Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 September 2012
In performance assessment of geological disposal systems for High Level Radioactive Waste (HLW), the change of environment over the long-term must be considered. Therefore, it is necessary to consider a wide range of parameters concerned with radionuclides migration, especially the dependence of solubility on geochemical environment. In this study, assuming that the release rate of the nuclides from buffer material is limited by inventory ultimately, the relationship between the initial inventory and the solubility that produces a solubility-invariant maximum release rate from the buffer is examined by using a simple steady-state analytical solution without decay. As the result, the threshold of “effective” solubility in the performance assessment of the geological disposal systems for HLW is obtained as a function of initial inventory, distribution coefficient (Kd), diffusion coefficient, and thickness, porosity and density of the buffer. Also, the threshold of “effective” steady dissolution rate corresponding to the threshold of “effective” solubility is obtained.