Disposal Program Research Articles

Key Aspects of the H12 Safety Case

ABSTRACTIn Japan, as outlined in the overall high-level radioactive waste (HLW) management program defined by the Japanese Atomic Energy Commission (AEC, 1994), HLW from reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel will be immobilized in a glass matrix and stored for a period of 30 to 50 years to allow cooling. It will then be disposed of in a deep geological formation. Pursuant to the overall HLW management program, an organization with responsibility for implementing HLW disposal will be established around the year 2000. This will be followed by site selection and characterization, demonstration of disposal technology, establishment of the necessary legal infrastructure, relevant licensing applications and repository construction, with the objective of starting repository operation by the 2030s and no later than the mid 2040s.The HLW disposal program is currently in the research and development (R&D) phase and the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC) has been assigned as the leading organization responsible for R&D activities. The aim of the R&D activities at the current stage is to provide a scientific and technical basis for the geological disposal of HLW in Japan and to promote understanding of the safety concept not only in the scientific and technical community but also by the general public. One of the features of the R&D program is that its progress is documented at appropriate intervals, with a view to clearly determining the level of achievement of the program and to promote understanding and acceptance of the geological disposal strategy by the general public. As a major milestone, the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC, now JNC) submitted a first progress report, referred to as H3 (PNC, 1992), in September 1992.

Hydrological and reactive processes during rapid recharge to fracture zones: The Äspö large scale redox experiment

The hydrochemical response of fracture zones to enhanced recharge into the upper bedrock environment has been studied during a 3 a project at the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (HRL) in Southeastern Sweden. Hydrochemical data obtained during the experiment provides a basis for development of a model for the impact of accelerated recharge on groundwater composition and reactive processes during repository construction and operation. Tunnel construction at the HRL resulted in a 50-fold increase in recharge rates, and a 30-fold decrease in groundwater residence times in the fracture zone studied. Up to 80% dilution of the native groundwater created the greatest impact on groundwater composition. In addition, comparison of mass balances for solutes with known conservative behaviour, and reactive solutes, indicates a significant source of HCO − 3, SO 2− 4 and Na + ions and a significant sink for Ca 2+ ions within the fracture zone. These trends are explained by ion-exchange processes and microbial degradation of organic C transported from the soil with recharge. The increased microbial activity helps maintain anoxic conditions within the fracture zone. The enhanced recharge favours the performance of the geological barrier since anoxic conditions help to protect against corrosion of engineered barriers, and because long-lived isotopes of Np, Tc and U are less soluble under reducing conditions. A secondary impact is the strong dilution which affects trace element speciation, and also the stability and possible transport of colloids, through ion strength effects. Results from this experiment are primarily significant for national radioactive waste disposal programs that consider potential repository sites in granite geology, and for other programs considering disposal in fractured rock.

Financing the disposal of unwanted agricultural pesticides

Since the mid 1980s, it has been recognized that significant quantities of unwanted pesticides are being retained by agricultural producers in barns and other storage buildings throughout the United States. U.S. state governments have responded to the hazards posed by these pesticides by implementing programs to collect and dispose of them. This paper reviews issues related to costs and funding of pesticide collection and disposal programs. Primary and secondary information is presented on approaches of U.S. states to, and experiences with, unwanted pesticide removal. Differences in the theoretical impacts of various collection funding methods on reducing unwanted pesticide stocks, and the allocation of disposal costs are discussed. A permanent funding source, acceptance of pesticides from all small business firms, and the coordination of pesticide collections with household hazardous waste programs offer suggestions for developing an effective response to this latent environmental hazard.

1 Systems Engineering in the Development and Implementation of the Savannah River Site Transuranic Waste Disposition Program

The use of systems engineering facilitated the strategic planning and implementation of the Savannah River Site (SRS) transuranic waste disposal program. This application represented the first SRS use of systems engineering in the pre-program planning stages during the development of a comprehensive strategic plan for the disposal of transuranic waste at the Department of Energy Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The use of systems engineering focused the efforts of the technical experts to devise a three initiative plan for the disposal of transuranic waste where previous efforts failed. Continued application of systems engineering facilitated the further development and implementation of the first initiative outlined in the strategic plan, i.e., set-up the program and process to begin to characterize and ship waste to the WIPP.This application of systems engineering to the transuranic waste program represented the first opportunity at the SRS for a comprehensive usage of systems engineering at all program levels. The application was initiated at the earliest possible point in the program development, i.e., strategic planning, and successively was used in detailed development and implementation of the program. Systems engineering successfully focused efforts to produce a comprehensive plan for the disposal of SRS transuranic wastemore » at the WIPP, and facilitated development of the SRS capability and infrastructure to characterize, certify, and ship waste.« less

Subterranean microorganisms and radioactive waste disposal in Sweden

In 1987, microbiology became a part of the Swedish scientific program for the safe disposal of high level nuclear waste (HLW). The goal of the microbiology program is to understand how subterranean microorganisms will interact with the performance of a future HLW repository. The Swedish research program on subterranean microbiology has mainly been performed at two sites in granitic rock aquifers at depths ranging from 70 m down to 1240 m, the Stripa research mine in the middle of Sweden and the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (HRL) situated on the south eastern coast of Sweden. Some work has also been performed in cooperation with other national or international research groups in Sweden, Canada and at the natural analogue sites Oklo in Gabon and Maqarin in Jordan. The following conclusions are drawn. There is a very high probability of the existence of a deep subterranean biosphere in granitic rock. The documented presence of a deep biosphere implies that relevant microbial reactions should be included in the performance assessment for a HLW repository. A HLW repository will be situated in a subterranean biosphere that is independent of solar energy and photosynthetically produced organic carbon. The ultimate limitation for an active microbial life will be the availability of hydrogen as energy source over time, and hydrogen has indeed been found in most deep groundwaters. Sulphide producing microorganisms are active in environments typical for a Swedish HLW repository, and the potential for microbial corrosion of the copper canisters must be considered. The bentonite buffer around the copper canisters will be a hostile environment for most microbes due to the combination of radiation, heat and low water availability. Discrete microbial species can cope with each of these constraints, and it is theoretically possible that sulphide producing microbes may be active inside a buffer, although the experiments conducted thus far have shown the opposite. Microorganisms have the capability to enzymatically recombine radiolysis oxidants formed by radiation of water. It has earlier been concluded that the migration of radionuclides due to sorption on microorganisms can be neglected. The influence of microbially produced complexing agents remains to be studied at realistic conditions in deep groundwater. Microorganisms have been found in natural alkaline groundwaters, but it could not be conclusively demonstrated that they were in situ viable and growing, rather than just transported there from neutral groundwater. A possible hypothesis based on the obtained results from investigations of natural alkaline groundwaters is that fresh concrete may be a bit too extreme for active life even for the most adaptable microbe – but this remains to be demonstrated.

Oncogenic Ras triggers cell suicide through the activation of a caspase-independent cell death program in human cancer cells.

To prevent neoplasia, cells of multicellular organisms activate cellular disposal programs such as apoptosis in response to deregulated oncogene expression, making the suppression of such programs an essential step for potentially neoplastic cells to become established as clinically relevant tumors. Since the mutation of ras proto-oncogenes, the most frequently mutated proto-oncogenes in human tumors, is very rare in some tumor types such as glioblastomas and gastric cancers, we hypothesized that mutated ras genes might activate a cell death program that cannot be overcome by these tumor types. Here we show that the expression of oncogenically mutated ras gene induces cellular degeneration accompanied by cytoplasmic vacuoles in human glioma and gastric cancer cell lines. Cells dying as a result of oncogenic Ras expression had relatively well-preserved nuclei that were negative for TUNEL staining. An immunocytochemical analysis demonstrated that the cytoplasmic vacuoles are derived mainly from lysosomes. This oncogenic Ras-induced cell death occurred in the absence of caspase activation, and was not inhibited by the overexpression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein. These observations suggested that oncogenic Ras-induced cell death is most consistent with a type of programmed cell death designated 'type 2 physiological cell death' or 'autophagic degeneration', and that this cell death is regulated by a molecular mechanism distinct from that of apoptosis. Our findings suggest a possible role for this non-apoptotic cell death in the prevention of neoplasia, and the activation of the non-apoptotic cell death program may become a potential cancer therapy complementing apoptosis-based therapies. In addition, the approach used in this study may be a valuable way to find genetically-regulated cell suicide programs that cannot be overcome by particular tumor types.

Redox potentials of M(VI)/M(V) limiting carbonate complexes (M=U or Pu) at different ionic strengths and temperatures. Entropy and heat capacity

For waste disposal programs, actinide aqua ions and limiting complexes had been studied by cyclic voltametry. Measured redox potentials in non complexing media were modelled by using SIT and Taylor’s series expansions to the second order for ionic strength I, and temperature T, influences. These data treatments give standard values for redox potential Eo, corresponding ΔSo, ΔHo and ΔCpo of reactions, and excess values (variations of E’o, ΔS, ΔH and ΔCp with I) that can be deduced by using T influence on fitted SIT coefficients Δe. This methodology is used here at 5 to 70°C in 0.3 to 1.5 M Na2CO3 media (I=0.9 to 4.5M). Eo=0.191±0.015 (−0.779±0.010) V/SHE, ΔSo=−178±37 (−174±5) J. K−1. mol−1, ΔCpo=−516±744 (−414±176) J. K−1.mol−1 and Δe=−0.175±0.04+(2.1±2.0) 10−3 ΔT-(2.4±7.7) 10−5 (ΔT)2/2 (−0.91±0.10+(7.0±1.9)10−3 ΔT-(5.8±0.11) 10−5 (ΔT)2/2) kg.mol−1 are obtained at 25°C and I=0 for the MO2(CO3)34−+e−→MO2(CO3)35− reaction where M=Pu (and U respectively), lg(β3Vo/β3VIo)= −12.6±0.3 (−14.65±0.17) is deduced. lgβ3V = 3.1±1.4 (6.95±0.18) is proposed using published β3VI values.

Unwanted Agricultural Pesticides: State Disposal Programs

AbstractMillions of pounds of unwanted pesticides have accumulated in storage barns throughout our country. The potential environmental and health risks posed by this situation have garnered public attention and governmental action. While the possession of unwanted pesticides generally is not illegal, agricultural producers need to follow requisite legal requirements and dispose of pesticides properly to avoid legal infractions. The federal government has published the Universal Waste Rule so that it is easier to dispose of unwanted pesticides through waste pesticide collection programs. Nearly every state has initiated efforts to collect and dispose of accumulated pesticides in a safe manner, but many programs only address a part of the problem. For many states, the lack of implementation of funding or a permanent mechanism for the collection of unwanted pesticides means that pesticides will continue to present risks to our society.

Community-based programs for safe disposal of used needles and syringes.

To review issues related to discarded syringes in the community and to describe community-based programs for the safe disposal of used needles and syringes. We used the medical literature and chain referral to identify community-based syringe disposal programs other than syringe exchange programs (SEPs). We held a workshop in June 1996 involving staff from disposal programs; manufacturers of syringes, sharps containers, and other disposal devices; solid waste companies; public health staff; and researchers. Fifteen programs for the safe disposal of syringes were identified in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Of these, 12 primarily served persons with diabetes who use insulin, and 3 primarily served injection drug users (IDUs). The programs used three major strategies: puncture-resistant containers discarded in trash, community drop boxes, and sharps containers turned in for biohazard disposal at community sites, hospitals, or pharmacies. Participants in the workshop described key points in developing syringe disposal programs. Programs should involve pharmacists, physicians, waste disposal companies, public health departments, hospitals, diabetes educators, persons with diabetes who use insulin, and IDUs. For IDUs, criminal penalties for possession of syringes are a substantial deterrent to participation in community efforts to safely dispose of used syringes. The multiple and sometimes conflicting local, state, and federal laws and regulations concerning medical waste hinder development of multistate or national approaches to the safe disposal of syringes. More information is needed on community-based syringe disposal programs. Communities in the United States, Canada, and Australia have developed different approaches to achieve safe disposal of used syringes.

Value added products from reclamation of military munitions

The Department of Defense has a backlog of excess, obsolete and unserviceable munitions for disposal. For many of these munition items the only method of disposal is open burning/open detonation (OB/OD) which destroys valuable resources which can be reclaimed and converted to useful products. The Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center (NAVSURFWARCENDIV Crane) in support of the Navy's Ordnance Reclamation Program and the Joint Service Large Rocket Motor Disposal Program has been developing technology for the removal and reclamation of the energetics from munitions. The University of Missouri-Rolla has demonstrated the use of high pressure waterjet technology for removal of PBX explosives from projectiles and warheads. Development work is nearing completion for demonstrating the capability to remove Class 1.1 propellant from strategic rocket motors using high pressure waterjets. Current projects are under way focusing on resource recovery and recycling (R3) of the reclaimed energetics while minimizing disposal. The current reclamation projects include reformulation of the explosives and Class 1.1 propellants into commercial blasting agents, reuse of Navy gun propellant for various applications including agriculture and oil-gas well stimulation. Other projects include the recovery of RDX/HMX from Class 1.1 explosives and propellants and the conversion of Explosive D into higher value products. Lab/bench scale testing has been completed on many of these processes, and for some pilot scale demonstrations have been or are scheduled to be completed during 1997.

What can a country with small nuclear program learn from other European countries?

In this paper the present status of the nuclear programme and radioactive waste management in Slovenia is briefly presented. The quantities of accumulated radioactive wastes are given and the storage capacities and plans and problems concerning the final disposal are described. Because of small nuclear programme and limited resources Slovenia cannot afford expensive research and development projects; therefore, in selecting the optimal long-term solution for its radioactive waste foreign experience and approaches are very important. Intercomparison of solutions in different areas of radioactive waste management in more developed countries can be of great help to such countries when the disposal programme is prepared, as is indicated in this paper.

U.S. nuclear waste disposal programs progressing, but slowly

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVNewsNEXTU.S. nuclear waste disposal programs progressing, but slowlyRae TysonCite this: Environ. Sci. Technol. 1997, 31, 10, 458APublication Date (Web):June 8, 2011Publication History Published online8 June 2011Published inissue 1 October 1997https://doi.org/10.1021/es9725108RIGHTS & PERMISSIONSArticle Views56Altmetric-Citations-LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InReddit PDF (2 MB) Get e-AlertsSUBJECTS:Nuclear waste Get e-Alerts

Managerial perceptions of the incentives inherent in National Health Service capital charging.

Capital charging was introduced into the National Health Service (NHS) in 1991 in order to stop capital being treated as a 'free' good and to encourage managers to use their assets more efficiently. This article seeks to examine the extent to which managerial thinking has been influenced. It uses as evidence interviews with NHS managers conducted in Scotland in 1994. The following uses of capital charges data are explored: capital programme; disposal programme; maintenance programme; contract pricing; and budgetary devolution. New capital programmes required more justification and capital charges were seen as relevant to estate rationalization. Less effect was found with regard to the maintenance programme, though this may have been due to a downgrading of the estates function in most Trusts. Although the capital charge costs included in contract prices affect the competitive position of providers, there was criticism of the lack of development of the purchasing function. Budgetary devolution was proceeding relatively slowly but, among those Trusts which had devolved capital charges, evidence was found that some clinicians were becoming aware of the full costs of equipment use. This article concludes, with cautious optimism, that capital charges are beginning to influence decisions and that, despite some incentives being dysfunctional, they will lead to a better managed NHS.

Citizen-State Interaction and Technical Controversy: The U.S. Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program

Citizen-State Interaction and Technical Controversy: The U.S. Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program

Make‐or‐Buy Alternatives in Plant Disposition Strategies

Government regulations, competitive pressures, and public opinion have forced firms to reexamine their residual disposal activities. Properly implemented, disposal programs offer the advantages of lower costs and opportunities for strategic partnerships with raw material suppliers. Responsibility for this activity is usually given to the procurement function, forcing supply managers to develop knowledge of environmental legislation, scrap markets, and disposal outlets. This article presents research about plant disposal practices, focusing on a single residual—ferrous scrap. This study explored factors that influenced scrap disposal strategies and found that volume played a dominant role. The volume‐based strategies identified differed with respect to how plants structured relationships with intermediaries, resulting in a range of generator‐processor dependency levels. In addition to volume, a range of both internal and external factors were found to influence plant disposal requirements. Ultimately, the development of appropriate disposition strategies required an understanding of total disposal costs. A conceptual framework is developed, highlighting the complexities associated with implementing effective and efficient disposal programs.

Inventory determination of low and intermediate level radioactive waste of Paks Nuclear Power Plant origin

In the execution of disposal of low and intermediate level radioactive wastes, it is important to evaluate accurately the kind and quantity of each radionuclide in the wastes. For such an evaluation, correlation of non-gamma-emitting nuclides based on gamma-emitting nuclides is recommended and regarded as a practical method. This method necessitates a completion of a highly accurate and reliable nondestructive assay system of gamma-emitting nuclides for practical use. In 1992, in support of the new waste disposal program in Hungary, Paks NPP initiated a waste characterization program to determine the radiological properties of its radwastes. A segmented gamma scanning system has been set up to measure the gamma-emitting nuclides in 200 litre low level drums following in-drum compaction. In the framework of the program a radiochemical analysis sub-program was started to determine the long-lived non-gamma emitting radionuclides, mainly those listed in the US regulatory document (10CFR61). The radionuclides of interest have been3H,14C,90Sr,55Fe,59Ni,99Tc,129I and TRUs. Sample preparation techniques and measurement methods have been selected and used. Newly developed or adopted methods have been tested on real liquid radwaste streams such as concentrates, ion-exchange resin and sludge. The measurements taken so far have revealed brand new information and data on radiological composition of waste of WWER-type reactors. In the next stage of the characterisation program attempt will be made for providing correlation factors between the gamma and non-gamma-emitting radionuclides in different waste streams. Short description of the methods and results on waste inventory are given by highlighting the problem areas.

Provision of diffusion coefficients for argillaceous media in support of preliminary safety assessment within the French HLW disposal programme : M. J. Stenhouse, T. Merceron & E. S. De Martinville, Journal of Contaminant hydrology, 21(1–4), 1996, pp 351–363

Provision of diffusion coefficients for argillaceous media in support of preliminary safety assessment within the French HLW disposal programme : M. J. Stenhouse, T. Merceron & E. S. De Martinville, Journal of Contaminant hydrology, 21(1–4), 1996, pp 351–363

Public needs voice in chemical arms disposal

The Army's program destroy the nation's chemical weapons arsenal way over initial budget and far beyond its initial completion deadline. One of the key reasons that the Army has failed involve the public in a meaningful way in its decision-making process. This point was hammered home once again by the National Research Council's Stockpile Committee. In a recent report, the committee noted that the Army's Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (CSDP) is at a critical juncture in its public affairs strategy, and must now move to increase substantially and institutionalize public involvement. Lack of public participation, the committee states, has resulted in lack of trust in the Army on the part of the stockpile communities. . . . The Army's program widely perceived as being unresponsive community concerns. And, the committee believes, restoring community trust in the Army will be difficult. Reluctant at first ...

Implementation of spent nuclear fuel disposal in Taiwan

Owing to the limited natural energy resources in Taiwan, the electricity generated from nuclear power plants is an important energy supply for domestic economic development. Presently, there are three twin unit nuclear power plants in operation with a total output of 5145 MW located at three different sites in Taiwan. Although the nuclear power plants can provide a convenient and reliable energy resource, the associated spent fuel disposal problem is a very challenging one, especially in terms of public acceptance of the final disposal site. In order to target this issue, Taiwan Power Company has conducted a long-term disposal program for the spent nuclear fuel from 1986 until the present. This paper presents a general overview regarding the implementation of the spent nuclear fuel disposal project in Taiwan.

Investigations of subterranean bacteria in deep crystalline bedrock and their importance for the disposal of nuclear waste

The diversity and distribution of bacteria in subterranean environments have been found to be extensive and to depend on the prevailing environmental conditions. In 1987, microbiology became a part of the Swedish scientific program for the safe disposal of high level nuclear waste (HLW). The goal of the microbiology program is to understand how subterranean bacteria will interact with the performance of a future HLW repository. It concerns several major processes that directly or indirectly may exert influence on waste canister corrosion and the mobility of radionuclides. Uptake and transport of radionuclides by bacteria seem to be negligible components for radionuclide migration, but the effect from bacterial production of complexing agent remains to be evaluated. Also, bacterial production and consumption of gases will influence radionuclide transport due to gas bubbles. Many important radionuclides are immobile at reduced conditions and mobile at oxidized conditions. Bacterial activity can, therefore, indirectly decrease the mobility of radionuclides due to consumption of oxygen and the reduction of electron acceptors to species such as ferrous iron and sulfide.Key words: 16S rRNA, diversity, microbial activity, nuclear waste, sulfate reduction.