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Progress in Deep Geologic Disposal Safety Assessment in the U.S. since 2010

Mariner, Paul M.; Connolly, Laura A.; Cunningham, Leigh C.; Debusschere, Bert D.; Dobson, David C.; Frederick, Jennifer M.; Hammond, Glenn E.; Jordan, Spencer H.; LaForce, Tara; Nole, Michael A.; Park, Heeho D.; Perry, Frank V.; Rogers, Ralph D.; Seidl, Daniel T.; Sevougian, Stephen D.; Stein, Emily S.; Swift, Peter N.; Swiler, Laura P.; Vo, Jonathan V.; Wallace, Michael G.

Abstract not provided.

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TYPE Other Report YEAR 2019
OSTIDOI

Re-evaluation of U.S. DOE R&D efforts for generic deep geologic repositories - Roadmap update

International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management 2019, IHLRWM 2019

Sevougian, S.D.; Hammond, Glenn E.; Mariner, Paul M.; MacKinnon, R.J.; Swift, Peter N.; Rogers, R.D.; Dobson, D.C.; Tynan, M.C.

R&D addressing the disposal of commercial spent nuclear fuel in the U.S. is currently generic (i.e., “non-site-specific”) in scope. However, to prepare for the eventuality of a repository siting process, the former Used Fuel Disposition (UFD) Campaign of the Nuclear Energy (NE) Office of the U.S. DOE formulated an R&D Roadmap in 2012 outlining generic R&D activities and their priorities appropriate for developing safety cases and associated performance assessment (PA) models for deep geologic repositories in several potential host-rock environments in the contiguous United States. This 2012 UFD Roadmap identified the importance of re-evaluating priorities in future years as knowledge is gained from the DOE's ongoing R&D activities. Since 2012, significant knowledge has been gained from these activities through R&D in the U.S. and via international collaborations, especially with countries that operate underground research laboratories (URLs). The 2019 R&D Roadmap Update, introduced here, summarizes the progress of ongoing R&D activities, re-assesses R&D priorities, and identifies new activities of high priority, such as R&D on disposal of DPCs (dual purpose canisters), which now contain a significant fraction of the Nation's spent fuel activity.

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TYPE Conference Poster YEAR 2019
ScopusOSTI

The Need for Integrating the Back End of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle in the United States of America

MRS Advances

Bonano, Evaristo J.; Kalinina, Elena A.; Swift, Peter N.

Current practice for commercial spent nuclear fuel management in the United States of America (US) includes storage of spent fuel in both pools and dry storage cask systems at nuclear power plants. Most storage pools are filled to their operational capacity, and management of the approximately 2,200 metric tons of spent fuel newly discharged each year requires transferring older and cooler fuel from pools into dry storage. In the absence of a repository that can accept spent fuel for permanent disposal, projections indicate that the US will have approximately 134,000 metric tons of spent fuel in dry storage by mid-century when the last plants in the current reactor fleet are decommissioned. Current designs for storage systems rely on large dual-purpose (storage and transportation) canisters that are not optimized for disposal. Various options exist in the US for improving integration of management practices across the entire back end of the nuclear fuel cycle.

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TYPE Journal Article YEAR 2018
ScopusOSTIDOI

Safety assessment for deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste

Geological Repository Systems for Safe Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuels and Radioactive Waste

Swift, Peter N.

Safety assessments estimate the long-term performance of geological disposal systems for radioactive waste using quantitative models. This paper reviews regulatory standards, selection of scenarios for analysis, the development of computational models and their linkage into a system analysis, and the iterative relationship between site characterization and safety assessment. Uncertainty must be acknowledged and can be accounted for using both conservative deterministic and probabilistic approaches. In addition to generating performance estimates for comparison to regulatory standards, safety assessments can also guide research and model development, evaluate design alternatives, enhance the scientific understanding of the system, and contribute to public acceptance.

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TYPE Book YEAR 2017
ScopusOSTI

Geological disposal of nuclear waste in tuff: Yucca Mountain (USA)

Elements

Swift, Peter N.; Bonano, Evaristo J.

For more than three decades, the US Department of Energy has investigated the potential for permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel in a deep-mined repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada (USA). A detailed license application submitted to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2008 provides full documentation of the case for permanent disposal of nuclear waste in tuff. The aridity of the site and great depth to the water table provide a disposal environment and a design concept unique among deep-mined repositories currently or previously proposed worldwide.

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TYPE Journal Article YEAR 2016
ScopusOSTIDOI

International Approaches for Nuclear Waste Disposal in Geological Formations: Report on Fifth Worldwide Review

Faybishenko, Boris F.; Birkholzer, Jens T.; Persoff, Peter P.; Sassani, David C.; Swift, Peter N.

An important issue for present and future generations is the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel. Over the past over forty years, the development of technologies to isolate both spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and other high-level nuclear waste (HLW) generated at nuclear power plants and from production of defense materials, and low- and intermediate-level nuclear waste (LILW) in underground rock and sediments has been found to be a challenging undertaking. Finding an appropriate solution for the disposal of nuclear waste is an important issue for protection of the environment and public health, and it is a prerequisite for the future of nuclear power. The purpose of a deep geological repository for nuclear waste is to provide to future generations, protection against any harmful release of radioactive material, even after the memory of the repository may have been lost, and regardless of the technical knowledge of future generations. The results of a wide variety of investigations on the development of technology for radioactive waste isolation from 19 countries were published in the First Worldwide Review in 1991 (Witherspoon, 1991). The results of investigations from 26 countries were published in the Second Worldwide Review in 1996 (Witherspoon, 1996). The results from 32 countries were summarized in the Third Worldwide Review in 2001 (Witherspoon and Bodvarsson, 2001). The last compilation had results from 24 countries assembled in the Fourth Worldwide Review (WWR) on radioactive waste isolation (Witherspoon and Bodvarsson, 2006). Since publication of the last report in 2006, radioactive waste disposal approaches have continued to evolve, and there have been major developments in a number of national geological disposal programs. Significant experience has been obtained both in preparing and reviewing cases for the operational and long-term safety of proposed and operating repositories. Disposal of radioactive waste is a complex issue, not only because of the nature of the waste, but also because of the detailed regulatory structure for dealing with radioactive waste, the variety of stakeholders involved, and (in some cases) the number of regulatory entities involved.

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TYPE Other Report YEAR 2016
OSTIDOI
Results 1–50 of 168
Results 1–50 of 168