Radiological Impact of Shallow Land Burial: Sensitivity to Site Characteristics and Engineered Features of Burial Facilities

摘要

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in disposal of low-level solid radioactive wastes in engineered trenches located at shallow depth. This report describes an assessment of the radiological impact of disposal by shallow burial of low-level wastes in two kinds of low permeability geological media sited either inland or on the coast. Radionuclide release mechanisms include contact by ground-water and human intrusion. Calculations have been carried out for disposal of unit quantities of radionuclides and for disposal of notional quantities of LWR and Magnox reactor operating wastes. The sensitivity of the predicted radiological impact has been examined in relation to assumptions for repository design and to assumptions for the hydrogeological properties of the engineered barriers and for waste packaging or conditioning. (ERA citation 13:007285)