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A Modest Proposal: A Robust, Cost-Effective Design for High-Level Waste Packages

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

M.J. Apted
M.J. Apted*
Affiliation:
QuantiSci, Inc., Suite 555, 3900 South Wadsworth Blvd., Denver Colorado 80235USA
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Abstract

An alternative waste-package design for the geological disposal of high-level waste (HLW) glass is presented. In conventional designs, a massive buffer of compacted bentonite is placed around a thick-walled, mild-steel overpack; in the revised design, a much thinner buffer is placed within a thin-walled, mild-steel overpack. This simple expedient eliminates certain performance concerns in existing waste-package designs, while not necessitating the study of any new materials. This integrated waste package (IWP) design has comparable release-rate performance as current package designs for HLW. In addition, the 1WP design requires far-less rock excavation, permits significantly higher temperatures for longer periods, leads to a 20-50% reduction in repository area, and is more cost efficient than previous designs.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 506: Symposium – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXI , 1997 , 589
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1998

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References

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