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Management of Commercially Generated Radioactive Waste - U.S. ...

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Draft p. 3.1.40<br />

Issue<br />

274<br />

MULTIBARRIERS FOR DISPOSAL<br />

It is recommended that the bulleted items "Licensing" and "Cost/Benefit Issue" be rem-<br />

oved, since those issues do not pertain to the technical feasibility <strong>of</strong> waste packaging.<br />

(124)<br />

Response<br />

DOE agrees. This has been done.<br />

Draft p. 3.1.48<br />

Issue<br />

Anisotrophies in the rock body are identified (bedding, etc.). This is contradictory<br />

with the avowed goal <strong>of</strong> a homogeneous host rock. Anisotropies, whether in horizontal or<br />

inclined units are anisotropies. Even in horizontal units, lateral anisotropies are common.<br />

Horizontal bodies may have greater ro<strong>of</strong> problems that an equivalent weakness along the foot-<br />

wall <strong>of</strong> the repository. (43)<br />

Response<br />

It is true that isotropy in some property(ies) is common in rock units, particularly<br />

in bedded or laminated units, but this is not contradictory to homogeneity <strong>of</strong> the same unit.<br />

Many sedimentary rocks are homogeneous and isotropic with respect to some propert a unit is<br />

homogeneous if the property(ies), isotropic or anisotropic conditions are constant over the<br />

unit. (See Davis and DeWiest 1967.)<br />

Draft p. 3.1.54<br />

Issue<br />

<strong>Waste</strong> packaging can be important for the first 1000 years. Paradoxically, after that<br />

it would be better to allow the waste to move through the nearby host rock, thus reducing<br />

the concentration and increasing the isolation. (154)<br />

Response<br />

Some migration analyses have been made on which it was assumed all <strong>of</strong> the waste dis-<br />

solved at 1000 years. Isolation is not increased. Depending on the assumptions made<br />

concerning flow rate <strong>of</strong> water, path length to the biosphere and the types <strong>of</strong> geological for-<br />

mations that the water passes through different amounts <strong>of</strong> radioactivity ultimately reach<br />

the biosphere.

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