Aspects of nuclear waste management. Volume 1. Pre-emplacement risks

Results of the previous one-dimensional thermal analysis of interim storage accidents are confirmed by more detailed two-dimensional calculations. Waste temperatures calculated for interim storage accidents are moderately sensitive to assumptions concerning canister spacing and are much less sensitive to boundary conditions at the canister top. For an individual 100 m from a transportation accident involving solidified high-level waste, the expected dose from gamma radiation is on the order of or smaller than the other possible exposures in the same accident. For the calculation of expected doses to the worst-situated individual in accidents: Expected population dose should remain the primary measure of pre-emplacement risk in order to maintain comparability of consequences of different types of accidents