Geological Challenges in Radioactive Waste Isolation; Fourth Worldwide Review, LBNL-59808

x, 283, [3] pages. Color Illustrations. References. Cover has slight wear and soiling. Radioactive waste is waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is usually a by-product of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine. Radioactive waste is hazardous to all forms of life and the environment, and is regulated by government agencies in order to protect human health and the environment. Radioactivity naturally decays over time, so radioactive waste has to be isolated and confined in appropriate disposal facilities for a sufficient period until it no longer poses a threat. The time radioactive waste must be stored for depends on the type of waste and radioactive isotopes. Current approaches to managing radioactive waste have been segregation and storage for short-lived waste, near-surface disposal for low and some intermediate level waste, and deep burial or partitioning / transmutation for the high-level waste. A summary of the amounts of radioactive waste and management approaches for most developed countries are presented and reviewed periodically as part of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. Over the past forty years, the development of the technology needed to isolate radioactive waste in underground rock systems has been found to be a formidable problem. This is especially the case in connection with high-level waste (HLW) after its removal from operations in nuclear power plants. There is also the additional problem of isolating low- and intermediate-level waste (LILW). Significant quantities of LILW are generated from various sources, and while they are not as long-lived in terms of radioactivity and do not pose the same level of difficulty as HLW, they constitute another problem for the nuclear industry. Very interesting and significant results have been included in this Fourth Worldwide Review. A summary of pertinent data on the developments and plans from the reports on 24 countries is given in Table 1.1 at the end of the first chapter.…