Long-Term Experiments for Demonstrating Durability of a Concrete Barrier and Gas Generation in a Low-and Intermediate-Level Waste Disposal Facility

The first low- and intermediate-level waste (LILW) disposal facility is under construction in saturated granite in Korea. The safety assessment report (SAR) identified that different gases, such as hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane are generated at the disposal facility due to the corrosion of metal wastes and steel drum, and microbial degradation of organic matters. Reinforced concrete plays a role as an engineered barrier at the disposal facility, so its properties with regard to gas migration were evaluated in laboratory-scale experiments. Then modeling of gas migration was carried out to evaluate gas pressure build-up in the disposal facility. The gas entry pressure and relative gas permeability of the concrete was determined to be 0.97±0.15 bar, and the relative gas permeability decreased exponentially with increasing water content. The results of the modeling showed that most of hydrogen gas was dissolved in groundwater and did not significantly influence pressure build-up inside the disposal facility based on the reference case of gas generation.

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Site selection for low and intermediate level radioactive waste disposal facility in Korea

Progress in Nuclear Energy ◽

10.1016/j.pnucene.2007.11.056 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 50 (2-6) ◽

pp. 680-682 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Si-Tae Yun

Keyword(s):

Radioactive Waste ◽

Waste Disposal ◽

Site Selection ◽

Intermediate Level ◽

Radioactive Waste Disposal ◽

Disposal Facility ◽

Selection For ◽

Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste

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Durability of a reinforced concrete designed for the construction of an intermediate-level radioactive waste disposal facility

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/opl.2012.604 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 1475 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

G.S. Duffó ◽

E.A. Arva ◽

F.M. Schulz ◽

D.R. Vazquez

Keyword(s):

Reinforced Concrete ◽

Service Life ◽

Radioactive Waste ◽

Waste Disposal ◽

Atomic Energy Commission ◽

Intermediate Level ◽

Radioactive Waste Disposal ◽

Disposal Facility ◽

Final Design ◽

Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste

ABSTRACTThe National Atomic Energy Commission of the Argentine Republic is developing a nuclear waste disposal management programme that contemplates the design and construction of a facility for the final disposal of intermediate-level radioactive wastes. The repository is based on the use of multiple, independent and redundant barriers. The major components are made in reinforced concrete so, the durability of these structures is an important aspect for the facility integrity. This work presents an investigation performed on a reinforced concrete specifically designed for this purpose, to predict the service life of the intermediate level radioactive waste disposal facility from data obtained with several techniques. Results obtained with corrosion sensors embedded in a concrete prototype are also included. The information obtained will be used for the final design of the facility in order to guarantee a service life more or equal than the foreseen durability for this type of facilities.

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