Radiation Protection and Safety Assessment Aspects of Geologic Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste.

Abstract

A high-level radioactive waste will be disposed of into deep geological formations, to isolate it from the human environment. Since the waste contains significant amounts of long-lived radionuclides, the safety of its disposal, particularly as regards the requirement for the protection of human and his environment even in the far future, is one of the essential subjects of all countries engaged in nuclear power production. The radiation protection system has long been established and applied to regulate radiation exposures to the public associated with a relatively short-term release of radionuclides from nuclear installations. Radioactive waste disposal, which potentially offers a long-term impact to the public, inevitably institutes a specific requirement that individuals and populations in the future should be accorded at least a current level of the protection. This requirement has caused a serious debate on how to establish radiation protection standards and criteria, and how to demonstrate compliance with them. This paper intends to discuss specific items such as numerical guides to indicate the consequences, time frames over which safety assessment is to be carried out and uncertainties to be involved in the assessment.