Research in the selection of very low level radioactive waste disposal site in southwest China

The ultimate goal of Chinese Radioactive Nuclear Waste Management and Disposal Security is that must use proper and optimized ways to manage radioactive waste and make sure human beings and the environment either at the present or in the future can be free from any unacceptable risks. According to the goal, this paper presents an overview of comprehensive site characterization work that comprises investigations of physical geography, climatology, geology and hydrogeology, as well as geological hazard on two candidate Very Low Level Radioactive Waste (VLLW) disposal sites (Site 1 and Site 2) which are both located in the south west of China. The results showed that there are many similarities in the regional extent of the two sites, but many distinct differences are found in terrain and topographic features, granule stratum, hydraulic gradient, and so on. On the whole, the two alternative sites are in line with the requirements for very low level radioactive waste disposal, and Site 1 is superior to Site 2. (author)