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Flow-Diversion Barriers for HLW and LLW Disposal Under Partially Saturated Conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

M. J. Apted ,
P. F. Salter  and
J. L. Conca
M. J. Apted
Affiliation:
Intera Information Technologies, Inc., Denver, Colorado 80235USA
P. F. Salter
Affiliation:
Intera Information Technologies, Inc., Denver, Colorado 80235USA
J. L. Conca
Affiliation:
UFA Laboratory, Washington State University, Richland, Washington 99352USA
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Abstract

An innovative EBS design of sand-gravel layers for waste disposal under partially saturated conditions is described. Advantages of this EBS are 1) as a hydraulic barrier to advective inflow from the surrounding rock, and 2) as a diffusion barrier to the transport of dissolved or colloidal radionuclides. This sand-gravel barrier design for unsaturated sites is analogous to EBS designs using compacted bentonite backfills/buffers in saturated repository sites. Percolation box experiments, field tests, and natural analogues supporting the advantageous performance of this flow-diversion design are described and estimates for source-term release are calculated.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 353: Symposium – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XVIII , 1994 , 471
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1995

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References

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