Final disposal of spent nuclear fuel in Finnish bedrock - Romuvaara site report

Posiva Oy is studying the Finnish bedrock for the geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel. The study is based on the site selection research programme started originally in 1983. The programme is in accordance with the decision in principle by the Council of State in 1983 and aims at the selection of one site in 2000. Four sites, Haestholmen in Loviisa, Kivetty in Aeaenekoski, Olkiluoto in Eurajoki and Romuvaara in Kuhmo, have been studied in detail. This report summarises the results of the site investigations carried out at Romuvaara. The bedrock of Romuvaara belongs to the Archean basement complex, whose oldest parts date back over 2800 million years. The bedrock consists mainly of migmatitic banded gneisses (tonalite, leucotonalite and mica gneiss), which are cut by granodiorite and metadiabase dykes. The rocks, excluding the metadiabase, have undergone a polyphase Archaean deformation. Altogether 31 bedrock structures (R-structures) have been modelled at the investigation site, most of them representing steeply dipping fracture zones. The rock mass between the fracture zones represents what is termed 'intact rock', which is typically hard, unweathered and sparsely fractured. The R-structures are generally hydraulically more conductive than the intact rock and their mean transmissivity is 1.6 x 10-7 m2/s. The corresponding mean of the hydraulic conductivity values for the intact rock measured using a 2 m packer interval is 8 x 10-12 m/s, if a lognormal distribution for all measured values is assumed. A clear decrease in hydraulic conductivity with depth has been found, for both the R-structures and the intact rock. In addition, the hydraulically conductive fractures seem to be more frequent and their transmissivities higher in the uppermost 100 - 200 m of the bedrock than at greater depths. The groundwater of Romuvaara is classified as fresh water and the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and chloride contents increase with depth. The chemically most evolved groundwaters are found in borehole KR3 with a TDS value of 265 mg/l and a chloride content of 109 mg/l. Reducing conditions are expected to exist at depth, which are favourable in terms of low radionuclide solubility and slow canister corrosion. Potentially suitable bedrock blocks have been identified at the site for locating a repository for spent fuel in the depth range of 400 - 700 m. No significant geotechnical, hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical constraints have been found to its construction, although it is recommended that certain fracture zones should be avoided when locating the deposition tunnels and disposal holes. (orig.)