Siting and engineering design activities for the development of the Texas low-level radioactive waste disposal facility

This paper is a case study of the design of a landfill repository for low-level radioactive waste. Low-level radioactive waste is defined as any radioactive material that has a half-life of 35 years or less or that has less than 10 nanocuries per gram of transuranics. Low-level radioactive waste does not include irradiated reactor fuel. About 70% of the waste that will be sent to the Texas facility will be low-level waste generated at the state's two nuclear power plants; the remainder will be low-level wastes generated in hospital and medical research facilities in Texas. The low-level wastes will be placed in steel-reinforced concrete canisters, which have a design life of 500 years. This landfill will not have a synthetic lining because this type of liner will not last for 500 years. This landfill will be located in an areas of the state that receives very little precipitation. The depth to groundwater at the site is 600-1,000 feet. The natural geology of the site will provide an excellent barrier between the waste and the groundwater. The landfill is being designed to receive low-level radioactive waste for 30 years