In 2007 the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Radioactive Waste Management Committee
(RWMC) launched a four-year project on the topics of reversibility and retrievability in geological
disposal. The goal of the project studies and activities (www.oecd-nea.org/rwm/rr) was to
acknowledge the range of approaches to reversibility and retrievability (R&R), rather than to
recommend a specific approach, and to provide a basis for reflection rather than to lead towards
This report describes a novel approach developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(ORNL) for the estimation of the uncertainty in the prediction of the neutron multiplication factor
for spent nuclear fuel. This technique focuses on burnup credit, where credit is taken in criticality
safety analysis for the reduced reactivity of fuel irradiated in and discharged from a reactor.
Validation methods for burnup credit have attempted to separate the uncertainty associated with
This study provides a technical basis for informing policy decisions regarding strategies for the management and permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) in the United States requiring geologic isolation. Relevant policy questions this study can help inform include the following: Is a “one-size-fits–all” repository a good strategic option for disposal? Do
The main objective of this report is to identify conditions which affect public concern (either
increase or decrease) and political acceptance for developing and implementing programmes
for geologic disposal of long-lived radioactive waste. It also looks how citizens and relevant
actors can be associated in the decision making process in such a way that their input is
enriching the outcome towards a more socially robust and sustainable solution. Finally, it
aims at learning from the interaction how to optimise risk management addressing needs and
The objective of this calculation is to provide the uncertainty term for fission product and minor actinides which contributes to the determination of the critical limit for burnup credit calculations. The scope of this calculation covers PWR and BWR spent nuclear fuel. This activity supports the Criticality Department's validation of burnup credit. The intended use of these results is in future Criticality Department calculations and analyses.
A set of 16 geologic disposal concepts is described in sufficient detail for rough-order-of-magnitude repository cost estimates, for disposal of spent nuclear reactor fuel in generic crystalline, argillaceous, and salt host geologic media. The description includes total length, diameter, and volume for all underground shafts, ramps, drifts and large-diameter borings. Basic types of ground support are specified. Total repository capacity is assumed to be approximately 140,000 MT of spent fuel, but concepts are described in terms of modular panels each containing 10,000 MT.
The Law of 30 December 1991 Loi n¯ 91-1381 du 30 dÇcembre 1991 relative aux recherches sur la gestion des dÇchets radioactifs. conferred on Andra the task of assessing the feasibility of a high-level, long-lived waste (HLLL waste) repository in a deep geological formation. This volume of the Dossier 2005 Argile reports on the results of the study from the standpoint of the architecture and management of such a repository. It is based on the characteristics of the clay formation studied in an underground research laboratory located in the Meuse and Haute-Marne departments.
Presented to the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future Subcommittee on Disposal
Presented on September 2010 to the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future (Disposal Subcommittee)
Crystalline Repository Project Briefing
Presented at the International Conference on Geologic Repositories, Denver, CO, November 1, 1999
19th Annual Symposium-Geological Disposal of Nuclear Waste
Each and every geological disposal project requires the collection of large amounts of information on
its progress throughout the facility’s lifecycle. This information is based on the monitoring and
surveillance of the selected site, built structures and their surrounding environment. Monitoring is carried
out to assist in the decision-making process, to collect site-relevant information for the creation of an
environmental database, to gain an understanding and to verify the performance of the disposal system, to
This report aims to clarify the dynamics of socio-technical challenges in the implementation of geological disposal (GD) for High Level Waste (HLW) and Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF). Drawing on the 14 country reports produced within InSOTEC’s WP1 the synthesis focuses on socio-technical challenges that appear across national contexts. The synthesis report elucidates issues made visible through bringing together the analyses of different national contexts.
This paper summarises CoRWM’s understanding of:<br><br>The roles and responsibilities of the organisations that are involved in the management of radioactive waste, <br>Decision-making on Government policy, <br>Decision-making on the governance of the NDA, <br>Decision-making on waste conditioning, packaging and storage and <br>Decision-making in the implementation of geological disposal.
The Finnish nuclear regulator needs another six months to review Posiva's application to build a waste encapsulation plant and a final repository at Olkiluoto.
This report was prepared in the context of Work Package 3 of the InSOTEC project. The overall objective of this work package (WP) is to take a closer look at arenas where socio-technical combinations on radioactive waste management (RWM) are formed. The attempt is to illustrate the interconnections between the sources of different types of information and knowledge development with the various stakeholders having access to that information.
