This paper analyses socially optimal nuclear plant operation and waste management. Two waiting rules are derived: the first characterizes continuation of electricity production, second gives disposal date. Both balance cost benefit either continuing production or delaying into a deep geological repository. In addition, multiple regulatory options investigated. The optimized storage forms paymen...

1. Geological Time: A Summary 2. Reconstruction and Relative Dating of Earth History 2.1. Early Ideas and Basic Principles 2.2. Uniformitarianism and Catastrophism 2.3. Geological Catastrophes and Events: Particular Historical Geological Phenomena 2.4. Rates of Geological Processes in Terms of Human Timescales 2.4.1. Earth Crust Movements 2.4.2. Plutonic and Volcanic Processes 2.4.3. Weathering...

A probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) for a high-level radioactive waste repository is very important since it gives an estimate of its health impacts, allowing comparisons to be made with the health impacts of competing technologies. However, it is extremely difficult to develop a credible PRA for a specific repository site because of large uncertainties in future climate, hydrology, geological ...

Materials designed for nuclear waste disposal include a range of ceramics, glass ceramics and glass waste forms. Those with crystalline phases have provided the momentum for studies of minerals as a means to understand aspects of waste-form crystal chemistry, behaviour in aqueous systems and radiation damage over geological periods of time. Although the utility of natural analogue studies varie...

The construction of a repository for the geological disposal radioactive waste will include use cement-based materials. Following closure, groundwater saturate repository, and extensive cement result in development highly alkaline porewater, pH > 12.5; this fluid migrate into react with host rock. chemistry evolve over time, initially high Na K concentrations, evolving to Ca-rich fluid, fina...

The heat of high-level nuclear waste may be generated and released from a canister at final disposal sites. The waste heat may affect the engineering properties of waste canisters, buffers, and backfill material in the emplacement tunnel and the host rock. This study addresses the problem of the heat generated from the waste canister and analyzes the heat distribution between the buffer and the...

Swelling clays play a major role in current concepts for the underground disposal of high-level nuclear waste in deep geological formations. In one of the multi-barrier concepts for preventing the escape of radioactive substances from a high-level nuclear waste repository, the barrier consists of a copper container, compacted bentonite as buffer and backfill (the engineered barrier), and the re...