Abstract
The disposal and safe handling of high-level radioactive wastes resulting from the generation of electricity by nuclear fission is a topic of great current concern and future importance. All types of nuclear fuel produce similar quantities of fission products per GW over time, and the most important factor in handling is whether the waste is used fuel or reprocessing waste. It is believed that deep terrestrial or sub-seabed disposal offer the most risk-free options, the former being the more immediate proposition. Developments in media for encapsulating reprocessed wastes may increase the ease with which they can be disposed of. All geologic systems of disposal require a multi-barrier approach, but there are no significant technical problems to safe disposal in this way. Site investigations must study geologic formations, hydrogeology, geochemical properties of host rock and groundwater and long-term stability of the site. Risk assessment of the long-term safety of disposal sites is necessarily probabilistic, and is the subject of much study. The major problem of such assessments is the lack of a commonly-accepted concept of ‘safe’ levels of radiation over geologic timescales.
The paper examines in detail the Canadian waste management and research programs and discusses various international projects on nuclear waste disposal.
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