Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T17:11:17.207Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Biosphere studies supporting the disposal system safety case in the UK

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

R. C. Walke ,
M. C. Thorne  and
S. Norris
R. C. Walke*
Affiliation:
Quintessa Limited, The Hub, 14 Station Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 1AY, UK
M. C. Thorne
Affiliation:
Mike Thorne and Associates Limited, Quarry Cottage, Hamsterley, County Durham DL13 3NJ, UK
S. Norris
Affiliation:
NDA RWMD, Building 587, Curie Avenue, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0RH, UK
*
*E-mail: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Higher activity radioactive wastes remain hazardous for extremely long timescales, of up to hundreds of thousands of years. Disposing of such wastes deep underground presents the internationally accepted best solution for isolating them from the surface environment on associated timescales. Geological disposal programmes need to assess potential releases from such facilities on long timescales to inform siting and design decisions and to help build confidence that they will provide an adequate degree of safety. Assessments of geological disposal include consideration of the wastes, the engineered facility, the host geology and the surface and near-surface environment including the biosphere. This paper presents an overview of recent post-closure biosphere assessment studies undertaken in support of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Radioactive Waste Management Directorate disposal system safety case for geological disposal of the United Kingdom's higher activity radioactive wastes. Recent biosphere studies have included: (1) ensuring that the United Kingdom's approach to consideration of the biosphere in safety case studies continues to be fit for purpose, irrespective of which site or sites are considered in the United Kingdom's geological disposal programme; (2) updating projections of global climate and sea level, together with consideration of the potential importance of transitions between climate states; (3) considering geosphere–biosphere interface issues and their representation, including redox modelling and catchment-scale hydrological modelling; and (4) identifying key radionuclides and developing a series of reports describing their behaviour in the biosphere together with an evaluation of associated implications for post-closure assessment calculations.

Keywords

wastebiosphereassessment
Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 76 , Issue 8 , December 2012 , pp. 3225 - 3232
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
© [2012] The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2012

References

BIOCLIM (2003) Deliverable D8a: Development of the Rule-based Downscaling Methodology for BIOCLIM Workpackage 3. Andra, Chatenay-Malabry, France.Google Scholar
BIOCLIM (2004) Deliverable D10-12. Development and Application of a Methodology for Taking Climate-driven Environmental Change into Account in Performance Assessments. Andra, Chatenay- Malabry, France.Google Scholar
Bytwerk, D., Limer, L., Albrecht, A., Marang, L., Smith, G. and Thorne, M.C. (2011) Sources and significance of variation in the dose estimates of 36Cl biosphere transfer models: a model intercomparison study. Journal of Radiological Protection, 31, 63–82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Department for Environment Fisheries and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Devolved Administration for Wales and Northern Ireland. (2008) Managing Radioactive Waste Safely: A Framework for Implementing Geological Disposal. DEFRA, London, 100 ppGoogle Scholar
Environment Agency and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (2009) Geological Disposal Facilities on Land for Solid Radioactive Wastes: Guidance on Requirements for Authorisation. Environment Agency, Bristol, UK and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Belfast, UK.Google Scholar
Egan, M.J. (2009) Context and Approach to Future Biosphere Assessment Calculations. Quintessa Limited report for NDA RWMD QRS-1378K-2, Version 1.0, August 2009.Google Scholar
Egan, M.J., Smith, G.M., Thorne, M.C. and Walke, R.C. (2008) Biosphere Assessment Approach. Quintessa Limited report for NDA RWMD QRS-1378E-2, Version 1.0, May 2008.Google Scholar
Ewen, J., Parkin, G. and O’Connell, P.E. (2000). SHETRAN: Distributed river basin flow and transport modelling system. ASCE Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 5, 250–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, J.D. and Liu, J. (2008) MIKE SHE: Software for integrated surface water/ground water modelling. Groundwater, 46, 797–802.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
International Atomic Energy Agency (2003) ‘‘Reference biospheres’’ for Solid Radioactive Waste Disposal. Report of BIOMASS Theme 1 of the BIOsphere Modelling and ASSessment (BIOMASS) Programme. International Atomic Energy Agency report IAEA-BIOMASS-6.Google Scholar
International Atomic Energy Agency (2009) Quantification of radionuclide transfer in terrestrial and freshwater environments for radiological assessments. International Atomic Energy Agency report IAEA-TECDOC-1616, May 2009.Google Scholar
International Atomic Energy Agency (2010) Handbook of Parameter Values for the Prediction of Radionuclide Transfer in Terrestrial and Freshwater Environments. International Atomic Energy Agency Technical Reports Series 472.Google Scholar
Kowe, R. and Norris, S. (2012) Representation of the biosphere in post-closure assessments for the UK geological disposal programme. Mineralogical Magazine, 76, 3217–3223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Limer, L.M.C. and Thorne, M.C. (2010) The Biosphere Transport, Distribution and Radiological Impact of Se-79 Released from a Geological Disposal Facility. Quintessa Limited report for NDA RWMD, QRS- 1378W-4, Version 1.1, March 2011.Google Scholar
Limer, L.M.C. and Thorne, M.C. (2011) The Biosphere Transport, Distribution and Radiological Impact of C-14 Released from a Geological Disposal Facility. Quintessa Limited report for NDA RWMD, QRS- 1378ZM-1, Version 1.1, September 2010.Google Scholar
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (2010a) Geological Disposal: Biosphere Status Report. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority report NDA/ RWMD/036, December 2010.Google Scholar
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (2010b). Geological Disposal: An Overview of the Generic Dispos al System Safety Case. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority report NDA/RWMD/ 010, December 2010.Google Scholar
Nuclear Energy Agency (2000) Features, Events and Processes (FEPs) for Geologic Disposal of Radioactive Waste: An International Database. Report of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).Google Scholar
Pérez-Sánchez, D., Thorne, M.C. and Limer, L.M.C. (2012) A mathematical model for the behaviour of Se-79 in soils and plants that takes account of seasonal variations in soil hydrology. Journal of Radiological Protection, 32, http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1088/0952-4746.32/1/11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, K., Smith, G.M. and Norris, S. (2012) BIOPROTA: international collaboration in biosphere research for radioactive waste disposal. Mineralogical Magazine, 76, 3233–3240.Google Scholar
Stansby, S.J. and Thorne, M.C. (2000) Generic Biosphere Modelling: Final Report. AEA Technology Report to United Kingdom Nirex Limited, AEAT/R/ENV/0296, 2000.Google Scholar
Thorne, M.C. (1990) Implications of Environmental Change for Biosphere Modelling: Work for UK Nirex Ltd. Pp. 860–865. in: Proceedings of an International Symposium on Safety Assessment of Radioactive Waste Repositories, OECD Paris.Google Scholar
Thorne, M.C. (editor) (1995) Nirex Biosphere Research: Report on Current Status in 1994. UK Nirex Ltd Science Report No S/95/003, UK Nirex Ltd, July 1995.Google Scholar
Thorne, M.C. (1998) The biosphere in post-closure radiological safety assessments of solid radioactive waste disposal. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 23, 258–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thorne, M.C. (2003) Biosphere Factors for use in a Generic Performance Assessment: Comparison and Sensitivity Study. Mike Thorne and Associates Limited report to United Kingdom Nirex Limited MTA/P0011d/2002–4. Issue 2.Google Scholar
Thorne, M.C. (2007a) A Point-scale Model for Cl-36 Transport in Soils and Plants. Mike Thorne and Associates Limited report to United Kingdom Nirex Limited MTA/P0011b/2006–1. Issue 3.Google Scholar
Thorne, M.C. (2007b) A Guide to the Spreadsheet Model used for Groundwater and Well Calculations for Generic Performance Assessments. Mike Thorne and Associates Limited report to United Kingdom Nirex Limited, MTA/P0011c/2006–4. Issue 2, March 2007.Google Scholar
Thorne, M.C. (2008a) Identification of Key Contaminants. Quintessa Limited report for NDA RWMD QRS-1378K-1, Version 1.0, December 2008.Google Scholar
Thorne, M.C. (2008b) Biosphere Calculations for Different Geological Contexts. Quintessa Limited report for NDA RWMD QRS-1378E-1, Version 1.0, March 2008.Google Scholar
Thorne, M.C. (2009) Representation of Redox Variations in the Soil Zone in the Context of Assessment Modelling. Quintessa Limited report for NDA RWMD QRS-1378W-5, Version 1.0, December 2009.Google Scholar
Thorne, M.C. (2011) Extension of a Model Developed to Represent the Behaviour of Se-79 in Soils and Plants for Application to the U-238 Series. Mike Thorne and Associates Limited report to Ciemat MTA/ P0014/2011–2. Issue 1, May 2011.Google Scholar
Thorne, M.C. and Limer, L.M.C. (2009) The Biosphere Transport, Distribution and Radiological Impact of Cl-36, Tc-99 and I-129 Released from a Geological Disposal Facility. Quintessa Limited report NDA RWMD QRS-1378K-4, Version 1.0, April 2009.Google Scholar
Thorne, M.C. and Mitchell, N.G. (2011) The Biosphere Transport, Distribution and Radiological Impact of Uranium Series Radionuclides from a Geological Disposal Facility. Quintessa Limited report NDA RWMD QRS-1378ZM-5, Version 1.0, September 2011.Google Scholar
Thorne, M.C. and Walke, R.C. (2010) Representation of Climate States and Climate State Transitions Taking Key FEPs into Account. Quintessa Limited report for NDA RWMD QRS-1378K-3, Version 2.0, March 2010.Google Scholar
Towler, G.H., Thorne, M.C. and Walke, R.C. (2011) Catchment Modelling in Support of Post-closure Performance Assessment. Quintessa Limited report for NDA RWMD QRS-1378W-2, Version 1.2, February 2011.Google Scholar
Wheater, H.S., Bell, J.N.B., Butler, A.P., Jackson, B.M., Ciciani, L., Ashworth, D.J. and Shaw, G.G. (2007) Biosphere Implications of Deep Disposal of Nuclear Waste. Imperial College Press, London.Google Scholar