Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Source of Publication
MATEC Web of Conferences
Publication Date
8-9-2017
Abstract
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2017. High-level radioactive waste (HLW) results from spent reactor fuel and reprocessed nuclear material. Since 1957 the scientific consensus is that deep geologic disposal constitutes the safest means for isolating HLW for long timescales. Nuclear power is becoming significant for the Arab Gulf countries as a way to diversify energy sources and drive economic developments. Hence, it is of interest to the UAE to examine the geologic environments currently considered internationally to guide site selection. Sweden and Finland are proceeding with deep underground repositories mined in bedrock at depths of 500m, and 400m, respectively. Equally, Canada's proposals are deep burial in the plutonic rock masses of the Canadian Shield. Denmark and Switzerland are considering disposal of their relative small quantities of HLW into crystalline basement rocks through boreholes at depths of 5,000m. In USA, the potential repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada lies at a depth of 300m in unsaturated layers of welded volcanic tuffs. Disposal of low and intermediate-level radioactive wastes, as well as the German HLW repository favour structurally-sound layered salt stata and domes. Our article provides a comprehensive review of the current concepts regarding HLW disposal together with some preliminary analysis of potentially appropriate geologic environments in the UAE.
DOI Link
ISSN
Publisher
EDP Sciences
Volume
120
First Page
6003
Disciplines
Business | Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Keywords
Crystalline rocks, Geological repositories, Nuclear fuel reprocessing, Nuclear fuels, Radioactive materials, Radioactive wastes, Radioactivity, Site selection, Sustainable development, Waste disposal, Crystalline basement, Economic development, Geologic environment, High level radioactive wastes, Nuclear waste repositories, Preliminary analysis, Underground repositories, Yucca Mountain, Nevada, Radioactive waste disposal
Scopus ID
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Paleologos, Evan K.; Mohamed, Abdel Mohsen O.; and Pavlopoulos, Kosmas, "Geologic environments for nuclear waste repositories" (2017). All Works. 1777.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/works/1777
Indexed in Scopus
yes
Open Access
yes
Open Access Type
Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series