GDSA Deep Borehole Disposal investigations in FY 2023: Guidelines for a DBD Demonstration Test and Workshop Overview

This report describes specific activities in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 associated with the Deep Borehole Disposal Concept and Safety Strategy work package funded by the Spent Fuel and Waste Science and Technology (SFWST) Campaign of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE), Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition (SFWD).

The US Department of Energy (DOE)’s Assessment of Disposal Options for DOE-Managed High-Level Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel (DOE 2014a) included a conclusion that “…effective implementation of a strategy for management and disposal of all high-level waste (HLW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF)…” should include focused research on deep boreholes, especially to retain flexible options for disposal of smaller DOE-managed waste forms. However, in May 2017, it was announced that “Due to changes in budget priorities, the Department of Energy does not intend to continue supporting the Deep Borehole Field Test (DBFT) project and has initiated a process to effectively end the project immediately.” (DOE 2017) During planning for FY2023, the DOE directed the SFWST program to reinitiate disposal research and development (R&D) work to plan a generic concept for deep borehole disposal of smaller waste forms in the US inventory. This effort would be at a commensurately lower level compared to those for generic mined repository concepts, and would begin by summarizing the prior work and assessing the priority of future R&D.