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

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brief references to the fact that deferred disposal or reprocessing of spent Page 3.1.4, par. 3: Porosity is just as important as permeability in deterfuel
would maintain "future options to recover the energy values represented mining rates of ground-water flow. This should be so stated.
by the'uranium and plutonium contained in the spent fuel elements" and would
"permit a more informed decision on the advisability of reprocessing the Page 3.1.5, par. 1, last sentence: This sentence is not necessarily true;
spent fuel" (par. 2). However, we found no quantification of what those future tectonism may not be reflected in past tectonic history. This
energy values actually are, and we believe that in order to promote a more factor will probably have to be a probability-based estimate.
informed decision on those questions it would be helpful to include a clear
appraisal of the amounts of potential energy that would be wasted by irre- Page 3.1.5, par. 2: The terms "permeability" and "hydraulic conductivity"
trievable disposal, possibly expressed in units comparable to barrels of are somewhat different in meaning and should be defined. (They are not in
oil or tons of coal. It might also be useful to show these values of poten- the glossary.)
tial energy obtainable under various fuel cycles including uranium recycle,
uranium-plutonium recycle, various breeder fuel cycles, and thorium-based Page 3.1.5, par. 2, line 5: Suggest substituting "dissolve" for "assimilate."
cycles.
Page 3.1.5, par. 3, line 2: Suggest Inserting "chemical precipitation re-
Page 2.2.2, item (2): The formula given for allowable whole body radiation actions" after "radioactive decay."
dose should be checked for possible error. It is given as 5 (N-18), N being
age. For a 48-year-old, this appears to give a dose of 150 rems, suggesting Page 3.1.5, par. 3, sentence 2: The term "convection" is misused here.
that it might be a lifetime dose limit. In any case, the meaning is unclear. Convection in ground-water flow means mass flow along any head gradient.
Thermal convection would imply convection induced by temperature gradients.-
Pages 2.1.1 to 3.1.46: Sections 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 in particular are redundant r r
and contain some errors of fact, significant omissions, and numerous juxta- Page 3.1.5, par. 3, line 4: Suggest substituting "through" for "into" after
positions of unrelated subject matter. These chapters appear to have been "ions."
put together by culling material from a variety of cources. The length of
these chapters can be considerably reduced and their value increased many Page 3.1.5, par. 3, last sentence: "Sorption" processes do not generally
fold if subjected to detailed review by earth science editors. include chemical precipitation and filtration processes.
Page 3.1.1, par. 1: Why not cite published, well accepted general geologic
criteria such as those of NAS? Criterion No. 6 should indicate that a long,
Page, 3.1.5, par. 3: We suggest that the appropriate definition of dispersion
should be Included with the definitions given for major mechanisms related to
n
slow flow path Is one of the barriers.
desirable feature.
Low rainfall (aridity) is an additional nuclide transport. Dispersion may be especially important in hydrogeologic
environments where diffusion may be too slow to be sionificant in the dis-
S3.1.1, l l S p., l n 2 " a tribution of contaminants, e.g., where fracture permeability is a factor or
Page 3.1.1, last par., last 2 lines: Suggest inserting "topography and rock where relatively high hydraulic gradient and low recharge may be controlling
properties" after "Climate;" substitute comma for "and" after "wind", and influences.
insert "and chemical thermodynamics" after "gravity."
Page 3 .1.5, par. 4 , li n e 1 : Suggest inserting "quantities" after "types."
Page 3.1.2, par. 1: The validity and methods of relating paleoclimatic con- Page 3.1.5, par. 4 line : Suggest inserting "quantities" after "types."
ditions to future variations and erosion rates has not been established. Page 3.1.5, last par. line 9: Suggest inserting ", 3) and most importantly
This area requires more research. the rate of flow" after "flow."
Page 3.1.3, par. 2, last line:. Suggest inserting "and rock properties" at Page 3.1.6, par. 1: It should be pointed out that fractures and joints may
the end of the sentence, because they, too, control erosion rates, also be important permeability features of shale.
Page 3.1.3, par. 4: It should be noted that these depositional processes Page 3.1.6, par. 2, lines 6-8: Core analyses are not satisfactory for percan
obliterate repository location markers. meability of the medium, especially if it is fractured.
Page 3.1.4, par. 2: There are no completely insoluble radioactive compounds Page 3.1.6, par. 2, last sentence: Field testing techniques are not yet
(or other compounds). developed to make adequate determinations for very low permeability or
sparsley fractured media.