Technique for the determination of permeabilities in repositories for the assessment of the possible contamination of the biosphere

Ultimate storage sites, especially radioactive waste repositories, have to meet high requirements with regard to their barrier effect. The barrier effect is determined by the structures in the rock. Furthermore, there are additional structures which are connected with mining directly or indirectly, e.g. relaxation interfaces in mining cavities or convergence. The result is a complex pattern which consists of the geological, tectonic and additional tension areas and interfaces. The permeability of the rock essentially is determined in particular by the jaggedness and the porosity. For the permeability determination, the required geotechnical parameters have to be gathered in the form of 'absolute quantities'. With the application stereophotogrammetry, the extension of the acquisition algorithm of the analytical evaluating device Zeiss-Planicomp C 100 and the development of various computer programs for PC and host application, it was possible to determine the geotechnical parameters in 'absolute' quantities. Examples are presented of some industrial-scale projects, e.g. the Konrad, Gorleben 1, repository and the Swiss project at the Grimsel rock laboratory. (orig.)