. Department of Energy Used Fuel Disposition Campaign Bill W. Arnold, Patrick Brady, Susan Altman, Palmer Vaughn, Dennis Nielson, Joon Lee, Fergus Gibb, Paul Mariner, Karl Travis, William Halsey, John Beswick, and Jack Tillman Sandia National Laboratories October 25, 2013 FCRD-USED-2013-000409 SAND2013-9490P DISCLAIMER This information was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the U.S. Government. Neither the U.S. Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness, of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. References herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trade mark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the U.S. Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U.S. Government or any agency thereof. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. Deep Borehole Disposal Research October 25, 2013 iii Revision 2 12/20/2012 APPENDIX E FCT DOCUMENT COVER SHEET1 Deep Borehole Disposal Research: Demonstration Site Selection Guidelines, Borehole Seals Design, and RD&D Name/Title of Needs Deliverable/Milestone/Revision No.
    [Show full text]
  • Consent-Based Siting for Nuclear Waste Storage
    Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., Response to DOE’s Invitation for Public Comment To Inform the Design of a Consent-Based Siting Process for Nuclear Waste Storage and Disposal Facilities July 29, 2016 Geoffrey H. Fettus, Senior Attorney Matthew McKinzie, Ph.D., Director, Nuclear Program Jungmin Kang, Ph.D., Visiting Fellow, Nuclear Program Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. 1152 15th St. NW, Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20005 Tele: 202-289-6868 [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS I. NRDC Statement of Interest ……………………………………………………….………1 II. Summary of Comments……………………………………………………………………1 III. How Did We Get Here? …………………………………………………………..………3 A. Both Sound Science & Equitable Politics Will Be Crucial to Solving Nuclear Waste………………………………………………………………..3 B. The Need To Isolate Nuclear Waste……………………………………………….6 C. The Failure of the Repository Program…………………………….…………..….7 1. The first failed efforts……………………………………………………....7 2. The IRG Process……………………………………………...………...…..8 3. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA)……………………. …………….8 4. What else went wrong?. …………………………………………………….8 a. Site Selection…………………………………………………...……8 b. Radiation Standards……………………………….…………...……9 5. Finding the Yucca Site Unworkable & President Obama’s Blue Ribbon Commission…………………………………………………………………….10 6. International Efforts ……………………………………………….…...……11 D. The Current Status of Nuclear Waste Management & Disposal………….……...…13 E. Status of the BRC Recommendations – the Trajectory of Senate Nuclear Waste Legislation ………………………………………………………………………………14 F. Consolidated Storage & Other Efforts …………………………..……………...……15 IV. NRDC’s Prescriptions for Restarting and Forward Progress Towards Achieving Science- Based, Consent-Based Nuclear Waste Disposal Program…………………………………….…17 A. Five Recommendations to Get the Nuclear Waste Program Back on Track…………17 1. Recommendation 1 - Deep Geologic Repositories Are The Solution For Nuclear Waste And Must Remain the Focus……………………….……………18 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Hydrogeologic Lessons Learned from Deep Drilling Projects Applied to Deep Borehole Disposal of Radioactive Wastes – 16133
    WM2016 Conference, March 6-10, 2016, Phoenix, Arizona, USA Hydrogeologic Lessons Learned from Deep Drilling Projects Applied to Deep Borehole Disposal of Radioactive Wastes – 16133 Margaret Butzena and Bret Leslie U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Boardb ABSTRACT Hydrogeological results from the Kola SG-3, Gravberg-1, Cajon Pass, and KTB-VB and KTB-HB boreholes are applied to the US deep borehole disposal concept to assess whether old, saline, and reducing deep groundwater, in low bulk permeability crystalline basement rocks, could be found in a DOE proposed deep borehole field test. Each of the drilling projects faced characterization challenges, including obtaining sufficient information to characterize key parameters and their uncertainty, equipment limitations and failures, and obtaining samples that are representative of in situ conditions while maintaining sample integrity. Despite these characterization challenges, each project obtained sufficient data to directly measure or infer, for redox state, conditions at the 3 to 5 km (1.9 – 3.1 miles) target disposal depth of the US deep borehole disposal concept. The hydrogeologic data suggest that old, saline, and reducing deep groundwater could be found at a test site located in geologically stable crystalline basement. Although the DOE deep borehole testing program has not defined the magnitude of an acceptably low bulk permeability, bulk permeability results indicate that values used in current US deep borehole modeling efforts may be too low by an order of magnitude or more, as compared with in situ conditions. INTRODUCTION Disposal of radioactive wastes in deep boreholes is a proposed method for isolating radioactive material from the surface and near-surface environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Nuclear Power Need & Key Issues: Bangladesh Perspective
    Nuclear Power Need & Key Issues: Bangladesh Perspective By A.K.M. Ashraful Hoque (122405) Rafid Hasan Mahmud (122464) Rashed-Uz-Zaman Noor (122486) A Thesis Submitted to the Academic Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Islamic University of Technology (IUT) Gazipur, Bangladesh November 2016 i A dissertation on Nuclear Power Need & Key Issues: Bangladesh Perspective Submitted by -------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- A.K.M. Ashraful Hoque Rafid Hasan Mahmud Student No. 122405 Student No. 122464 Academic Year: 2015-2016 Academic Year: 2015-2016 Date: …… Date: …… -------------------------------------------- Rashed-Uz-Zaman Noor Student No. 122486 Academic Year: 2015-2016 Date: …… Approved by -------------------------------------------- Dr. Md. Ashraful Hoque Professor and Head of the Department, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Board bazar, Gazipur-1704. Date: …… Supervised by -------------------------------------------- Kazi Obaidul Awal Assistant Professor (Part time), Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Board bazar, Gazipur-1704. Date: …… 2 This study is dedicated to our Parents 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We would like to thank Almighty Allah firstly for successful completion of our thesis. We would like to express heartiest gratitude, profound indebtedness and deep respect to our supervisor Mr. Kazi Obaidul Awal, our supervisor for providing us proper guidance and support to complete our B.Sc thesis. His thoughts, dynamic and frank suggestions motivated us to find out in depth scenarios of this research work. Without their guidance, this thesis would be incomplete. 4 PREFACE On the eve of the special moments of golden jubilee of Bangladesh, the most buzzing word is ‘Digitalization’.
    [Show full text]