The Swedish safety report SR-Can: near-field processes and concepts during repository operation

The Swedish nuclear industry is planning to dispose spent nuclear fuel encapsulated in copper canisters surrounded by bentonite buffer in granitic bedrock at a depth of about 500 m. SKB has started an assessment, SR-Can, of the long-term safety for such a repository. SR-Can is needed to support SKB's application to be presented in 2006 to build an encapsulation plant for spent nuclear fuel. The main lines of the SR-Can report are overviewed in this presentation. In terms of pre-closure processes, several disturbances to the repository site must be taken into account. These may be classified into hydrological, geochemical, and the effects of grouting and of stray materials. The relative importance of these processes will depend on the type of repository, e.g. clay or granitic bedrock; and although pre-closure processes are not expected to endanger the function of the repository, they must be appropriately dealt with in a safety assessment. (authors)