VDH – A Case Of Ostrich Philosophy Or
A Serious Alternative For The Disposal Of
Highly Radioactive Waste?
Author(s)
R. Pusch, M. H. Mohammed & S. Knutsson
Abstract
Two basically different concepts for the disposal of highly radioactive waste are
the often cited KBS-3 method implying isolation of such waste in copper
canisters in short holes bored from tunnels at a depth of a few hundred meters,
and disposal in the lower part of 4 km deep holes (VDH). The deep hole concept
has the advantage that the waste packages will be located in very salty, stagnant
groundwater in rock that is much less permeable than shallow rock with
repositories of KBS-3V type. The disadvantages are that some of the techniques
for installation have not yet been demonstrated and that the retrieval of damaged
or stuck canisters is deemed more difficult than for KBS-3V. Both concepts
require precise adaption of canister and seal positions to the rock structure,
which, for KBS-3 repositories, is not known until the tunnels have been
constructed. For VDH, pilot borings provide such knowledge at low cost at a
very early stage. The deep holes need to be supported by casings and all work
deeper than 500 m must be made with clay mud in them. Reconsideration of the
design and function of VDH shows that it has significant advantages, primarily
respecting cost and construction time, and that new types of concrete for sealing
purposes can make such repositories safer than KBS-3V disposal since seismic
and tectonic events are less detrimental and future glaciations will cause much
less disturbance. The most important value is that the groundwater that can
possibly become contaminated by failing engineered barriers will stay at more
than 2000 m depth and that there is no mechanism that can bring it up to the
biosphere.
Keywords: clay, concrete, disposal of radioactive waste, deep boreholes.
Keywords
clay, concrete, disposal of radioactive waste, deep boreholes.
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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