Considering timescales in the post-closure safety of geological disposal of radioactive waste.
Contributors: OECD Nuclear Energy Agency.; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Series: Radioactive waste management; Radioactive waste management (OECD Nuclear Energy Agency)
Publisher: Nuclear Energy Agency; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Paris
Language: eng
Number of pages: 159
ISBN-13: 9789264060586
Subjects: Radioactive waste disposal in the ground -- Safety measures; Radioactive pollution; Disposición de residuos radiactivos
Description: A key challenge in the development of safety cases for the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste is handling the long time frame over which the radioactive waste remains hazardous. The intrinsic hazard of the waste decreases with time, but some hazard remains for extremely long periods. This report reviews the current status and ongoing discussions of this issue, addressing such issues as ethical principles, the evolution of the hazard over time, uncertainties in the evolution of the disposal system (and how these uncertainties themselves evolve), the stability and predictability of the geological environment, repository planning and implementation including regulatory requirements, siting decisions, repository design, the development and presentation of safety cases and the planning of pre- and post-closure institutional controls such as monitoring requirements.--Publisher's description.
Notes: "NEA no. 6424".

Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-102).

Also issued electronically via the World Wide Web; OECD subscription required; PDF reader required for full text.
Table of contents: title: General considerations in the handling of issues of timescales --; title: Repository siting and design and the levels of protection required in regulation --; title: National policies in the planning of pre- and post-closure actions --; title: Developing and presenting a safety case --; title: Conclusions and recommendations.