Natural Analogue Studies in the Geological Disposal of Radioactive Wastes

About this book

The first purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive review of the state of development of natural analogue studies with emphasis on those studies which are relevant in the following repository designs: Nagra (Switzerland) disposal concepts for high-level waste/low and intermediate-level waste; SKB (Sweden) disposal concepts for spent fuel/low and intermediate-level waste; and Nirex (UK) disposal concept for low and intermediate-level waste. The book's second aim is to discuss the expanding application of natural analogues for non-performance assessment purposes, especially their potential for presenting the concept of geological disposal to various interested audiences in a coherent, understandable and scientifically legitimate manner. Much of the discussion of the book is relevant to concepts for geological disposal of radioactive wastes by other countries, and is concerned only with those physicochemical processes which control the release of radionuclides from the near-field, and their subsequent retardation and transport in the geosphere.

Contents

Part 1 Introduction: The concept of geological disposal. What is a natural analogue? Reasoning by analogy. Perception of natural analogue studies. Previous natural analogue reviews. Scope of the book. Part 2 The Disposal Concepts: Swiss disposal concept. Swedish disposal concepts. British disposal concept. Part 3 Selecting Analogue Studies: Chemical analogues. Natural analogue environments. Part 4 Analogues of Repository Materials: Glasses. Spent fuel. Metals. Bentonite. Concretes and cements. Bitumen. Cellulose. Polymers and resins. Part 5 Radionuclide Release and Transport: Radionuclide solubility and speciation. Retardation processes. Matrix diffusion. Radiolysis. Redox fronts. Colloids. Microbiological activity. Gas generation and migration. Part 6 Applying Natural Analogue Information: Natural analogues in published performance assessments. The reality of analogue application. How natural analogues should be used in performance assessment. Non-performance assessment applications. Part 7 Status of Natural Analogue Studies: Natural analogues of repository materials. Natural analogues of radionuclide release and transport Processes. Summary. Conclusions. A Description of Natural Analogue Studies.

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