Radioactive waste burial

LENNEMANN, W.L. (1967). United States Atomic Energy Commission interim radioactive waste burial program, page 261 in Disposal of Radioactive Waste into the Ground, STI/PUB/156 (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna). 

Meyer G. 1976. Preliminary data on the occurrence of transuranium nuclides in the environment at the radioactive waste burial site Maxey Flats, Kentucky. IAEA-SM-199/105. In transuranium nuclides in the environment. Proceedings of a symposium on transuranium nuclides in the environment. Vienna International Atomic Energy Agency, 231-270. 

Mr. Kazakov discussed problems associated with contamination from the Chernobyl nuclear accident. The first problem is in characterising what portion of the contaminated material in the exclusion zone should be considered radioactive waste and how to deal with it remove it or possibly use materials for construction. Consideration of the extent to which contaminated materials should be removed, as radioactive waste, presents a problem as well. This is related to the second problem in properly characterising the total inventory of the radioactive waste. The waste is characterised at temporary locations of radioactive waste (TLPRW) and radioactive waste burial sites (RWBS). Although there is a great deal of documented information on the locations, volumes and activities, it is unclear whether to categorise the radioactive waste by specific activity, volume or presence of transuranic and fissionable elements in the radioactive waste. 

Prudic, D.E. 1986. Ground-water hydrology and subsurface migration of radionuclides at a commercial radioactive-waste burial site. West Valley, Cattaraugus County, New York. U.S. Geological Society,... 

The geologic aspects of waste disposal (24—26), proceedings of an annual conference on high level waste management (27), and one from an annual conference on all types of radioactive waste (28) are available. An alternative to burial is to store the spent fuel against a long-term future energy demand. Uranium and plutonium contained in the fuel would be readily extracted as needed. 

The Shallow land Burial ofEow-Eevel Radioactively Contaminated Solid Waste, Committee on Radioactive Waste Management, National Academy of Sciences, Washiagton, D.C., 1976. 

Radioactive wastes are usually stored in underground tanks or in temporary storage at reactor sites for recycling or disposal (Whicker and Schultz 1982a). For low-level wastes, containment and isolation are the preferred disposal options, including burial, hydraulic injection into deep geological strata, and ocean disposal (Table 32.10). Options for the disposal of high-level wastes include... 

Kadioactive Waste Dumping. Numerous proposed solutions for dumping radioactive wastes, including ocean burial, are described in the article on Nuclear Power Technology. ... 

Requirements for Disposal. The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980 (LLRWPA, 1980), as amended by the Policy Amendments Act (LLRWPAA, 1986), governs disposal of commercial low-level waste. A particular disposal technology is not specified, but shallow-land burial was presumed in accordance with contemporary practices. The original Act (LLRWPA, 1980) directed NRC to identify alternatives to shallow-land burial for commercial low-level waste and to establish technical guidance and requirements for licensing of alternative disposal methods. NRC published technical studies of alternative disposal technologies (Bennett, 1985 Bennett and Warriner, 1985 Bennett et al., 1984 Miller and Bennett, 1985 Warriner and Bennett, 1985), but specific licensing criteria for these alternatives have not been established. 

The disposal of low-level radioactive waste generated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) during the Cold War era has historically involved shallow land burial in unconfined pits and trenches. The lack of physical or chemical barriers to impede waste migration has resulted in the formation of secondary contaminant sources where... 

If absolutely necessary, wastes can be transported directly to a designated burial site. The unsatisfactory results experienced in the disposal of properly packaged radioactive waste by burial indicate that extreme caution should be used when resorting to this method for disposal of chemical carcinogens. 

Our society has not had a very impressive record for safe disposal of industrial wastes. We have polluted our water and air, and some land areas have become virtually uninhabitable because of our improper burial of chemical wastes. As a result, many people are wary about the radioactive wastes from nuclear reactors. The potential threats of cancer and genetic mutations make these materials especially frightening. 

It is very important to consider the pathways of radionuclides in the environment for design of the environmental monitoring program. Radionuclides enter the receiving environment via direct emissions to atmosphere, direct discharges to water bodies or releases from land burials of radioactive wastes. 

The safe disposal of the radioactive wastes from nuclear reactors is an important and controversial matter. A variety of proposals have been made, including the burial of radioactive waste in deep mines on either a recoverable or a permanent basis, burial at sea, and launching the waste into outer space. The first alternative is the only one that appears credible. The essential requirement is that the disposal site(s) be stable with respect to possible earthquakes or invasion by underground water. Spent nuclear fuel can be encased in blocks of borosilicate glass, packed in metal containers, and buried in stable rock formations. For a nuclide such as whose half-life is 24,000 years, a storage site that is stable over... 

Rapid growth of nuclear power has brought to a head the problem of storage and burial of radioactive waste products. Now, more than 250,000 tons of exhausted nuclear fuel has accumulated in the world. In light of this, creation of new radioactive-resistant structural materials intended for protection, storage, and burial of radioactive waste products is necessary. Application of RubCon for protection against radiation in enclosed radioactive waste product storehouses is discussed below. 

Containment structures Concrete vaults used to contain radioactive waste and burial containers for toxic and radioactive wastes can be constructed of RubCon to provide increased resistance to corrosive materials and chemicals. 

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