[en] A study on the development of gas ventilation system for the LILW disposal facility is under research by Korea Radioactive Waste Agency and the concept of gas permeable seal has been adapted as gas ventilation system from the study. The material of gas permeable seal is S/B (Sand/Bentonite) mixture referred to the international cooperative research. For the performance evaluation of gas permeable seal, the lab-scale performance experiment has been designed. It is expected that nitrogen gas will penetrate S/B mixture than the concrete specimen since the gas permeability of S/B mixture is higher than that of the concrete specimen as designed. With the result, the performance of S/B mixture as gas permeable seal would be verified. As the effective gas ventilation system is applied on the design of concrete silo, the integrity of engineered barrier in the disposal facility would be improved against the overpressure by generated gases. After closure of the LILW (Low- and Intermediate-Level radioactive Waste) disposal facility, the concrete silo will be saturated with ground water. Thus, ground water will contact with waste drums, so that various gases will be generated from several reactions such as metal corrosion, radiolysis and so on. In order to prevent the overpressurization of concrete silo by generated gases, the gas ventilation system should be applied into the design of silo

[en] Nuclear power plays a key role in limiting European Union’s greenhouse gases emissions, and makes an important contribution to improve EU’s independence, security and diversity of energy supply. However, its social acceptance is closely linked to an enhanced safety in the management of long-lived radioactive waste contributing to resource efficiency and cost-effectiveness of this energy and ensuring a robust and socially acceptable system of protection of man and environment. Among the different strategies, partitioning and transmutation (P&T) allows a reduction of the amount, the radiotoxicity and the thermal power of these wastes, leading to an optimal use of geological repository sites. ACSEPT successfully addressed the partitioning issues by focusing on the development of advanced separation processes, both aqueous and pyrochemical. Head-end steps, fuel refabrication, solvent treatment, waste management were also taken into account. In aqueous process development, the SANEX, innovative SANEX and GANEX flowsheets were designed and tested in hot cells. In pyrometallurgy, studies on actinide back-extraction from aluminium and exhaustive electrolysis allowed the validation of two flowsheets developed from more then 10 years in Europe. A training and education program including seminars, workshops, brainstorming meeting but also student exchanges and support to post-doctorate fellowships was a key point for maintaining and increasing a high expertise level in actinide separation sciences in Europe. Six month after the end of ACSEPT, and when its follow-up, SACSESS, just begins, it is time to highlight its main achievements. (author)

[en] The whole cycle of the decommissioning process development of repository requires the relevant bodies to have a financial system to ensure that it has sufficient funds for its whole life cycle (over periods of many decades). Therefore, the financing mechanism and management system shall respect the following status: the national position, institutional and legislative environment, technical capabilities, the waste origin, ownership, characteristics and inventories. The main objective of the studies is to focus on the cost considerations, alternative funding managements and mechanisms, technical and non-technical factors that may affect the repository life-cycle costs. As a conclusion, the outcomes of this paper is to make a good recommendation and could be applied to the national planners, regulatory body, engineers, or the managers, to form a financial management plan for the decommissioning of the Nuclear Installation

[en] Simulated radioactive spent resins were solidified by sulfoaluminate cement, and the influence of water/binder ratio and the blending amount of naphthalene-based water reducer UNF-5 on fluidity, setting times and compressive strength of waste forms were investigated. With water/binder ratio increasing from 0.25 to 0.35, the fluidity enhances linearly from 228 mm to 280 mm. The initial and final setting time prolong from 3.0 h and 9.3 h to 4.6 h and 10.4 h, respectively. The 28 d compressive strength decreases linearly from 19.8 MPa to 13.5 MPa. When the blending amount of UNF-5 increases, the fluidity increases, the setting time decreases initially and then increases, and the compressive strength increases to the maximum and then decreases. With UNF-5 blending amount of 0.05%-0.10%, the fluidity is 200-225 mm, the initial and final setting time are 3-4 h and 11-12 h, respectively, and the 28 d compressive strength is 21.1-21.7 MPa. (authors)

[en] Licence applications to build a repository for the disposal of Swedish spent nuclear fuel have been lodged, underpinned by myriad reports and several broader reviews. This paper sketches out the technical and administrative aspects and highlights a recent review of the biosphere effects of a potential release from the repository. A comprehensive database and an understanding of major fluxes and pools of water and organic matter in the landscape let one envisage the future by looking at older parts of the site. Thus, today's biosphere is used as a natural analogue of possible future landscapes. It is concluded that the planned repository can meet the safety criteria and will have no detectable radiological impact on plants and animals. This paper also briefly describes biosphere work undertaken after the review. The multidisciplinary approach used is relevant in a much wider context and may prove beneficial across many environmental contexts. (authors)

[en] The cleanup and re-industrialization of the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) hinges on a collaborative working relationship between the cleanup contractor and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE)-Oak Ridge Office (ORO). A Partnering Framework document was signed on June 30, 2011, with an ultimate goal of completing the contract scope of work ahead of schedule and under budget. This partnering process was the first time that DOE and its contractor, jointly developed and signed such an agreement before the contractor assumed management responsibilities of the Site. A strong desire of both parties to utilize a partnering approach in the performance of their respective responsibilities is evident. The Partnering Framework was modeled after a partnering process employed by the California Department of Transportation, Division of Construction. This partnering process has been used successfully by the California Department of Transportation and its major contractors for many years with great success. The partnering process used at ETTP was a phased approach. First, a Partnering Framework document was developed and signed June 30, 2011, by the Partnering Sponsors, the two leaders of the ETTP cleanup and re-industrialization project, the DOE-ORO Assistant Manager for Environmental Management and the contractor's President and Program Manager. In this way the partnering process could begin when the contactor assumed ETTP Site management responsibilities on August 1, 2011. The Partnering Framework then set the stage for the second phase of the partnering process which would be development of the Partnering Agreement and the kick-off of the first of a number of facilitated Partnering Workshops. Key elements of the Partnering Framework document include: (1) a statement of commitment which affirms the desire of both parties to work collaboratively toward the cleanup and re-industrialization of the ETTP Site; (2) a vision which describes both parties ultimate goal of safe, efficient cleanup, and (3) an implementation section which describes how the partnering process will be conducted, as well as how disputes will be managed. The signed Partnering Framework and Partnering Agreement provide the needed foundation of the safe and cost-effective cleanup and re-industrialization of the ETTP Site. The benefits of partnering have already been observed as the Partnering Teams effectively addressed a number of early contract and project challenges such as funding reductions and progress in resolving Material Differences. Based, in part of the successes achieved as a result of the partnering between UCOR and DOE-ORO, UCOR and DOE-ORO are extending this partnering approach to a number of the ETTP Site stakeholders. For example, DOE-ORO, UCOR and CROET signed a Partnering Agreement on November 3, 2011. This Partnering Agreement affirms the parties' commitment to work collaboratively to re-industrialize the ETTP Site. Both DOE-ORO and UCOR are looking to extend this partnering approach with other Site stakeholders such as its employees, its subcontractors, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 Security Complex in the future. (authors)

[en] Low level radioactive waste (LLW) is generated from various nuclear applications in Bangladesh. The major sources of radioactive waste in the country are at present: (a) the 3 MW TRIGA Mark-II research reactor; (b) the radioisotope production facility; (c) the medical, industrial and research facilities that use radionuclides; and (d) the industrial facility for processing monazite sands. Radioactive waste needs to be safely managed because it is potentially hazardous to human health and the environment. According to Nuclear Safety and Radiation Control Act-93, the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) is the governmental body responsible for the receipt and final disposal of radioactive wastes in the whole country. Waste management policy has become an important environmental, social, and economical issue for LLW in Bangladesh. Policy and strategies will serve as a basic guide for radioactive waste management in Bangladesh. The waste generator is responsible for on-site collection, conditioning and temporary storage of the waste arising from his practice. The Central Waste Processing and Storage Unit (CWPSU) of BAEC is the designated national facility with the requisite facility for the treatment, conditioning and storage of radioactive waste until a final disposal facility is established and becomes operational. The Regulatory Authority is responsible for the enforcement of compliance with provisions of the waste management regulation and other relevant requirements by the waste generator and the CWPSU. The objective of this paper is to present, in a concise form, basic information about the radioactive waste management infrastructure, regulations, policies and strategies including the total inventory of low level radioactive waste in the country. For improvement and strengthening in terms of operational capability, safety and security of RW including spent radioactive sources and overall security of the facility (CWPSF), the facility is expected to serve waste management need in the country and, in the course of time, the facility may be turned into a regional level training centre. It is essential for safe conduction and culture of research and application in nuclear science and technology maintaining the relevant safety of man and environment and future generations to come. (authors)

[en] SUE MosSIA 'RADON' - this enterprise was created more than 50 years ago, which deals with the recycling of radioactive waste and conditioning of spent sources of radiation in stationary and mobile systems in the own factory and operating organizations. Here is represented the experience SUE MosSIA 'Radon' in the field of the management with liquid radioactive waste. It's shown, that the activity of SUE MosSIA 'RADON' is developing in three directions - improvement of technical facilities for treatment of radioactive waters into SUE MosSIA 'RADON' development of mobile equipment for the decontamination of radioactive waters in other organizations, development of new technologies for decontamination of liquid radioactive wastes as part of various domestic Russian and international projects including those related to the operation of nuclear power and nuclear submarines. SUE MosSIA 'RADON' has processed more than 270 thousand m³ of radioactive water, at that more than 7000 m³ in other organizations for more than 50 years. It is shown that a number of directions, particularly, the development of mobile modular units for decontamination of liquid radioactive waste, SUE MosSIA 'RADON' is a leader in the world. (authors)

[en] Responding to the Department of Energy decision to try to withdraw the Yucca Mountain license application and the Administration actions to close down the Yucca Mountain project, Nye County undertook a number of activities to articulate its support for continuing the Yucca Mountain project. The activities included responding to inquiries from federal agencies, including investigations undertaken by the Government Accountability Office addressing other potential uses for the Yucca Mountain site, responding to a Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the possible use of Yucca Mountain for disposal of Greater than Class C wastes, testifying in hearings, and interacting with the President's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future. The paper summarizes Nye County's position on the Yucca Mountain repository, Nye County's perspectives on the various activities that were developed and considered by the Government Accountability Office, Nye County's concerns with the use of the Nevada National Security Site for Disposal of Greater than Class C Low-Level Radioactive Wastes, testimony of Nye County officials expressing local community support for the Yucca Mountain project, and Nye County's perspectives on recommendations provided by the Blue Ribbon Commission to move the nation's high-level radioactive waste disposal programs forward without consideration of the role Yucca Mountain could have served in those recommendations. Nye County believes that every effort should be made to, at a minimum, fund the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to complete the license application review. Then, if Congress does decide to change the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, there will be valuable information available to support new policy development. This administration contends that Congressional language associated with the FY2010 and FY2011 appropriations and authorization process is sufficient evidence of its intent to terminate the Yucca Mountain repository program. The appropriation process needs to be explicit that, absent explicit language to the contrary, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act stands. It also should include language that requires the Department of Energy to preserve all necessary records until the Nuclear Waste Policy Act is amended or rescinded by specific Congressional action. (authors)

[en] The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Performance Assessment (PA) methodology comprises a toolbox used to demonstrate regulatory compliance of the repository after facility closure. The PA framework rests upon an extensive suite of computational codes. In some cases, significant alteration of code inputs is a tedious and difficult task. Due to the nature of the application for which they are used, PA codes used in support of WIPP regulatory compliance demonstration must satisfy stringent quality assurance requirements. Consequently, many of the coding practices used during original code development are still implemented today. A more efficient workflow configuration has the potential to alleviate difficulties associated with extensive code input modifications. Here, this potential is assessed via an implementation of a more flexible scientific workflow system for a subset of the codes used in WIPP PA. The scientific workflow approach taken here for a dynamic PA system enables users from disparate backgrounds to dramatically shorten the time between hypothesis and analysis by decreasing the amount of a priori knowledge, from a range of disciplines, needed to execute the code. Having smaller iteration times allows for more ideas to be tested and explored, which leads to safer and more optimized systems. Note that these high-level, dynamic tools are intended only for initial scoping studies on the personal computer of a researcher. Full, regulatory compliance calculations may occur only within a qualified computing environment. However, the WIPP PA tools here may guide future research and indicate regions of the analysis space that are worth further study. This next generation of PA software provides the ability to perform scoping investigations of repository performance quickly and easily, and has an accessible and useful interface to a variety of users, such as fuel cycle systems designers, domain experts such as repository modelers, and policy makers. The purview of this project allows for many opportunities for future work. Foremost among these is the desire to implement the full BRAGFLO suite within the workflow. This will entail porting or wrapping Genmesh, Matset, LHS, and ICSet within Python. Moreover, unifying the two GUIs into a single driver application would be a natural next step. Once the BRAGFLO suite is completed, other portions of WIPP PA could be implemented with corresponding and inter-operable work-flows. Likely first candidates for this are those codes that are similarly computationally intensive, such as the one used to generate complementary cumulative distribution functions used to demonstrate regulatory compliance (code CCDFGF). (authors)