Pyramiding tumuli waste disposal site and method of construction thereof

摘要

An improved waste disposal site (1) for the above-ground disposal of low-level nuclear waste is dis­closed herein. The disposal site is formed from at least three individual waste-containing tumuli (3a, 3b, 5), wherein each tumuli includes a central raised portion (7) bordered by a sloping side portion (9a, 9b). Two of the tumuli (3a, 3b) are constructed at ground level with adjoining side portions, and a third above-ground tumulus (5) is constructed over the mutually adjoining side por­tions (9a, 9b) of the ground-level tumuli (3a, 3b). Both the floor (11) and the roof (13) of each tumulus includes a layer of water-shedding material (15, 17) such as compacted clay, and the clay layer in the roofs (13) of the two ground-level tumuli (3a, 3b) form the compacted clay layer of the floor (11) of the third above-ground tumulus (5). Each tumulus further includes a shield wall (24a, 24b), preferably formed from a solid array (26) of handleable nuclear waste packages. The provision of such a shield wall protects workers from potentially harmful radiation when non-handleable packages of nuclear waste are stacked in the center of the tumulus.