2009 Report to Government on National Research and

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Legacy facility A nuclear facility constructed several decades ago where waste has been generated or s<strong>to</strong>red. Legacy waste Radioactive waste that arose several decades ago. [A subset of existing waste; sometimes called “his<strong>to</strong>ric waste” or “his<strong>to</strong>rical waste”. The term is usually reserved for wastes kept in, or that have arisen in, legacy facilities.] Low level waste (LLW) Low Level Waste Reposi<strong>to</strong>ry (LLWR) “Radioactive waste” with activity levels that do not exceed 4 GBq/<strong>to</strong>nne alpha activity or 12 GBq/<strong>to</strong>nne beta gamma activity. [Subsets of LLW include “very low level waste” (VLLW) and exempt waste (i.e. “radioactive waste” with activity levels below those in the various Exemption Orders made under the Radioactive Substances Act).] The UK national disposal facility for low level waste. [Located near the village of Drigg in Cumbria.] Magnox reac<strong>to</strong>r A UK designed gas-cooled reac<strong>to</strong>r with a graphite modera<strong>to</strong>r. [It uses uranium metal fuel of natural iso<strong>to</strong>pic composition with a magnesium alloy cladding.] Mined reposi<strong>to</strong>ry A facility specifically excavated and constructed for the “geological disposal” of radioactive waste. [“Mined and engineered reposi<strong>to</strong>ry” is a more correct description. Most designs consist of shafts or adits leading <strong>to</strong> tunnels and vaults.] Near-field The part of a disposal facility near or in contact with the “waste packages”, including filling or sealing materials and those parts of the host rock whose characteristics have been or could be altered as a result of the presence of the disposal facility. Near-surface disposal Neutron transport modelling Disposal at or close <strong>to</strong> the surface of the Earth. [Includes underground disposal in the Earth’s crust at depths less than a few tens of metres, and emplacement in engineered structures at or just below ground level. Formerly called “shallow land burial” or emplacement in a “near surface reposi<strong>to</strong>ry”.] Simulation of the pathways, energetics and lifetimes of neutrons. [Used particularly in the control of criticality which is mediated by neutrons.] Overpack An additional container for a waste package. [Usually <strong>to</strong> make it more suitable for s<strong>to</strong>rage, handling, transport or disposal.] Package See “Waste package”. CoRWM Document 2543, Oc<strong>to</strong>ber <strong>2009</strong> Page 138 of 151
Packaging Placing waste in<strong>to</strong> a container for long-term s<strong>to</strong>rage and/or disposal. [In most cases this includes conditioning but sometimes waste is simply placed in containers, with or without compaction <strong>to</strong> reduce its volume.] Primary research The obtaining of knowledge, facts and data that did not previously exist. [All fundamental and much applied research is primary.] Pond A water-filled structure in which nuclear fuel is s<strong>to</strong>red. [Usually made of concrete, the water provides cooling and shielding.] Pressurised water reac<strong>to</strong>r (PWR) A nuclear reac<strong>to</strong>r in which water is used as the coolant and modera<strong>to</strong>r. [The fuel is enriched uranium oxide with “zircaloy” cladding. PWRs operate above atmospheric pressure <strong>to</strong> prevent the water boiling. ] Public People who have no particular interest in, and are not affected by, radioactive waste management. [CoRWM distinguishes between “stakeholders” and the public.] Radioactive waste Radioactive waste is defined in the Radioactive Substances Act 1993. In essence it is any substance for which there is no further use and in which artificial radionuclides are present at any level and/or natural radionuclides are present above the levels given in Schedule 1 of the Act. [Note that spent fuels, plu<strong>to</strong>nium and uranium are not radioactive wastes unless it has been decided that there is no further use for them and they are declared <strong>to</strong> be wastes. The Radioactive Substances Act definition of radioactive waste is under review and it is expected that a revised definition will be put in place in 2010.] Radioactive waste management All the activities involved in managing radioactive wastes. [Includes minimising arisings, all types of treatment (e.g. decontamination, sorting, segregation), “conditioning”, “packaging” and “disposal”.] Raw waste Waste that has not been conditioned. Recoverability The ability <strong>to</strong> remove wastes from a closed disposal facility by mining, drilling boreholes etc. [Unlike “retrievability”, recoverability does not entail the inclusion of any specific design features in a disposal facility.] Reference strategy A strategy that is based on realistic assumptions about the future and that represents the course of action that is <strong>to</strong> be followed unless circumstances change. [Colloquially, “Plan A”. See also “Contingent strategy”.] CoRWM Document 2543, Oc<strong>to</strong>ber <strong>2009</strong> Page 139 of 151
Page 1 and 2:
Committee on Radioactive Waste Mana
Page 3 and 4:
Finland ...........................
Page 5 and 6:
Geosphere Characterisation ........
Page 7 and 8:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. CoRWM’s remi
Page 9 and 10:
odies would need to</strong
Page 11 and 12:
disseminate and assimilate its resu
Page 13 and 14:
1.3 CoRWM’s Work Programme for 20
Page 15 and 16:
1.11 The R&D requirements for the l
Page 17 and 18:
2. ESTABLISHING R&D REQUIREMENTS Wh
Page 19 and 20:
adioactive waste management facilit
Page 21 and 22:
should mitigate the risks of findin
Page 23 and 24:
there is no unwarranted repetition
Page 25 and 26:
safety case development, the overal
Page 27 and 28:
Table 1. Approximate annual levels
Page 29 and 30:
Figure 1. Structure of UK R&D provi
Page 31 and 32:
NDA R&D for Geological Disposal 3.1
Page 33 and 34:
3.27 The purpose of NNL can be summ
Page 35 and 36:
identified the research required an
Page 37 and 38:
submitted to RCEP
Page 39 and 40:
Box 1. Research Council Funded Univ
Page 41 and 42:
3.62 BGS is conducting three projec
Page 43 and 44:
3.70 In the current FP7 programme (
Page 45 and 46:
3.77 RCEP noted that there was a la
Page 47 and 48:
sectors: land disp
Page 49 and 50:
eyond those that RWMD intends <stro
Page 51 and 52:
Box 2. USDOE 2006 Workshop R&D Issu
Page 53 and 54:
3.111 Fundamental and applied resea
Page 55 and 56:
France 3.122 There are six major gr
Page 57 and 58:
and in concert with Forpro is desig
Page 59 and 60:
• encourage the transfer and pres
Page 61 and 62:
comparison to othe
Page 63 and 64:
4. R&D SKILLS TO SUPPORT THE MRWS P
Page 65 and 66:
Figure 3. UK Nuclear Skills Map Sou
Page 67 and 68:
ensure the availability of a skille
Page 69 and 70:
which is longer than the competitio
Page 71 and 72:
Box 4. Postgraduate University Prov
Page 73 and 74:
4.30 The NDA also operates a gradua
Page 75 and 76:
for NDA to acquire
Page 77 and 78:
Retention of Skills 4.48 It has bee
Page 79 and 80:
5. INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIRED FOR R&D
Page 81 and 82:
purchase of equipment. In addition,
Page 83 and 84:
5.23 The Pacific Northwest National
Page 85 and 86:
5.35 The range of possible function
Page 87 and 88: 5.40 Early in 2009
Page 89 and 90: 6. SOME R&D ISSUES 6.1 R&D carried
Page 91 and 92: interactions, the impact of highly
Page 93 and 94: 7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Page 95 and 96: 7.11 CoRWM has found that responsib
Page 97 and 98: and Appendix A is only intended <st
Page 99 and 100: Current and Planned R&D for ILW A.5
Page 101 and 102: wasteform integrity at end of s<str
Page 103 and 104: Magnox Fuel A.20 Magnox fuel consis
Page 105 and 106: capability exists in the UK for doi
Page 107 and 108: purpose-built building. The former
Page 109 and 110: pending a decision on its long-term
Page 111 and 112: through all these. The nature of th
Page 113 and 114: Box 7. Radionuclide Speciation Many
Page 115 and 116: could mix with the bulk hydrogen ga
Page 117 and 118: than that for uranium-235. Likewise
Page 119 and 120: near-field of the part containing t
Page 121 and 122: • Long-term stability and perform
Page 123 and 124: few millimetres to
Page 125 and 126: environment, all with the character
Page 127 and 128: Number Title 2500 Interim S
Page 129 and 130: EPSRC, 2009. Grant
Page 131 and 132: Nuclear Decommissioning Authority,
Page 133 and 134: Skomurski FN, Ewing RC, Rohl AL, Ga
Page 135 and 136: Co-location Disposal of “high lev
Page 137: Geosphere Solid portion of the eart
Page 141 and 142: Stillage A metal frame used <strong
Page 143 and 144: BNGSL British Nuclear Group Sellafi
Page 145 and 146: FP Framework Programme (of the Euro
Page 147 and 148: MOX mixed oxide fuel (contains uran
Page 149 and 150: RS Royal Society RSC Royal Society
Page 151: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Leadership in the
show all

2009 Report to Government on National Research and

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?