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State-of-the-art for evaluating the potential impact of tectonism and volcanism on a radioactive waste repository

Description: Most estimates of the time required for safe isolation of radioactive wastes from the biosphere range from 100,000 to 1,000,000 years. For such long time spans, it is necessary to assess the potential effects of geologic processes such as volcanism and tectonic activity on the integrity of geologic repositories. Predictions of geologic phenomena can be based on probabilistic models, which assume a random distribution of events. The necessary historic and geologic records are rarely available to provide an adequate data base for such predictions. The observed distribution of volcanic and tectonic activity is not random, and appears to be controlled by extremely complex deterministic processes. The advent of global plate tectonic theory in the past two decades has been a giant step toward understanding these processes. At each potential repository site, volcanic and tectonic processes should be evaluated to provide the most thorough possible understanding of those deterministic processes. Based on this knowledge, judgements will have to be made as to whether or not the volcanic and tectonic processes pose unacceptable risk to the integrity of the repository. This report describes the potential hazards associated with volcanism and tectonism, and the means for evaluating these processes.
Date: July 16, 1980
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Design and performance of liquid hydrogen target systems for the Fermilab Fixed Target Program

Description: The Fermilab 1990--1991 Fixed Target Program featured six experiments utilizing liquid hydrogen or liquid deuterium targets as part of their apparatus. Each design was optimized to the criteria of the experiment, resulting in variations of material selection, methods of refrigeration and secondary containment. Collectively, the targets were run for a total of 14,184 hours with an average operational efficiency of 97.6%. The safe and reliable operation of these targets was complemented by an increased degree of documentation and component testing. This operation was also aided by several key upgrades. All the systems were designed and fabricated under a set of written guidelines that blend analytical calculations and empirical guidance drawn from over twenty years of target fabrication experience. 3 refs., 4 tabs.
Date: July 1, 1991
Creator: Allspah, D.; Danes, J.; Peifer, J. & Stanek, R.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Article
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Snap Ii Power Conversion System Topical Report No. 12. Boiler Development

Description: The SNAP II boilers which were designed are summarized. As shown by test results from the three boilers which were tested, a continuous progress in design was achieved. These designs were based on test data from both the SNAP I and SNAP II programs. As the quantity of data increased, physical models describing the heat transfer process were developed. These physical models provide the necessary correlation parameters which permit the extension of existing data to advanced design. Preliminary test sections were designed on the assumption that an allvapor nmodel which ignores the presence of the liquid phase during forced convection boiling could be used to describe the process quantitatively. The conventional Dittus-Boelter equation was applied with the increase in the vapor flow along the tube being ascribed to liquid evaporation. The assumption led to a design that fell short by about an order of magnitude since the exit qualities were only in the range of 10%, far less than required for complete vaporization. As a result, a revision in the concept of the mechanics of boiling was found necessary and a theoretical analysis was formulated, based on a dry wall'' or dropwise'' type boiling phenomenon. The test results of the preliminary test sections and the SNAP I boiler were plotted on the basis of dry-wall boiling parameters containing the area mean temperature difference and mass velocity. A conservative design curve was established and used to design the thirteen tube boiler. The design was found by test to be conservative, and the measured performance and the degree of conservatism were found to be within the expected spread in earlier test data. Dropwise boiling pictures the heat transfer as occurring directly from the wall to the drop through a film created by the vapor being ejected from the underside of the drop. …
Date: July 17, 1961
Creator: Gido, R. G.; Koestel, A.; Haller, H. C.; Huber, D. D. & Deibel, D. L.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Boron reclamation

Description: A process to recover high purity /sup 10/B enriched crystalline boron powder from a polymeric matrix was developed on a laboratory basis and ultimately scaled up to production capacity. The process is based on controlled pyrolysis of boron-filled scrap followed by an acid leach and dry sieving operation to return the powder to the required purity and particle size specifications. Typically, the recovery rate of the crystalline powder is in excess of 98.5 percent, and some of the remaining boron is recovered in the form of boric acid. The minimum purity requirement of the recovered product is 98.6 percent total boron.
Date: July 1, 1980
Creator: Smith, R. M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Modified Purification System Performance Test. Core 1, Seed 2. Test Results T-641124-A. Section 2

Description: The effectiveness of purification in controlling plant radioactivation rates was determined through comparison of the actual effects produced from plant operation with and without purification. With the purification system in service, there was no appreciable difficulty in maintaining the reactor coolant within reference water specifications. In addition, there was no discernible increase of crud deposition in the coolant system as determined by direct radiation measurements of the purification hairpin loop. However, without demineralization as a controlling agent, the gross non-volatile gamma activity levels of the reactor coolant increased and the specific activities of longlived fission products were at higher levels. Although the general levels of water- borne activities increased during the test period, the associated plant systems did not exceed their limits. (auth)
Date: July 21, 1961
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Applications of induction linac technology to heavy ion fusion

Description: Evaluation of the application of heavy ion accelerators to ignite d-t pellets in a thermonuclear reactor is discussed. Accelerator design requirements considered include transport-limited current, beam injection conditions, and pulse bunching and focusing characteristics. The desirability of resonant and non-resonant accelerating structures is comparatively examined. The required power system switch tubes are discussed. It is concluded that heavy ion accelerators could offer a promising solution to the pellet-igniter problem. The advantages pointed out for this approach include electric efficiency greater than 10 percent, the possibility of high repetition rates (1 to 10 Hz), and a mature technological base. (RME)
Date: July 1, 1977
Creator: Faltens, A. & Keefe, D.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Article
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Compilation of cores and cuttings from U. S. Government-sponsored geothermal wells

Description: This compendium lists the repositories holding geothermal core and well cuttings from US government-sponsored geothermal wells. Also, a partial listing of cores and cutting from these wells is tabulated, along with referenced reports and location maps. These samples are available to the public for research investigations and studies, usually following submission of an appropriate request for use of the samples. The purpose of this compilation is to serve as a possible source of cores and cuttings that might aid in enhancing rock property studies in support of geothermal log interpretation.
Date: July 1, 1980
Creator: Mathews, M.; Gambill, D.T. & Rowley, J.C.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Search for the neutrinoless muon decay. mu. /sup +/. -->. e/sup +/. gamma

Description: Separate muon, electron, and tau numbers are conserved in the minimal standard model of electroweak interactions with massless neutrinos. However, in many extensions to the standard model, separate lepton numbers are not expected to be conserved quantities. A new search for muon number non-conserving processes has been undertaken at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility (LAMPF), specifically to look for three neutrinoless decay modes of the muon. The search for the decay of a muon to an electron and a photon is discussed here. A new detector facility, located in the LAMPF stopped muon channel, was developed for this experiment. This Crystal Box detector consists of a cylindrical drift chamber surrounded by a plastic scintillator hodoscope and a large solid angle, modularized, NaI(Tl) calorimeter. The apparatus measures the trajectories, relative timing, and energies of charged particles and photons from the decays of positive muons stopped in a central target. The assembly and calibration of the detector are described, and the procedure for taking data is discussed. The sample of 1.3 million candidate events, from the first data run of the Crystal Box, was analyzed using a maximum-likelihood method. The upper limit on the branching ratio, relative to normal muon decay, for a muon decaying to an electron and a photon is found to be consistent with previous measurements. With 90% confidence, the branching ratio for this neutrinoless decay is observed to be less than 2.8 x 10/sup 10/.
Date: July 1, 1985
Creator: Wilson, S.L.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Solar-thermal energy conversion and storage: cyclohexane dehydrogenation. Progress report, 30 September 1977-30 June 1978

Description: The objective of this project is to provide research support for the benzene/cyclohexane heat pipe development program at Sandia. The kinetics of the cyclohexane decomposition (energy collection) reaction over a commercially available naphtha reforming catalyst (RD-150, Englehard Industries) in the temperature range 400 to 800/sup 0/F and pressures of 1 to 40 atmospheres were measured. Significant amounts of side products such as toluene and butane were identified at temperatures above 550/sup 0/F at atmospheric pressure and significant mass transfer limitations on conversions were observed at the higher space velocities and higher temperatures. No significant decreases in catalyst activity were measured at temperatures below 800/sup 0/F. However, at 800/sup 0/F there was a significant decrease in catalyst activity which does not appear to be a poisoning problem but a thermal limitation on catalyst effectiveness. A test facility has been fabricated to study the behavior of the benzene/cyclohexane (or any other gas phase catalytic reaction) system and its catalysts under long term cycling at temperatures up to 1000/sup 0/F, and pressures up to 1000 psig at a wide variety of space velocities. A mathematical model was developed which simulates the dynamic behavior of the collector (endothermic) reactor and allows the evaluation of such things as startup, shutdown, switching and process control algorithms.
Date: July 1, 1978
Creator: Ritter, A.B.; DeLancey, G.B.; Schneider, J. & Silla, H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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DEVELOPMENT OF A PROCESS FOR SODIUM BONDING OF EBR-II FUEL AND BLANKET ELEMENTS

Description: Procedures for assembling EBR-II fuel elements with annular sodium bonds between the uranium rods and the stainless steel claddings are outlined. The results of several meltdown and uranium-settling experiments are given. Bonding experiments were performed: furnace bonding, submerged canning, ultrasonic bonding, centrifuging, pressure pulsing, and vibratory bonding. Vibratory bonding was chosen for the production of the first EBR-II core. (D.L.C.)
Date: July 1, 1961
Creator: Sowa, E.S. & Kimont, E.L.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Effects of Irradiation on Some Binary Alloys of Thorium-Plutonium and Zirconium-Plutonium

Description: A specimen of cast thorium-5 wt% plutonium and one of thorium-10 wt% plutonium were irradiated to total atom burnups of 1.9 and 2.6%, respectively, at maximum fuel temperatures of approximately 450 deg C. Both alloys displayed excellent dimensional stability with volume increases of 0.8 and 1.2% per atom per cent burnup, respectively. Three cold-rolled specimens of zirconium-5 wt% plutonium and one cold-rolled specimen of zirconium-7 wt% plutonium were also irradiated. The zirconium- plutonium alloy specimens all showed extremely poor dimensional stability, with anisotropic elongations ranging from approximately 100 to 500%. The irradiation growth coefficients for these specimens ranged from 90 to 210 microinches per inch per atom per cent burnup. The poor dimensional stability of the zirconium-- plutonium alloy specimens is attributed to a highly preferred grain orientation that presumably developed during cold rolling. (auth)
Date: July 1, 1962
Creator: Horak, J. A.; Kittel, J. H. & Rhude, H. V.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Solar heating and domestic hot water system installed at Kansas City, Fire Station, Kansas City, Missouri. Final report

Description: This document is the final report of the solar energy heating and hot water system installed at the Kansas City Fire Station, Number 24, 2309 Hardesty Street, Kansas City, Missouri. The solar system was designed to provide 47 percent of the space heating, 8800 square feet area and 75 percent of the domestic hot water (DHW) load. The solar system consists of 2808 square feet of Solaron, model 2001, air, flat plate collector subsystem, a concrete box storage subsystem which contains 1428 cubic feet of 1/2 inch diameter pebbles weighing 71 1/2 tons, a DHW preheat tank, blowers, pumps, heat exchangers, air ducting, controls and associated plumbing. Two 120-gallon electric DHW heaters supply domestic hot water which is preheated by the solar system. Auxiliary space heating is provided by three electric heat pumps with electric resistance heaters and four 30-kilowatt electric unit heaters. There are six modes of system operation. This project is part of the Department of Energy PON-1 Solar Demonstration Program with DOE cost sharing $154,282 of the $174,372 solar system cost. The Final Design Review was held March 1977, the system became operational March 1979 and acceptance test was completed in September 1979.
Date: July 1980
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Controlled-source electromagnetic survey at Soda Lakes geothermal area, Nevada

Description: The EM-60 system, a large-moment frequency-domain electromagnetic loop prospecting system, was operated in the Soda Lakes geothermal area, Nevada. Thirteen stations were occupied at distances ranging from 0.5-3.0 km from two transmitter sites. These yielded four sounding curves--the normalized amplitudes and phases of the vertical and radial magnetic fields as a function of frequency--at each station. In addition, two polarization ellipse parameters, ellipticity and tilt angle, were calculated at each frequency. The data were interpreted by means of a least-squares inversion procedure which fits a layered resistivity model to the data. A three-layer structure is indicated, with a near-surface 20 ohm-m layer of 100-400 m thickness, a middle 2 ohm-m layer of approximately 1 km thickness, and a basement of greater than 10 ohm-m. The models indicate a northwesterly structural strike; the top and middle layers seem to thicken from northeast to southwest. The results agree quite well with previous results of dipole-dipole and magnetotelluric (MT) surveys. The EM-60 survey provided greater depth penetration (1 to 1.5 km) than dipole-dipole, but MT far surpassed both in its depth of exploration. One advantage of EM in this area is its ease and speed of operation. Another advantage, its relative insensitivity to lateral inhomogeneities, is not as pronounced here as it would be in areas of more complex geology.
Date: July 1, 1980
Creator: Stark, M.; Wilt, M.; Haught, J. R. & Goldstein, N.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Energy from biological processes

Description: This assessment responds to a request by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for an evaluation of the energy potential of various sources of plant and animal matter (biomass). This report complements an earlier OTA report on the Application of Solar Technology to Today's Energy Needs in evaluating the major solar energy resources available to the United States. The findings also will serve as part of the material to be used in an upcoming OTA assessment of synthetic fuels for transportation. This volume presents analyses of prominent biomass issues, summaries of four biomass fuel cycles, a description of biomass' place in two plausible energy futures, and discussions of policy options for promoting energy from biomass. The four fuel cycles - wood, alcohol fuels, grasses and crop residues, and animal wastes - were chosen because of their near- to mid-term energy potential and because of the public interest in them. A second volume presents technical analyses of the resource base, conversion technologies, and end uses that provide a basis for the discussion in this volume. Also included in Volume II are various unconventional approaches to bioenergy production as well as the use of biomass to produce chemicals.
Date: July 1, 1980
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Refinery siting workbook: appendices C to O

Description: Applicable laws and permits available for the selection and building of petroleum refineries are enclosed. A glossary of pertinent terms is also included. References related to the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Toxic Substance Control Act, and Wetlands and Coastal Zone are included. Permit information is also presented. (DC)
Date: July 1, 1980
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Solar hot water demonstration project at Red Star Industrial Laundry, Fresno, California

Description: The Final Report of the Solar Hot Water System located at the Red Star Industrial Laundry, 3333 Sabre Avenue, Fresno, California, is presented. The system was designed as an integrated wastewater heat recovery and solar preheating system to supply a part of the hot water requirements. It was estimated that the natural gas demand for hot water heating could be reduced by 56 percent (44 percent heat reclamation and 12 percent solar). The system consists of a 16,500 gallon tube-and-shell wastewater heat recovery subsystem combined with a pass-through 6,528 square foot flat plate Ying Manufacturing Company Model SP4120 solar collector subsystem, a 12,500 gallon fiber glass water storage tank subsystem, pumps, heat exchangers, controls, and associated plumbing. The design output of the solar subsystem is approximately 2.6 x 10/sup 9/ Btu/year. Auxiliary energy is provided by a gas fired low pressure boiler servicing a 4,000 gallon service tank. This project is part of the US Department of Energy's Solar Demonstration Program with DOE sharing $184,841 of the $260,693 construction cost. The system was turned on in July 1977, and acceptance tests completed in September 1977. The demonstration period for this project ends September 2, 1982.
Date: July 1, 1980
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Scoping Report on Various Salt Mines in the United States

Description: One of the most important factors in isolating the demonstration waste storage site is an adequate number of shafts to insure proper ventilation. Proper ventilation will require that the air exhausted from the storage area pass directly to the upcast air shaft. Those mines reported by this scoping contract generally conform with the two shafts per mine requirement of MESA. Three of the mines reported on have more than two shafts. Several of the mines can have additional shafts drilled in time to meet ERDA's schedule. Rough drilling costs have been cited in the report. From an economic standpoint, it is probable that the larger the mine, the greater the economic impact with regard to any dislocation of production that may be required. In some cases, such as the Retsof Mine and the Cayuga Mine, multiple shafts eliminate the probability of dislocation. Those small tonnage mines such as the Kleer at Grand Saline, Texas; the Hockley Mine near Houston and the Lyons Mine of the American Salt Company might be leased or purchased in their entirety.
Date: July 1977
Creator: Jacoby, C. H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Relevance of biotic pathways to the long-term regulation of nuclear waste disposal. A report on Tasks 1 and 2 of Phase I. [Shallow land burial]

Description: The purpose of the work reported here was to evaluate the relevance of biotic transport to the assessment of impacts and licensing of low-level waste disposal sites. Available computer models and their recent applications at low-level waste disposal sites are considered. Biotic transport mechanisms and processes for both terrestrial and aquatic systems are presented with examples from existing waste disposal sites. Following a proposed system for ranking radionuclides by their potential for biotic transport, recommendations for completing Phase I research are presented. To evaluate the long-term importance of biotic transport at low-level waste sites, scenarios for biotic pathways and mechanisms need to be developed. Scenarios should begin with a description of the waste form and should include a description of biotic processes and mechanisms, approximations of the magnitude of materials transported, and a linkage to processes or mechanisms in existing models. Once these scenarios are in place, existing models could be used to evaluate impacts resulting from biotic transport and to assess the relevance to site selection and licensing of low-level waste disposal sites.
Date: July 1, 1982
Creator: McKenzie, D. H.; Cadwell, L. L.; Cushing, C. E. Jr.; Harty, R.; Kennedy, W. E. Jr.; Simmons, M. A. et al.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Industrial Fuel Gas Demonstration Plant Program. Monthly and quarterly progress report, 1 April 1978-30 June 1978 (Deliverable No. 12)

Description: The design of the commercial plant was completed and a cost estimate prepared. Most work remaining on Task I relates to: Demonstration Plant recommendations and includes a configuration study, at DOE's request, to evaluate alternatives for the Demo Plant Configuration to achieve the required reliability. The specific alternatives being considered are: A base U-Gas Plant designed to produce 50 MMM Btu/day 365 days per year (the High Reliability case); a base U-Gas Plant plus product storage; and a base U-Gas Plant, plus a small methanation facility to upgrade a small portion of the product to obtain credits. Other studies in support of the demonstration plant recommendations include: economic study of U-Gas versus coal-fired boilers for internal steam generation; an assessment of the cost/benefit of designing the Demo Plant for an operating pressure higher than the current data allows; and evaluation of the costs of providing a zero discharge wastewater treatment system.
Date: July 1, 1978
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Inexpensive cross-flow hydropower turbine at Arbuckle Mountain Hydroelectric Project

Description: This report documents the first three and half years of operation and maintenance on the Arbuckle Mountain Hydroelectric Project. Located on a flashy mountain stream in northern California, the project was designed, built and tested through a Cooperative Agreement between the US DOE and OTT Engineering, Inc. (OTT). The purpose of the Agreement is to build and intensively test an inexpensive American-made cross-flow turbine and to provide information to the DOE on the cost, efficiency, operation, and maintenance of the unit. It requires that OTT document for DOE a summary of the complete operating statistics, operation and maintenance cost, and revenues from power sales for a two-year operating period. Several unique events occurred between the initial start-up (December 1986) and the beginning of the 1989 generation season (October 1988) that delayed the first year's full operation and provided unique information for a demonstration project of this type. Accordingly, this report will discuss certain major problems experienced with the design, operation and maintenance, and energy production, as well as the operation and maintenance costs and value of the power produced for the first three and half years of operation. 9 figs., 2 tabs.
Date: July 1, 1991
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pacific Northwest Laboratory Report on Fusion Energy Research, April 1977 - June 1977

Description: The development of economic data for fusion power plants continued in a study estimating the potential impact of a shortage of materials important in fusion plant construction. In studies developing heat transfer and fluid flow design tools for fusion reactor blankets, preconceptual design studies were initiated to identify the potential design limits of water cooling in the first wall of Tokamak Next Step (TNS) concepts. In surface effects research clean gold samples were irradiated in the University of California (D,Be) neutron source for a neutron sputtering experiment. Light ion and neutron irradiation experiments have continued in studies of the effects of radiation on mechanical properties. The hardening response of 14 MeV neutron-irradiated nickel changed at high particle fluences (10/sup 16/ to 10/sup 17/ particles/cm/sup 2/) while the hardening response of 16 MeV proton-irradiated nickel did not, which may have been due to a difference in irradiation hardening mechanisms. The flux dependence of the damage microstructure and irradiation hardening of materials needs further study to clarify uncertainty about light ion and fusion neutron damage processes. Neutron irradiations of Ni, 316SS, and Nb wires and foils were completed. Work has continued in studies developing acoustic emission (AE) techniques for determining the prebreakdown behavior and failure mechanisms in electric insulators with potential applications in fusion reactors. Scoping experiments with the high-vacuum dielectric breakdown apparatus were conducted.
Date: July 1, 1977
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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State-of-the-art for evaluating the potential impact of flooding on a radioactive waste repository

Description: This report is a review of the state-of-the-art for evaluating the potential impact of flooding on a deep radioactive-waste repository, namely, for predicting the future occurrence of catastrophic flooding and for estimating the effect of such flooding on waste containment characteristics. Several detrimental effects are identified: flooding can increase groundwater seepage velocities through a repository within the framework of the existing hydrologic system and thus increase the rate of radioactive-waste leakage to the biosphere; flooding may alter repository hydrology by reversing flow gradients, relocating sources of groundwater recharge and discharge, or shortening seepage paths, thereby producing unpredictable leakage; saturation of a vadose-zone repository during flooding can increase groundwater seepage velocities by several orders of magnitude; and flooding can damage repository-media containment properties by inducing seismic or chemical instability or increasing fracture permeability in relatively shallow repository rock as a result of redistributing in-situ stresses. Short-term flooding frequency and magnitude can be predicted statistically by analyzing historical records of flooding. However, long-term flooding events that could damage a permanent repository cannot be predicted with confidence because the geologic record is neither unique nor sufficienly complete for statistical analysis. It is more important to identify parameters characterizing containment properties (such as permeability, groundwater gradient, and shortest seepage path length to the biosphere) that could be affected by future flooding, estimate the maximum magnitude of flooding that could occur within the life of the repository by examining the geologic record, and determine the impact such flooding could have on the parameter values.
Date: July 16, 1980
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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