Compliance Assessments of Hypothetical Geological Nuclear Waste Isolation Systems with the Draft Epa Standard

Abstract

Estimates of potential radionuclide releases from HLW storage facilities in geologic formations are an integral part of the technical basis for the regulation of nuclear waste disposal. We have attempted to assess the importance of the variation of several variables and model assumptions to the calculation of radionuclide discharge from hypothetical repositories. The conceptual models of the repository sites are consistent with our current understanding of the characteristics of the geologic environments being studied by the Department of Energy. It must be stressed that we have not attempted to accurately model any real sites; at the present time, the available data are not sufficient for this purpose. Large uncertainties exist in the characterization of the solubilities and sorption of radionuclides, in the description of the regional and local hydrogeology and in the mathematical treatment of contaminant transport in the presence of fracture flow and matrix diffusion. The fraction of waste that could be accessed by breaching the repository, the effects of mixing processes within the facility and the probability of human intrusion are not known. We have completed preliminary calculations of potential radionuclide discharges from hypothetical repositories in tuff and bedded salt [1,2]. Our theoretical approach and computational methods are illustrated in this paper with examples for a repository in volcanic tuff. We also briefly discuss the importance of radionuclide source term assumptions to the calculations for a bedded salt repository.