Disposal of Radioactive Waste in Abandoned Mines

摘要

Countries using nuclear energy tend to favour disposal of Low-Level andIntermediate-Level radioactive waste in mined repositories consisting of series oftunnels or drifts connected to disposal tunnels at a few hundred meters depth.Abandoned mines can serve as repositories for such waste and the present studyindicates that this would be possible also for High-Level Waste in the form of spentreactor fuel. The technique implies encapsulation of such waste in metal canisterssurrounded by densely compacted smectite clay in relatively shallow minedrepositories as well as in very deep bored holes. Intermediate-Level radioactivewaste can be disposed of in caverns in the form of packages of metal containers castin low-pH concrete and embedded in dense smectitic clay.