The self-disposal option

摘要

The self-disposal option for heatgenerating radioactive waste such as spent fuel, high level reprocessing waste or spent sealed radioactive sources was considered in the 1970s as a viable alternative disposal option by both Department of Energy in the USA and Atomic Industry Ministry in the USSR. The method has been analyzed in some detail, with laboratory experiments reported [1, 2]. Deep self-disposal involves loading radioactive waste together with a powerful heat-generating radionuclide into a sealed metal (tungsten) capsule and placing it at the bottom of a shallow borehole.