DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aurelio, Mario; Taguibao, Kristine Joy; Vargas, Edmundo

In the selection of sites for disposal facilities involving low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste (LILW), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recommendations require that 'the region in which the site is located shall be such that significant tectonic and surface processes are not expected to occur with an intensity that would compromise the required isolation capability of the repository'. Evaluating the appropriateness of a site therefore requires a deep understanding of the geological and tectonic setting of the area. The Philippines sits in a tectonically active region frequented by earthquakes and volcanic activity. Its highly variable morphology coupled with its locationmore » along the typhoon corridor in the west Pacific region subjects the country to surface processes often manifested in the form of landslides. The Philippine LILW near surface repository project site is located on the north eastern sector of the Island of Luzon in northern Philippines. This island is surrounded by active subduction trenches; to the east by the East Luzon Trough and to the west by the Manila Trench. The island is also traversed by several branches of the Philippine Fault System. The Philippine LILW repository project is located more than 100 km away from any of these major active fault systems. In the near field, the project site is located less than 10 km from a minor fault (Dummon River Fault) and more than 40 km away from a volcanic edifice (Mt. Caguas). This paper presents an analysis of the potential hazards that these active tectonic features may pose to the project site. The assessment of such geologic hazards is imperative in the characterization of the site and a crucial input in the design and safety assessment of the repository. (authors)« less

10 CFR 960.3-1-3 - Regionality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-3 Regionality. In making site recommendations for repository development after the site for the first repository has been recommended, the Secretary shall give due... repositories. Such consideration shall take into account the proximity of sites to locations at which waste is...

10 CFR 960.3-1 - Siting provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1 Siting provisions. The siting provisions establish the framework for the implementation of the siting process specified in § 960.3-2. Sections 960.3-1-1 and 960.3...

10 CFR 960.3-1 - Siting provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1 Siting provisions. The siting provisions establish the framework for the implementation of the siting process specified in § 960.3-2. Sections 960.3-1-1 and 960.3...

10 CFR 960.3-1 - Siting provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1 Siting provisions. The siting provisions establish the framework for the implementation of the siting process specified in § 960.3-2. Sections 960.3-1-1 and 960.3...

10 CFR 960.3-1 - Siting provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1 Siting provisions. The siting provisions establish the framework for the implementation of the siting process specified in § 960.3-2. Sections 960.3-1-1 and 960.3...

Canada's Deep Geological Repository For Used Nuclear Fuel -The Geoscientific Site Evaluation Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirschorn, S.; Ben Belfadhel, M.; Blyth, A.; DesRoches, A. J.; McKelvie, J. R. M.; Parmenter, A.; Sanchez-Rico Castejon, M.; Urrutia-Bustos, A.; Vorauer, A.

2014-12-01

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is responsible for implementing Adaptive Phased Management, the approach selected by the Government of Canada for long-term management of used nuclear fuel generated by Canadian nuclear reactors. In May 2010, the NWMO published and initiated a nine-step site selection process to find an informed and willing community to host a deep geological repository for Canada's used nuclear fuel. The site selection process is designed to address a broad range of technical and social, economic and cultural factors. The suitability of candidate areas will be assessed in a stepwise manner over a period of many years and include three main steps: Initial Screenings; Preliminary Assessments; and Detailed Site Characterizations. The Preliminary Assessment is conducted in two phases. NWMO has completed Phase 1 preliminary assessments for the first eight communities that entered into this step. While the Phase 1 desktop geoscientific assessments showed that each of the eight communities contains general areas that have the potential to satisfy the geoscientific safety requirements for hosting a deep geological repository, the assessment identified varying degrees of geoscientific complexity and uncertainty between communities, reflecting their different geological settings and structural histories. Phase 2 activities will include a sequence of high-resolution airborne geophysical surveys and focused geological field mapping to ground-truth lithology and structural features, followed by limited deep borehole drilling and testing. These activities will further evaluate the site's ability to meet the safety functions that a site would need to ultimately satisfy in order to be considered suitable. This paper provides an update on the site evaluation process and describes the approach, methods and criteria that are being used to conduct the geoscientific Preliminary Assessments.

10 CFR 960.3-4 - Environmental impacts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-4 Environmental impacts. Environmental impacts shall be considered by the DOE throughout the site characterization, site selection, and repository development..., during site characterization and repository construction, operation, closure, and decommissioning. ...

The SKI repository performance assessment project Site-94

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Andersson, J.; Dverstorp, B.; Sjoeblom, R.

1995-12-01

SITE-94 is a research project conducted as a performance assessment of a hypothetical repository for spent nuclear fuel, but with real pre-excavation data from a real site. The geosphere, the engineered barriers and the processes for radionuclide release and transport comprise an integrated interdependent system, which is described by an influence diagram (PID) that reflects how different Features, Events or Processes (FEPs) inside the system interact. Site evaluation is used to determine information of transport paths in the geosphere and to deliver information on geosphere interaction with the engineered barriers. A three-dimensional geological structure model of the site as wellmore » as alternative conceptual models consistent with the existing hydrological field data, have been analyzed. Groundwater chemistry is evaluated and a model, fairly consistent with the flow model, for the origin of the different waters has been developed. The geological structure model is also used for analyzing the mechanical stability of the site. Several phenomena of relevance for copper corrosion in a repository environment have been investigated. For Reference Case conditions and regardless of flow variability, output is dominated by I-129, which, for a single canister, may give rise to drinking water well doses in the order of 10{sup -6}Sv/yr. Finally, it appears that the procedures involved in the development of influence diagrams may be a promising tool for quality assurance of performance assessments.« less

10 CFR Appendix III to Part 960 - Application of the System and Technical Guidelines During the Siting Process

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Application of the System and Technical Guidelines During the Siting Process III Appendix III to Part 960 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Pt. 960, App. III Appendix III to Part...

10 CFR Appendix III to Part 960 - Application of the System and Technical Guidelines During the Siting Process

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Application of the System and Technical Guidelines During the Siting Process III Appendix III to Part 960 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Pt. 960, App. III Appendix III to Part...

10 CFR Appendix III to Part 960 - Application of the System and Technical Guidelines During the Siting Process

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Application of the System and Technical Guidelines During the Siting Process III Appendix III to Part 960 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Pt. 960, App. III Appendix III to Part...

10 CFR Appendix III to Part 960 - Application of the System and Technical Guidelines During the Siting Process

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Application of the System and Technical Guidelines During the Siting Process III Appendix III to Part 960 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Pt. 960, App. III Appendix III to Part...

Using FEP's List and a PA Methodology for Evaluating Suitable Areas for the LLW Repository in Italy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Risoluti, P.; Ciabatti, P.; Mingrone, G.

2002-02-26

In Italy following a referendum held in 1987, nuclear energy has been phased out. Since 1998, a general site selection process covering the whole Italian territory has been under way. A GIS (Geographic Information System) methodology was implemented in three steps using the ESRI Arc/Info and Arc/View platforms. The screening identified approximately 0.8% of the Italian territory as suitable for locating the LLW Repository. 200 areas have been identified as suitable for the location of the LLW Repository, using a multiple exclusion criteria procedure (1:500,000), regional scale (1:100.000) and local scale (1:25,000-1:10,000). A methodology for evaluating these areas has beenmore » developed allowing, along with the evaluation of the long term efficiency of the engineered barrier system (EBS), the characterization of the selected areas in terms of physical and safety factors and planning factors. The first step was to identify, on a referenced FEPs list, a group of geomorphological, geological, hydrogeological, climatic and human behavior caused process and/or events, which were considered of importance for the site evaluation, taking into account the Italian situation. A site evaluation system was established ascribing weighted scores to each of these processes and events, which were identified as parameters of the new evaluation system. The score of each parameter is ranging from 1 (low suitability) to 3 (high suitability). The corresponding weight is calculated considering the effect of the parameter in terms of total dose to the critical group, using an upgraded AMBER model for PA calculation. At the end of the process an index obtained by a score weighted sum gives the degree of suitability of the selected areas for the LLW Repository location. The application of the methodology to two selected sites is given in the paper.« less

Evaluation of Groundwater Pathways and Travel Times From the Nevada Test Site to the Potential Yucca Mountain Repository

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pohlmann, K. F.; Zhu, J.; Ye, M.; Carroll, R. W.; Chapman, J. B.; Russell, C. E.; Shafer, D. S.

2006-12-01

Yucca Mountain (YM), Nevada has been recommended as a deep geological repository for the disposal of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste. If YM is licensed as a repository by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, it will be important to identify the potential for radionuclides to migrate from underground nuclear testing areas located on the Nevada Test Site (NTS) to the hydraulically downgradient repository area to ensure that monitoring does not incorrectly attribute repository failure to radionuclides originating from other sources. In this study, we use the Death Valley Regional Flow System (DVRFS) model developed by the U.S. Geological Survey to investigate potential groundwater migration pathways and associated travel times from the NTS to the proposed YM repository area. Using results from the calibrated DVRFS model and the particle tracking post-processing package MODPATH we modeled three-dimensional groundwater advective pathways in the NTS and YM region. Our study focuses on evaluating the potential for groundwater pathways between the NTS and YM withdrawal area and whether travel times for advective flow along these pathways coincide with the prospective monitoring time frame at the proposed repository. We include uncertainty in effective porosity as this is a critical variable in the determination of time for radionuclides to travel from the NTS region to the YM withdrawal area. Uncertainty in porosity is quantified through evaluation of existing site data and expert judgment and is incorporated in the model through Monte Carlo simulation. Since porosity information is limited for this region, the uncertainty is quite large and this is reflected in the results as a large range in simulated groundwater travel times.

10 CFR 960.3-1-4-2 - Site nomination for characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-4-2 Site nomination for... types under expected repository conditions; evaluations of natural and man-made analogs of the repository and its subsystems, such as geothermally active areas, underground excavations, and case histories...

YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Earth-Science Issues at a Geologic Repository for High-Level Nuclear Waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Long, Jane C. S.

2004-05-01

The nation has over 40,000 metric tonnes (MT) of nuclear waste destined for disposal in a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. In this review, we highlight some of the important geoscience issues associated with the project and place them in the context of the process by which a final decision on Yucca Mountain will be made. The issues include understanding how water could infiltrate the repository, corrode the canisters, dissolve the waste, and transport it to the biosphere during a 10,000-year compliance period in a region, the Basin and Range province, that is known for seismic and volcanic activity. Although the site is considered to be "dry," a considerable amount of water is present as pore waters and as structural water in zeolites. The geochemical environment is oxidizing, and the present repository design will maintain temperatures at greater than 100°C for thousands of years. Geoscientists in this project are challenged to make unprecedented predictions about coupled thermal, hydrologic, mechanical, and geochemical processes governing the future behavior of the repository and to conduct research in a regulatory and legal environment that requires a quantitative analysis of repository performance.

Managing the nation`s nuclear waste. Site descriptions: Cypress Creek, Davis Canyon, Deaf Smith, Hanford Reference, Lavender Canyon, Richton Dome, Swisher, Vacherie Dome, and Yucca Mountain

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1985-12-31

In 1982, the Congress enacted the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (Public Law 97-425), which established a comprehensive national program directed toward siting, constructing, and operating geologic repositories for the permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste. In February 1983, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) identified the nine referenced repository locations as potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository. These sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE`s General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for Nuclear Waste Repositories. The DOE findings and determinations are based on the evaluations contained in the draft Environmental Assessments (EA). A finalmore » EA will be prepared after considering the comments received on the draft EA. The purpose of this document is to provide the public with specific site information on each potential repository location.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jung, Haeryong; Lee, Eunyong; Jeong, YiYeong

Korea Radioactive-waste Management Corporation (KRMC) established in 2009 has started a new project to collect information on long-term stability of deep geological environments on the Korean Peninsula. The information has been built up in the integrated natural barrier database system available on web (www.deepgeodisposal.kr). The database system also includes socially and economically important information, such as land use, mining area, natural conservation area, population density, and industrial complex, because some of this information is used as exclusionary criteria during the site selection process for a deep geological repository for safe and secure containment and isolation of spent nuclear fuel andmore » other long-lived radioactive waste in Korea. Although the official site selection process has not been started yet in Korea, current integrated natural barrier database system and socio-economic database is believed that the database system will be effectively utilized to narrow down the number of sites where future investigation is most promising in the site selection process for a deep geological repository and to enhance public acceptance by providing readily-available relevant scientific information on deep geological environments in Korea. (authors)« less

Environmental protection problems in the vicinity of the Zelazny most flotation wastes depository in Poland.

PubMed

Lasocki, Stanislaw; Antoniuk, Janusz; Moscicki, Jerzy

2003-08-01

The Zelazny Most depository of wastes from copper-ore processing, located in southwest Poland, is the largest mineral wastes repository in Europe. Moreover, it is located in a seismically active area. The seismicity is induced and is connected with mining works in the nearby underground copper mines. Any release of the contents of the repository to the environment could have devastating and even catastrophic consequences. For this reason, geophysical methods are used for continuous monitoring the state of the repository containment dams. The article presents examples of the application of geoelectric methods for detecting sites of leakage of contaminated water and a sketch of the seismic hazard analysis, which was used to predict future seismic vibrations of the repository dams.

Characterizing the proposed geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada--hydrology and geochemistry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stuckless, John S.; Levich, Robert A.

2012-01-01

This hydrology and geochemistry volume is a companion volume to the 2007 Geological Society of America Memoir 199, The Geology and Climatology of Yucca Mountain and Vicinity, Southern Nevada and California, edited by Stuckless and Levich. The work in both volumes was originally reported in the U.S. Department of Energy regulatory document Yucca Mountain Site Description, for the site characterization study of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as the proposed U.S. geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste. The selection of Yucca Mountain resulted from a nationwide search and numerous committee studies during a period of more than 40 yr. The waste, largely from commercial nuclear power reactors and the government's nuclear weapons programs, is characterized by intense penetrating radiation and high heat production, and, therefore, it must be isolated from the biosphere for tens of thousands of years. The extensive, unique, and often innovative geoscience investigations conducted at Yucca Mountain for more than 20 yr make it one of the most thoroughly studied geologic features on Earth. The results of these investigations contribute extensive knowledge to the hydrologic and geochemical aspects of radioactive waste disposal in the unsaturated zone. The science, analyses, and interpretations are important not only to Yucca Mountain, but also to the assessment of other sites or alternative processes that may be considered for waste disposal in the future. Groundwater conditions, processes, and geochemistry, especially in combination with the heat from radionuclide decay, are integral to the ability of a repository to isolate waste. Hydrology and geochemistry are discussed here in chapters on unsaturated zone hydrology, saturated zone hydrology, paleohydrology, hydrochemistry, radionuclide transport, and thermally driven coupled processes affecting long-term waste isolation. This introductory chapter reviews some of the reasons for choosing to study Yucca Mountain as a repository site.

Characterizing the proposed geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada: hydrology and geochemistry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stuckless, John S.; Levich, Robert A.

2012-01-01

This hydrology and geochemistry volume is a companion volume to the 2007 Geological Society of America Memoir 199, The Geology and Climatology of Yucca Mountain and Vicinity, Southern Nevada and California, edited by Stuckless and Levich. The work in both volumes was originally reported in the U.S. Department of Energy regulatory document Yucca Mountain Site Description, for the site characterization study of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as the proposed U.S. geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste. The selection of Yucca Mountain resulted from a nationwide search and numerous committee studies during a period of more than 40 yr. The waste, largely from commercial nuclear power reactors and the government's nuclear weapons programs, is characterized by intense penetrating radiation and high heat production, and, therefore, it must be isolated from the biosphere for tens of thousands of years. The extensive, unique, and often innovative geoscience investigations conducted at Yucca Mountain for more than 20 yr make it one of the most thoroughly studied geologic features on Earth. The results of these investigations contribute extensive knowledge to the hydrologic and geochemical aspects of radioactive waste disposal in the unsaturated zone. The science, analyses, and interpretations are important not only to Yucca Mountain, but also to the assessment of other sites or alternative processes that may be considered for waste disposal in the future. Groundwater conditions, processes, and geochemistry, especially in combination with the heat from radionuclide decay, are integral to the ability of a repository to isolate waste. Hydrology and geochemistry are discussed here in chapters on unsaturated zone hydrology, saturated zone hydrology, paleohydrology, hydrochemistry, radionuclide transport, and thermally driven coupled processes affecting long-term waste isolation. This introductory chapter reviews some of the reasons for choosing to study Yucca Mountain as a repository site.

10 CFR 960.3-2-3 - Recommendation of sites for characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-3 Recommendation of sites... characterization for the selection of the first repository, the Secretary shall recommend in writing to the..., and, after the first repository, consideration of regionality in §§ 960.3-1-1, 960.3-1-2, and 960.3-1...

Coupling fuel cycles with repositories: how repository institutional choices may impact fuel cycle design

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Forsberg, C.; Miller, W.F.

2013-07-01

The historical repository siting strategy in the United States has been a top-down approach driven by federal government decision making but it has been a failure. This policy has led to dispatching fuel cycle facilities in different states. The U.S. government is now considering an alternative repository siting strategy based on voluntary agreements with state governments. If that occurs, state governments become key decision makers. They have different priorities. Those priorities may change the characteristics of the repository and the fuel cycle. State government priorities, when considering hosting a repository, are safety, financial incentives and jobs. It follows that statesmore » will demand that a repository be the center of the back end of the fuel cycle as a condition of hosting it. For example, states will push for collocation of transportation services, safeguards training, and navy/private SNF (Spent Nuclear Fuel) inspection at the repository site. Such activities would more than double local employment relative to what was planned for the Yucca Mountain-type repository. States may demand (1) the right to take future title of the SNF so if recycle became economic the reprocessing plant would be built at the repository site and (2) the right of a certain fraction of the repository capacity for foreign SNF. That would open the future option of leasing of fuel to foreign utilities with disposal of the SNF in the repository but with the state-government condition that the front-end fuel-cycle enrichment and fuel fabrication facilities be located in that state.« less

The saturated zone at Yucca Mountain: An overview of the characterization and assessment of the saturated zone as a barrier to potential radionuclide migration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Eddebbarh, A.-A.; Zyvoloski, G.A.; Robinson, B.A.; Kwicklis, E.M.; Reimus, P.W.; Arnold, B.W.; Corbet, T.; Kuzio, S.P.; Faunt, C.

2003-01-01

The US Department of Energy is pursuing Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for the development of a geologic repository for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, if the repository is able to meet applicable radiation protection standards established by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Effective performance of such a repository would rely on a number of natural and engineered barriers to isolate radioactive waste from the accessible environment. Groundwater beneath Yucca Mountain is the primary medium through which most radionuclides might move away from the potential repository. The saturated zone (SZ) system is expected to act as a natural barrier to this possible movement of radionuclides both by delaying their transport and by reducing their concentration before they reach the accessible environment. Information obtained from Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project activities is used to estimate groundwater flow rates through the site-scale SZ flow and transport model area and to constrain general conceptual models of groundwater flow in the site-scale area. The site-scale conceptual model is a synthesis of what is known about flow and transport processes at the scale required for total system performance assessment of the site. This knowledge builds on and is consistent with knowledge that has accumulated at the regional scale but is more detailed because more data are available at the site-scale level. The mathematical basis of the site-scale model and the associated numerical approaches are designed to assist in quantifying the uncertainty in the permeability of rocks in the geologic framework model and to represent accurately the flow and transport processes included in the site-scale conceptual model. Confidence in the results of the mathematical model was obtained by comparing calculated to observed hydraulic heads, estimated to measured permeabilities, and lateral flow rates calculated by the site-scale model to those calculated by the regional-scale flow model. In addition, it was confirmed that the flow paths leaving the region of the potential repository are consistent with those inferred from gradients of measured head and those independently inferred from water-chemistry data. The general approach of the site-scale SZ flow and transport model analysis is to calculate unit breakthrough curves for radionuclides at the interface between the SZ and the biosphere using the three-dimensional site-scale SZ flow and transport model. Uncertainties are explicitly incorporated into the site-scale SZ flow and transport abstractions through key parameters and conceptual models. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

10 CFR 60.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) DISPOSAL OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES General..., special nuclear, and byproduct material at a geologic repository operations area sited, constructed, or... at a geologic repository operations area sited, constructed, or operated at Yucca Mountain, Nevada...

Disposing of High-Level Radioactive Waste in Germany - A Note from the Licensing Authority - 12530

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pick, Thomas Stefan; Bluth, Joachim; Lauenstein, Christof

Following the national German consensus on the termination of utilisation of nuclear energy in the summer of 2011, the Federal and Laender Governments have declared their intention to work together on a national consensus on the disposal of radioactive waste as well. Projected in the early 1970's the Federal Government had started exploring the possibility to establish a repository for HLW at the Gorleben site in 1977. However, there is still no repository available in Germany today. The delay results mainly from the national conflict over the suitability of the designated Gorleben site, considerably disrupting German society along the crevicemore » that runs between supporters and opponents of nuclear energy. The Gorleben salt dome is situated in Lower Saxony, the German state that also hosts the infamous Asse mine repository for LLW and ILW and the Konrad repository project designated to receive LLW and ILW as well. With the fourth German project, the Morsleben L/ILW repository only 20 km away across the state border, the state of Lower Saxony carries the main load for the disposal of radioactive waste in Germany. After more than 25 years of exploration and a 10 year moratorium the Gorleben project has now reached a cross-road. Current plans for setting up a new site selection procedure in Germany call for the selection and exploration of up to four alternative sites, depending only on suitable geology. In the meantime the discussion is still open on whether the Gorleben project should be terminated in order to pacify the societal conflict or being kept in the selection process on account of its promising geology. The Lower Saxony Ministry for Environment and Climate Protection proposes to follow a twelve-step-program for finding the appropriate site, including the Gorleben site in the process. With its long history of exploration the site is the benchmark that alternative sites will have to compare with. Following the national consensus of 2011 on the termination of nuclear energy utilisation, it is now the time to reach a national consensus on the disposal of radioactive waste as well. This is a task that the country and society, federal and state governments, political parties and the citizens will have to jointly master within the current generation and within German territory. The basis for the consensus will be a reset to the beginning of this process. It has to start with a new site selection procedure that will take into account and compare up to four alternative sites. This procedure will have to follow the principle of highest possible security. It should be based on a stepwise approach, strictly following scientific criteria. Public confidence in the process and trust can only be achieved by a transparent procedure allowing for the participation of the public and the stakeholders. It is therefore mandatory to consult, both on a national and regional level, all involved parties (public authority, scientist and citizen). The national consensus must also include a decision on the future of the Gorleben exploratory site. The site selection procedure must therefore take this site into account as well. Furthermore, the final decision on safe disposal of German radioactive wastes must be made by sovereign rule by Federal Parliament and Federal Council. (authors)« less

Coupled Multi-physical Simulations for the Assessment of Nuclear Waste Repository Concepts: Modeling, Software Development and Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massmann, J.; Nagel, T.; Bilke, L.; Böttcher, N.; Heusermann, S.; Fischer, T.; Kumar, V.; Schäfers, A.; Shao, H.; Vogel, P.; Wang, W.; Watanabe, N.; Ziefle, G.; Kolditz, O.

2016-12-01

As part of the German site selection process for a high-level nuclear waste repository, different repository concepts in the geological candidate formations rock salt, clay stone and crystalline rock are being discussed. An open assessment of these concepts using numerical simulations requires physical models capturing the individual particularities of each rock type and associated geotechnical barrier concept to a comparable level of sophistication. In a joint work group of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), scientists of the UFZ are developing and implementing multiphysical process models while BGR scientists apply them to large scale analyses. The advances in simulation methods for waste repositories are incorporated into the open-source code OpenGeoSys. Here, recent application-driven progress in this context is highlighted. A robust implementation of visco-plasticity with temperature-dependent properties into a framework for the thermo-mechanical analysis of rock salt will be shown. The model enables the simulation of heat transport along with its consequences on the elastic response as well as on primary and secondary creep or the occurrence of dilatancy in the repository near field. Transverse isotropy, non-isothermal hydraulic processes and their coupling to mechanical stresses are taken into account for the analysis of repositories in clay stone. These processes are also considered in the near field analyses of engineered barrier systems, including the swelling/shrinkage of the bentonite material. The temperature-dependent saturation evolution around the heat-emitting waste container is described by different multiphase flow formulations. For all mentioned applications, we illustrate the workflow from model development and implementation, over verification and validation, to repository-scale application simulations using methods of high performance computing.

Environmental assessment: Reference repository location, Hanford site, Washington

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

none,

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified a reference repository location at the Hanford Site in Washington as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The site is in the Columbia Plateau, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. To determine their suitability, the Hanford Site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported inmore » draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOE prepared the final EAs. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Hanford site is not disqualified under the guidelines. The DOE has also found that it is suitable for site characterization because the evidence does not support a conclusion that the site will not be able to meet each of the qualifying conditions specified in the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Hanford site as one of five sites suitable for characterization.« less

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-5 - Formal site nomination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-5 Formal site nomination. After the final... determines suitable for site characterization for the selection of a repository site, and, in so doing, he...

10 CFR 960.3-1-4 - Evidence for siting decisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-4 Evidence for siting decisions. The siting... recommendation of a candidate site for the development of a repository. Each of these decisions will be supported...

10 CFR 60.17 - Contents of site characterization plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES Licenses Preapplication Review § 60.17 Contents of site characterization plan. The... construction authorization for a geologic repository operations area; (4) Criteria, developed pursuant to... area for the location of a geologic repository; and (5) Any other information which the Commission, by...

10 CFR 960.4-2-5 - Erosion.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY... exhumation would not be expected to occur during the first one million years after repository closure. (c... the ability of the geologic repository to isolate the waste. (d) Disqualifying condition. The site...

10 CFR 960.5-2-4 - Offsite installations and operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Preclosure Radiological Safety § 960.5-2-4... operations, including atomic energy defense activities, (1) will not significantly affect repository siting...), when considered together with emissions from repository operation and closure, will not be likely to...

Integrating repositories with fuel cycles: The airport authority model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Forsberg, C.

2012-07-01

The organization of the fuel cycle is a legacy of World War II and the cold war. Fuel cycle facilities were developed and deployed without consideration of the waste management implications. This led to the fuel cycle model of a geological repository site with a single owner, a single function (disposal), and no other facilities on site. Recent studies indicate large economic, safety, repository performance, nonproliferation, and institutional incentives to collocate and integrate all back-end facilities. Site functions could include geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) with the option for future retrievability, disposal of other wastes, reprocessing with fuelmore » fabrication, radioisotope production, other facilities that generate significant radioactive wastes, SNF inspection (navy and commercial), and related services such as SNF safeguards equipment testing and training. This implies a site with multiple facilities with different owners sharing some facilities and using common facilities - the repository and SNF receiving. This requires a different repository site institutional structure. We propose development of repository site authorities modeled after airport authorities. Airport authorities manage airports with government-owned runways, collocated or shared public and private airline terminals, commercial and federal military facilities, aircraft maintenance bases, and related operations - all enabled and benefiting the high-value runway asset and access to it via taxi ways. With a repository site authority the high value asset is the repository. The SNF and HLW receiving and storage facilities (equivalent to the airport terminal) serve the repository, any future reprocessing plants, and others with needs for access to SNF and other wastes. Non-public special-built roadways and on-site rail lines (equivalent to taxi ways) connect facilities. Airport authorities are typically chartered by state governments and managed by commissions with members appointed by the state governor, county governments, and city governments. This structure (1) enables state and local governments to work together to maximize job and tax benefits to local communities and the state, (2) provides a mechanism to address local concerns such as airport noise, and (3) creates an institutional structure with large incentives to maximize the value of the common asset, the runway. A repository site authority would have a similar structure and be the local interface to any national waste management authority. (authors)« less

Topic I: Induced changes in hydrology at low-level radioactive waste repository sites: A section in Safe disposal of radionuclides in low-level radioactive-waste repository sites; Low-level radioactive-waste disposal workshop, U.S. Geological Survey, July 11-16, 1987, Big Bear Lake, Calif., Proceedings (Circular 1036)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prudic, David E.; Dennehy, Kevin F.; Bedinger, Marion S.; Stevens, Peter R.

1990-01-01

Engineering practices, including the excavation of trenches, placement of waste, nature of waste forms, backfilling procedures and materials, and trench-cover construction and materials at low-level radioactive-waste repository sites greatly affect the geohydrology of the sites. Engineering practices are dominant factors in eventual stability and isolation of the waste. The papers presented relating to Topic I were discussions of the hydrogeologic setting at existing low-level radioactive-waste repository sites and changes in the hydrology induced by site operations. Papers summarizing detailed studies presented at this workshop include those at sites near Sheffield, Ill.; Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tenn.; West Valley, N.Y.; Maxey Flats, Ky.; Barnwell, S.C.; and Beatty, Nev. 

10 CFR 960.3-1-1 - Diversity of geohydrologic settings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-1 Diversity of geohydrologic... development of repositories may be located. To the extent practicable, sites recommended as candidate sites...

77 FR 58321 - National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-20

... through http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the site information repositories. Locations, contacts, phone numbers and viewing hours are: Regional Site Information Repository: U.S. EPA Record Center... Repository: New Hanover County Public Library 28401, 201 Chestnut Street, Wilmington, North Carolina 28401...

TSPA 1991: An initial total-system performance assessment for Yucca Mountain; Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barnard, R.W.; Wilson, M.L.; Dockery, H.A.

1992-07-01

This report describes an assessment of the long-term performance of a repository system that contains deeply buried highly radioactive waste; the system is assumed to be located at the potential site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The study includes an identification of features, events, and processes that might affect the potential repository, a construction of scenarios based on this identification, a selection of models describing these scenarios (including abstraction of appropriate models from detailed models), a selection of probability distributions for the parameters in the models, a stochastic calculation of radionuclide releases for the scenarios, and a derivation of complementary cumulativemore » distribution functions (CCDFs) for the releases. Releases and CCDFs are calculated for four categories of scenarios: aqueous flow (modeling primarily the existing conditions at the site, with allowances for climate change), gaseous flow, basaltic igneous activity, and human intrusion. The study shows that models of complex processes can be abstracted into more simplified representations that preserve the understanding of the processes and produce results consistent with those of more complex models.« less

Modeling Coupled Processes in Clay Formations for Radioactive Waste Disposal

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Hui-Hai; Rutqvist, Jonny; Zheng, Liange

As a result of the termination of the Yucca Mountain Project, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) has started to explore various alternative avenues for the disposition of used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste. The overall scope of the investigation includes temporary storage, transportation issues, permanent disposal, various nuclear fuel types, processing alternatives, and resulting waste streams. Although geologic disposal is not the only alternative, it is still the leading candidate for permanent disposal. The realm of geologic disposal also offers a range of geologic environments that may be considered, among those clay shale formations. Figure 1-1 presents themore » distribution of clay/shale formations within the USA. Clay rock/shale has been considered as potential host rock for geological disposal of high-level nuclear waste throughout the world, because of its low permeability, low diffusion coefficient, high retention capacity for radionuclides, and capability to self-seal fractures induced by tunnel excavation. For example, Callovo-Oxfordian argillites at the Bure site, France (Fouche et al., 2004), Toarcian argillites at the Tournemire site, France (Patriarche et al., 2004), Opalinus clay at the Mont Terri site, Switzerland (Meier et al., 2000), and Boom clay at Mol site, Belgium (Barnichon et al., 2005) have all been under intensive scientific investigations (at both field and laboratory scales) for understanding a variety of rock properties and their relations with flow and transport processes associated with geological disposal of nuclear waste. Clay/shale formations may be generally classified as indurated and plastic clays (Tsang et al., 2005). The latter (including Boom clay) is a softer material without high cohesion; its deformation is dominantly plastic. For both clay rocks, coupled thermal, hydrological, mechanical and chemical (THMC) processes are expected to have a significant impact on the long-term safety of a clay repository. For example, the excavation-damaged zone (EDZ) near repository tunnels can modify local permeability (resulting from induced fractures), potentially leading to less confinement capability (Tsang et al., 2005). Because of clay's swelling and shrinkage behavior (depending on whether the clay is in imbibition or drainage processes), fracture properties in the EDZ are quite dynamic and evolve over time as hydromechanical conditions change. To understand and model the coupled processes and their impact on repository performance is critical for the defensible performance assessment of a clay repository. Within the Natural Barrier System (NBS) group of the Used Fuel Disposition (UFD) Campaign at DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy, LBNL's research activities have focused on understanding and modeling such coupled processes. LBNL provided a report in this April on literature survey of studies on coupled processes in clay repositories and identification of technical issues and knowledge gaps (Tsang et al., 2010). This report will document other LBNL research activities within the natural system work package, including the development of constitutive relationships for elastic deformation of clay rock (Section 2), a THM modeling study (Section 3) and a THC modeling study (Section 4). The purpose of the THM and THC modeling studies is to demonstrate the current modeling capabilities in dealing with coupled processes in a potential clay repository. In Section 5, we discuss potential future R&D work based on the identified knowledge gaps. The linkage between these activities and related FEPs is presented in Section 6.« less

Yucca Mountain Project Subsurface Facilities Design

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

A. Linden; R.S. Saunders; R.J. Boutin

2002-11-19

Four units of the Topopah Springs formation (volcanic tuff) are considered for the proposed repository: the upper lithophysal, the middle non-lithophysal, the lower lithophysal, and the lower non-lithophysal. Yucca Mountain was recently designated the site for a proposed repository to dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Work is proceeding to advance the design of subsurface facilities to accommodate emplacing waste packages in the proposed repository. This paper summarized recent progress in the design of subsurface layout of the proposed repository. The original Site Recommendation (SR) concept for the subsurface design located the repository largely within the lowermore » lithophysal zone (approximately 73%) of the Topopah The Site Recommendation characterized area suitable for emplacement consisted of the primary upper block, the lower block and the southern upper block extension. The primary upper block accommodated the mandated 70,000 metric tons of heavy metal (MTHM) at a 1.45 kW/m hear heat load. Based on further study of the Site Recommendation concept, the proposed repository siting area footprint was modified to make maximum use of available site characterization data, and thus, reduce uncertainties associated with performance assessment. As a result of this study, a modified repository footprint has been proposed and is presently being review for acceptance by the DOE. A panel design concept was developed to reduce overall costs and reduce the overall emplacement schedule. This concept provides flexibility to adjust the proposed repository subsurface layout with time, as it makes it unnecessary to ''commit'' to development of a large single panel at the earliest stages of construction. A description of the underground layout configuration and influencing factors that affect the layout configuration are discussed in the report.« less

10 CFR 960.5-2-1 - Population density and distribution.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Preclosure Radiological Safety § 960.5-2-1... repository operation and closure, (1) the expected average radiation dose to members of the public within any...) Disqualifying conditions. A site shall be disqualified if— (1) Any surface facility of a repository would be...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-2 - Selection of sites within geohydrologic settings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-2 Selection... nominated as suitable for characterization. For purposes of the second and subsequent repositories, due... suitable for the development of a repository under the qualifying condition of each guideline specified in...

Multiple criteria approach to site selection of radioactive waste disposal facility in the Republic of Croatia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schaller, A.; Skanata, D.

1995-12-31

Site selection approach to radioactive waste disposal facility, which is under way in Croatia, is presented in the paper. This approach is based on application of certain relevant terrestrial and technical criteria in the site selection process. Basic documentation used for this purpose are regional planning documents prepared by the Regional Planning Institute of Croatia. The basic result of research described in the paper is the proposal of several potential areas which are suitable for siting a radioactive waste repository. All relevant conclusions are based on both data groups -- generic and on-field experienced (measured). Out of a dozen potentialmore » areas, four have been chosen as representative by the authors. The presented comparative analysis was made by means of the VISA II computer code, developed by the V. Belton and SPV Software Products. The code was donated to the APO by the IAEA. The main objective of the paper is to initiate and facilitate further discussions on possible ways of evaluation and comparison of potential areas for sitting of radioactive waste repository in this country, as well as to provide additional contributions to the current site selection process in the Republic of Croatia.« less

Siting Patterns of Nuclear Waste Repositories.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solomon, Barry D.; Shelley, Fred M.

1988-01-01

Provides an inventory of international radioactive waste-management policies and repository siting decisions for North America, Central and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. This discussion stresses the important role of demographic, geologic, and political factors in siting decisions. (Author/BSR)

Assessment of Effectiveness of Geologic Isolation Systems: REFERENCE SITE INITIAL ASSESSMENT FOR A SALT DOME REPOSITORY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harwell, M. A.; Brandstetter, A.; Benson, G. L.

1982-06-01

As a methodology demonstration for the Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation (ONWI), the Assessment of Effectiveness of Geologic Isolation Systems (AEGIS) Program conducted an initial reference site analysis of the long-term effectiveness of a salt dome repository. The Hainesville Salt Dome in Texas was chosen to be representative of the Gulf Coast interior salt domes; however, the Hainesville Site has been eliminated as a possible nuclear waste repository site. The data used for this exercise are not adequate for an actual assessment, nor have all the parametric analyses been made that would adequately characterize the response of the geosystem surroundingmore » the repository. Additionally, because this was the first exercise of the complete AEGIS and WASTE Rock Interaction Technology (WRIT) methodology, this report provides the initial opportunity for the methodology, specifically applied to a site, to be reviewed by the community outside the AEGIS. The scenario evaluation, as a part of the methodology demonstration, involved consideration of a large variety of potentially disruptive phenomena, which alone or in concert could lead to a breach in a salt dome repository and to a subsequent transport of the radionuclides to the environment. Without waste- and repository-induced effects, no plausible natural geologic events or processes which would compromise the repository integrity could be envisioned over the one-million-year time frame after closure. Near-field (waste- and repository-induced) effects were excluded from consideration in this analysis, but they can be added in future analyses when that methodology development is more complete. The potential for consequential human intrusion into salt domes within a million-year time frame led to the consideration of a solution mining intrusion scenario. The AEGIS staff developed a specific human intrusion scenario at 100 years and 1000 years post-closure, which is one of a whole suite of possible scenarios. This scenario resulted in the delivery of radionuclidecontaminated brine to the surface, where a portion was diverted to culinary salt for direct ingestion by the existing population. Consequence analyses indicated calculated human doses that would be highly deleterious. Additional analyses indicated that doses well above background would occur from such a scenario t even if it occurred a million years into the future. The way to preclude such an intrusion is for continued control over the repository sitet either through direct institutional control or through the effective passive transfer of information. A secondary aspect of the specific human intrusion scenario involved a breach through the side of the salt dome t through which radionuclides migrated via the ground-water system to the accessible environment. This provided a demonstration of the geotransport methodology that AEGIS can use in actual site evaluations, as well as the WRIT program's capabilities with respect to defining the source term and retardation rates of the radionuclides in the repository. This reference site analysis was initially published as a Working Document in December 1979. That version was distributed for a formal peer review by individuals and organizations not involved in its development. The present report represents a revisiont based in part on the responses received from the external reviewers. Summaries of the comments from the reviewers and responses to these comments by the AEGIS staff are presented. The exercise of the AEGIS methodology was sUGcessful in demonstrating the methodologyt and thus t in providing a basis for substantive peer review, in terms of further development of the AEGIS site-applications capability and in terms of providing insight into the potential for consequential human intrusion into a salt dome repository.« less

Assessment of Effectiveness of Geologic Isolation Systems: REFERENCE SITE INITIAL ASSESSMENT FOR A SALT DOME REPOSITORY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harwell, M. A.; Brandstetter, A.; Benson, G. L.

1982-06-01

As a methodology demonstration for the Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation (ONWI), the Assessment of Effectiveness of Geologic Isolation Systems (AEGIS) Program conducted an initial reference site analysis of the long-term effectiveness of a salt dome repository. The Hainesville Salt Dome in Texas was chosen to be representative of the Gulf Coast interior salt domes; however, the Hainesville Site has been eliminated as a possible nuclear waste repository site. The data used for this exercise are not adequate for an actual assessment, nor have all the parametric analyses been made that would adequately characterize the response of the geosystem surroundingmore » the repository. Additionally, because this was the first exercise of the complete AEGIS and WASTE Rock Interaction Technology (WRIT) methodology, this report provides the initial opportunity for the methodology, specifically applied to a site, to be reviewed by the community outside the AEGIS. The scenario evaluation, as a part of the methodology demonstration, involved consideration of a large variety of potentially disruptive phenomena, which alone or in concert could lead to a breach in a salt dome repository and to a subsequent transport of the radionuclides to the environment. Without waste- and repository-induced effects, no plausible natural geologic events or processes which would compromise the repository integrity could be envisioned over the one-million-year time frame after closure. Near-field (waste- and repository-induced) effects were excluded from consideration in this analysis, but they can be added in future analyses when that methodology development is more complete. The potential for consequential human intrusion into salt domes within a million-year time frame led to the consideration of a solution mining intrusion scenario. The AEGIS staff developed a specific human intrusion scenario at 100 years and 1000 years post-closure, which is one of a whole suite of possible scenarios. This scenario resulted in the delivery of radionuclidecontaminated brine to the surface, where a portion was diverted to culinary salt for direct ingestion by the existing population. Consequence analyses indicated calculated human doses that would be highly deleterious. Additional analyses indicated that doses well above background would occur from such a scenario t even if it occurred a million years into the future. The way to preclude such an intrusion is for continued control over the repository sitet either through direct institutional control or through the effective passive transfer of information. A secondary aspect of the specific human intrusion scenario involved a breach through the side of the salt dome t through which radionuclides migrated via the ground-water system to the accessible environment. This provided a demonstration of the geotransport methodology that AEGIS can use in actual site evaluations, as well as the WRIT program's capabilities with respect to defining the source term and retardation rates of the radionuclides in the repository. This reference site analysis was initially published as a Working Document in December 1979. That version was distributed for a formal peer review by individuals and organizations not involved in its development. The present report represents a revisiont based in part on the responses received from the external reviewers. Summaries of the comments from the reviewers and responses to these comments by the AEGIS staff are presented. The exercise of the AEGIS methodology was successful in demonstrating the methodologyt and thus t in providing a basis for substantive peer review, in terms of further development of the AEGIS site-applications capability and in terms of providing insight into the potential for consequential human intrusion into a salt dome repository.« less

10 CFR 960.5-2-8 - Surface characteristics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and... repository siting, construction, operation, and closure. (b) Favorable conditions. (1) Generally flat terrain...

10 CFR 960.5-2-8 - Surface characteristics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and... repository siting, construction, operation, and closure. (b) Favorable conditions. (1) Generally flat terrain...

10 CFR 960.5-2-8 - Surface characteristics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and... repository siting, construction, operation, and closure. (b) Favorable conditions. (1) Generally flat terrain...

10 CFR 960.5-2-8 - Surface characteristics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and... repository siting, construction, operation, and closure. (b) Favorable conditions. (1) Generally flat terrain...

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zheng, Liange; Li, Lianchong; Rutqvist, Jonny

Clay/shale has been considered as potential host rock for geological disposal of high-level nuclear waste throughout the world, because of its low permeability, low diffusion coefficient, high retention capacity for radionuclides, and capability to self-seal fractures induced by tunnel excavation. For example, Callovo-Oxfordian argillites at the Bure site, France (Fouche et al., 2004), Toarcian argillites at the Tournemire site, France (Patriarche et al., 2004), Opalinus Clay at the Mont Terri site, Switzerland (Meier et al., 2000), and Boom clay at the Mol site, Belgium (Barnichon and Volckaert, 2003) have all been under intensive scientific investigation (at both field and laboratorymore » scales) for understanding a variety of rock properties and their relationships to flow and transport processes associated with geological disposal of nuclear waste. Clay/shale formations may be generally classified as indurated or plastic clays (Tsang and Hudson, 2010). The latter (including Boom clay) is a softer material without high cohesion; its deformation is dominantly plastic. During the lifespan of a clay repository, the repository performance is affected by complex thermal, hydrogeological, mechanical, chemical (THMC) processes, such as heat release due to radionuclide decay, multiphase flow, formation of damage zones, radionuclide transport, waste dissolution, and chemical reactions. All these processes are related to each other. An in-depth understanding of these coupled processes is critical for the performance assessment (PA) of the repository. These coupled processes may affect radionuclide transport by changing transport paths (e.g., formation and evolution of excavation damaged zone (EDZ)) and altering flow, mineral, and mechanical properties that are related to radionuclide transport. While radionuclide transport in clay formation has been studied using laboratory tests (e,g, Appelo et al. 2010, Garcia-Gutierrez et al., 2008, Maes et al., 2008), short-term field tests (e.g. Garcia-Gutierrez et al. 2006, Soler et al. 2008, van Loon et al. 2004, Wu et al. 2009) and numerical modeling (de Windt et al. 2003; 2006), the effects of THMC processes on radionuclide transport are not fully investigated. The objectives of the research activity documented in this report are to improve a modeling capability for coupled THMC processes and to use it to evaluate the THMC impacts on radionuclide transport. This research activity addresses several key Features, Events and Processes (FEPs), including FEP 2.2.08, Hydrologic Processes, FEP 2.2.07, Mechanical Processes and FEP 2.2.09, Chemical Process— Transport, by studying near-field coupled THMC processes in clay/shale repositories and their impacts on radionuclide transport. This report documents the progress that has been made in FY12. Section 2 discusses the development of THMC modeling capability. Section 3 reports modeling results of THMC impacts on radionuclide transport. Planned work for the remaining months of FY12 and proposed work for FY13 are presented in Section 4.« less

10 CFR 60.18 - Review of site characterization activities. 2

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES Licenses Preapplication Review § 60.18 Review of site characterization... its progress in developing the design of a geologic repository operations area appropriate for the...

10 CFR 960.5-2-10 - Hydrology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and Closure § 960.5-2-10... site will (1) be compatible with the activities required for repository construction, operation, and...

10 CFR 960.5-2-10 - Hydrology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and Closure § 960.5-2-10... site will (1) be compatible with the activities required for repository construction, operation, and...

10 CFR 960.5-2-10 - Hydrology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and Closure § 960.5-2-10... site will (1) be compatible with the activities required for repository construction, operation, and...

10 CFR 960.5-2-10 - Hydrology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and Closure § 960.5-2-10... site will (1) be compatible with the activities required for repository construction, operation, and...

10 CFR 960.5-2-2 - Site ownership and control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Preclosure Radiological Safety § 960.5-2-2 Site ownership... control of access that are required in order that surface and subsurface activities during repository...

10 CFR 60.7 - License not required for certain preliminary activities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... WASTES IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES General Provisions § 60.7 License not required for certain preliminary... repository: (a) For purposes of site characterization; or (b) For use, during site characterization or...

Review of DOE Waste Package Program. Semiannual report, October 1984-March 1985. Volume 8

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Davis, M.S.

1985-12-01

A large number of technical reports on waste package component performance were reviewed over the last year in support of the NRC`s review of the Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) Environmental Assessment reports. The intent was to assess in some detail the quantity and quality of the DOE data and their relevance to the high-level waste repository site selection process. A representative selection of the reviews is presented for the salt, basalt, and tuff repository projects. Areas for future research have been outlined. 141 refs.

10 CFR 960.4-2-8-1 - Natural resources.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... REPOSITORY Postclosure Guidelines § 960.4-2-8-1 Natural resources. (a) Qualifying condition. This site shall... repository-site evaluation to a depth sufficient to affect waste containment and isolation. (4) Evidence of a...

Potential benefits of waste transmutation to the U.S. high-level waste respository

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Michaels, G.E.

1995-10-01

This paper reexamines the potential benefits of waste transmutation to the proposed U.S. geologic repository at the Yucca Mountain site based on recent progress in the performance assessment for the Yucca Mountain base case of spent fuel emplacement. It is observed that actinides are assumed to have higher solubility than in previous studies and that Np and other actinides now dominate the projected aqueous releases from a Yucca Mountain repository. Actinides are also indentified as the dominant source of decay heat in the repository, and the effect of decay heat in perturbing the hydrology, geochemistry, and thermal characteristics of Yuccamore » Mountain are reviewed. It is concluded that the potential for thermally-driven, buoyant, gas-phase flow at Yucca Mountain introduces data and modeling requirements that will increase the costs of licensing the site and may cause the site to be unattractive for geologic disposal of wastes. A transmutation-enabled cold repository is proposed that might allow licensing of a repository to be based upon currently observable characteristics of the Yucca Mountain site.« less

Analogues to features and processes of a high-level radioactive waste repository proposed for Yucca Mountain, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Simmons, Ardyth M.; Stuckless, John S.; with a Foreword by Abraham Van Luik, U.S. Department of Energy

2010-01-01

Natural analogues are defined for this report as naturally occurring or anthropogenic systems in which processes similar to those expected to occur in a nuclear waste repository are thought to have taken place over time periods of decades to millennia and on spatial scales as much as tens of kilometers. Analogues provide an important temporal and spatial dimension that cannot be tested by laboratory or field-scale experiments. Analogues provide one of the multiple lines of evidence intended to increase confidence in the safe geologic disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Although the work in this report was completed specifically for Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as the proposed geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste under the U.S. Nuclear Waste Policy Act, the applicability of the science, analyses, and interpretations is not limited to a specific site. Natural and anthropogenic analogues have provided and can continue to provide value in understanding features and processes of importance across a wide variety of topics in addressing the challenges of geologic isolation of radioactive waste and also as a contribution to scientific investigations unrelated to waste disposal. Isolation of radioactive waste at a mined geologic repository would be through a combination of natural features and engineered barriers. In this report we examine analogues to many of the various components of the Yucca Mountain system, including the preservation of materials in unsaturated environments, flow of water through unsaturated volcanic tuff, seepage into repository drifts, repository drift stability, stability and alteration of waste forms and components of the engineered barrier system, and transport of radionuclides through unsaturated and saturated rock zones.

10 CFR 960.5-2 - Technical guidelines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines § 960.5-2 Technical guidelines. The technical guidelines in this subpart set... repository and to the transportation of waste to a repository site. The third group includes conditions on...

78 FR 57799 - National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan National Priorities List

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-20

..., including a Responsiveness Summary, if prepared, in the Site repositories. DATES: This withdrawal of the.... ADDRESSES: Information Repositories: Comprehensive information on the Site, as well as the comments that we...

77 FR 59338 - National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-27

... Responsiveness Summary, if prepared, in the Site repositories. DATES: Effective Date: This withdrawal of the.... ADDRESSES: Information Repositories: Comprehensive information on the Site, as well as the comments that we...

Alternative methods of salt disposal at the seven salt sites for a nuclear waste repository

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1987-02-01

This study discusses the various alternative salt management techniques for the disposal of excess mined salt at seven potentially acceptable nuclear waste repository sites: Deaf Smith and Swisher Counties, Texas; Richton and Cypress Creek Domes, Mississippi; Vacherie Dome, Louisiana; and Davis and Lavender Canyons, Utah. Because the repository development involves the underground excavation of corridors and waste emplacement rooms, in either bedded or domed salt formations, excess salt will be mined and must be disposed of offsite. The salt disposal alternatives examined for all the sites include commercial use, ocean disposal, deep well injection, landfill disposal, and underground mine disposal.more » These alternatives (and other site-specific disposal methods) are reviewed, using estimated amounts of excavated, backfilled, and excess salt. Methods of transporting the excess salt are discussed, along with possible impacts of each disposal method and potential regulatory requirements. A preferred method of disposal is recommended for each potentially acceptable repository site. 14 refs., 5 tabs.« less

10 CFR 63.114 - Requirements for performance assessment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... GEOLOGIC REPOSITORY AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA Technical Criteria Postclosure Performance Assessment § 63..., hydrology, and geochemistry (including disruptive processes and events) of the Yucca Mountain site, and the... disposal, and provide for the technical basis for parameter ranges, probability distributions, or bounding...

10 CFR 63.114 - Requirements for performance assessment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... GEOLOGIC REPOSITORY AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA Technical Criteria Postclosure Performance Assessment § 63..., hydrology, and geochemistry (including disruptive processes and events) of the Yucca Mountain site, and the... disposal, and provide for the technical basis for parameter ranges, probability distributions, or bounding...

10 CFR 63.114 - Requirements for performance assessment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... GEOLOGIC REPOSITORY AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA Technical Criteria Postclosure Performance Assessment § 63..., hydrology, and geochemistry (including disruptive processes and events) of the Yucca Mountain site, and the... disposal, and provide for the technical basis for parameter ranges, probability distributions, or bounding...

10 CFR 63.114 - Requirements for performance assessment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... GEOLOGIC REPOSITORY AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA Technical Criteria Postclosure Performance Assessment § 63..., hydrology, and geochemistry (including disruptive processes and events) of the Yucca Mountain site, and the... disposal, and provide for the technical basis for parameter ranges, probability distributions, or bounding...

10 CFR 63.114 - Requirements for performance assessment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... GEOLOGIC REPOSITORY AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA Technical Criteria Postclosure Performance Assessment § 63..., hydrology, and geochemistry (including disruptive processes and events) of the Yucca Mountain site, and the... disposal, and provide for the technical basis for parameter ranges, probability distributions, or bounding...

Institutional Repositories: Faculty Deposits, Marketing, and the Reform of Scholarly Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jantz, Ronald C.; Wilson, Myoung C.

2008-01-01

This study explores faculty deposits in institutional repositories (IR) within selected disciplines and identifies the diverse navigational paths to IR sites from library Web site homepages. The statistical relationship between the development of an IR and the presence of a Web site dedicated to the reform of traditional scholarly communication is…

Quantitative CMMI Assessment for Offshoring through the Analysis of Project Management Repositories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sunetnanta, Thanwadee; Nobprapai, Ni-On; Gotel, Olly

The nature of distributed teams and the existence of multiple sites in offshore software development projects pose a challenging setting for software process improvement. Often, the improvement and appraisal of software processes is achieved through a turnkey solution where best practices are imposed or transferred from a company’s headquarters to its offshore units. In so doing, successful project health checks and monitoring for quality on software processes requires strong project management skills, well-built onshore-offshore coordination, and often needs regular onsite visits by software process improvement consultants from the headquarters’ team. This paper focuses on software process improvement as guided by the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and proposes a model to evaluate the status of such improvement efforts in the context of distributed multi-site projects without some of this overhead. The paper discusses the application of quantitative CMMI assessment through the collection and analysis of project data gathered directly from project repositories to facilitate CMMI implementation and reduce the cost of such implementation for offshore-outsourced software development projects. We exemplify this approach to quantitative CMMI assessment through the analysis of project management data and discuss the future directions of this work in progress.

Tectonic characterization of a potential high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Whitney, John W.; O'Leary, Dennis W.

1993-01-01

Tectonic characterization of a potential high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, is needed to assess seismic and possible volcanic hazards that could affect the site during the preclosure (next 100 years) and the behavior of the hydrologic system during the postclosure (the following 10,000 years) periods. Tectonic characterization is based on assembling mapped geological structures in their chronological order of development and activity, and interpreting their dynamic interrelationships. Addition of mechanistic models and kinematic explanations for the identified tectonic processes provides one or more tectonic models having predictive power. Proper evaluation and application of tectonic models can aid in seismic design and help anticipate probable occurrence of future geologic events of significance to the repository and its design.

Performance assessments of nuclear waste repositories--A dialogue on their value and limitations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ewing, Rodney C.; Tierney, Martin S.; Konikow, Leonard F.; Rechard, Rob P.

1999-01-01

Performance Assessment (PA) is the use of mathematical models to simulate the long-term behavior of engineered and geologic barriers in a nuclear waste repository; methods of uncertainty analysis are used to assess effects of parametric and conceptual uncertainties associated with the model system upon the uncertainty in outcomes of the simulation. PA is required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of its certification process for geologic repositories for nuclear waste. This paper is a dialogue to explore the value and limitations of PA. Two “skeptics” acknowledge the utility of PA in organizing the scientific investigations that are necessary for confident siting and licensing of a repository; however, they maintain that the PA process, at least as it is currently implemented, is an essentially unscientific process with shortcomings that may provide results of limited use in evaluating actual effects on public health and safety. Conceptual uncertainties in a PA analysis can be so great that results can be confidently applied only over short time ranges, the antithesis of the purpose behind long-term, geologic disposal. Two “proponents” of PA agree that performance assessment is unscientific, but only in the sense that PA is an engineering analysis that uses existing scientific knowledge to support public policy decisions, rather than an investigation intended to increase fundamental knowledge of nature; PA has different goals and constraints than a typical scientific study. The “proponents” describe an ideal, sixstep process for conducting generalized PA, here called probabilistic systems analysis (PSA); they note that virtually all scientific content of a PA is introduced during the model-building steps of a PSA, they contend that a PA based on simple but scientifically acceptable mathematical models can provide useful and objective input to regulatory decision makers. The value of the results of any PA must lie between these two views and will depend on the level of knowledge of the site, the degree to which models capture actual physical and chemical processes, the time over which extrapolations are made, and the proper evaluation of health risks attending implementation of the repository. The challenge is in evaluating whether the quality of the PA matches the needs of decision makers charged with protecting the health and safety of the public.

10 CFR 960.5-2-3 - Meteorology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Preclosure Radiological Safety § 960.5-2-3 Meteorology. (a) Qualifying condition. The site shall be located such that expected meteorological conditions during repository.... Prevailing meteorological conditions such that any radioactive releases to the atmosphere during repository...

10 CFR Appendix II to Part 960 - NRC and EPA Requirements for Preclosure Repository Performance

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false NRC and EPA Requirements for Preclosure Repository... SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Pt. 960, App. II Appendix II to Part 960—NRC and EPA Requirements for Preclosure Repository Performance Under proposed 40 CFR part 191, subpart A...

10 CFR Appendix I to Part 960 - NRC and EPA Requirements for Postclosure Repository Performance

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false NRC and EPA Requirements for Postclosure Repository... SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Pt. 960, App. I Appendix I to Part 960—NRC and EPA Requirements for Postclosure Repository Performance Under proposed 40 CFR part 191, subpart B...

Projected environmental impacts of radioactive material transportation to the first US repository site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Neuhauser, K.S.; Cashwell, J.W.; Reardon, P.C.

1986-12-31

This paper discusses the relative national environmental impacts of transporting nuclear wastes to each of the nine candidate repository sites in the United States. Several of the potential sites are closely clustered and, for the purpose of distance and routing calculations, are treated as a single location. These are: Cypress Creek Dome and Richton Dome in Mississippi (Gulf Interior Region), Deaf Smith County and Swisher County sites in Texas (Permian Basin), and Davis Canyon and Lavender Canyon site in Utah (Paradox Basin). The remaining sites are: Vacherie Dome, Louisiana; Yucca Mountain, Nevada; and Hanford Reservation, Washington. For compatibility with bothmore » the repository system authorized by the NWPA and with the MRS option, two separate scenarios were analyzed. In belief, they are (1) shipment of spent fuel and high-level wastes (HLW) directly from waste generators to a repository (Reference Case) and (2) shipment of spent fuel to a Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS) facility and then to a repository. Between 17 and 38 truck accident fatalities, between 1.4 and 7.7 rail accident fatalities, and between 0.22 and 12 radiological health effects can be expected to occur as a result of radioactive material transportation during the 26-year operating period of the first repository. During the same period in the United States, about 65,000 total deaths from truck accidents and about 32,000 total deaths from rail accidents would occur; also an estimated 58,300 cancer fatalities are predicted to occur in the United States during a 26-year period from exposure to background radiation alone (not including medical and other manmade sources). The risks reported here are upper limits and are small by comparison with the "natural background" of risks of the same type. 3 refs., 6 tabs.« less

10 CFR 960.5-2-5 - Environmental quality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Environment, Socioeconomics, and Transportation § 960.5-2-5 Environmental... repository siting, construction, operation, closure, and decommissioning, and projected environmental impacts... of the repository or its support facilities on, a component of the National Park System, the National...

10 CFR 960.5-2-6 - Socioeconomic impacts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Environment, Socioeconomics, and Transportation § 960.5-2-6 Socioeconomic... and/or economic impacts induced in communities and surrounding regions by repository siting... significant repository-related impacts on community services, housing supply and demand, and the finances of...

10 CFR 60.15 - Site characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) DISPOSAL OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES Licenses... the geologic repository to the extent practical. (2) The number of exploratory boreholes and shafts... characterization. (3) To the extent practical, exploratory boreholes and shafts in the geologic repository...

10 CFR 960.5-1 - System guidelines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines § 960.5-1 System guidelines. (a) Qualifying conditions—(1) Preclosure... radioactive materials to restricted and unrestricted areas during repository operation and closure shall meet... repository siting, construction, operation, closure, and decommissioning the public and the environment shall...

10 CFR 960.3-3 - Consultation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY..., operation, closure, decommissioning, licensing, or regulation of a repository. Written responses to written... purpose of determining the suitability of such area for the development of a repository, the DOE shall...

Humans and ecosystems over the coming millennia: overview of a biosphere assessment of radioactive waste disposal in Sweden.

PubMed

Kautsky, Ulrik; Lindborg, Tobias; Valentin, Jack

2013-05-01

This is an overview of the strategy used to describe the effects of a potential release from a radioactive waste repository on human exposure and future environments. It introduces a special issue of AMBIO, in which 13 articles show ways of understanding and characterizing the future. The study relies mainly on research performed in the context of a recent safety report concerning a repository for spent nuclear fuel in Sweden (the so-called SR-Site project). The development of a good understanding of on-site processes and acquisition of site-specific data facilitated the development of new approaches for assessment of surface ecosystems. A systematic and scientifically coherent methodology utilizes the understanding of the current spatial and temporal dynamics as an analog for future conditions. We conclude that future ecosystem can be inferred from a few variables and that this multidisciplinary approach is relevant in a much wider context than radioactive waste.

10 CFR 960.4 - Postclosure guidelines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... REPOSITORY Postclosure Guidelines § 960.4 Postclosure guidelines. The guidelines in this subpart specify the factors to be considered in evaluating and comparing sites on the basis of expected repository performance... NRC and EPA regulations. These requirements must be met by the repository system, which contains...

10 CFR 960.3-1-3 - Regionality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Regionality. 960.3-1-3 Section 960.3-1-3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-3 Regionality. In making site recommendations for repository...

10 CFR 960.3-1-3 - Regionality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Regionality. 960.3-1-3 Section 960.3-1-3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-3 Regionality. In making site recommendations for repository...

10 CFR 960.3-1-3 - Regionality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Regionality. 960.3-1-3 Section 960.3-1-3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-3 Regionality. In making site recommendations for repository...

10 CFR 960.3-1-3 - Regionality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Regionality. 960.3-1-3 Section 960.3-1-3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-3 Regionality. In making site recommendations for repository...

Evaluation of Five Sedimentary Rocks Other Than Salt for Geologic Repository Siting Purposes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Croff, A.G.; Lomenick, T.F.; Lowrie, R.S.

The US Department of Energy (DOE), in order to increase the diversity of rock types under consideration by the geologic disposal program, initiated the Sedimary ROck Program (SERP), whose immediate objectiv eis to evaluate five types of secimdnary rock - sandstone, chalk, carbonate rocks (limestone and dolostone), anhydrock, and shale - to determine the potential for siting a geologic repository. The evaluation of these five rock types, together with the ongoing salt studies, effectively results in the consideration of all types of relatively impermeable sedimentary rock for repository purposes. The results of this evaluation are expressed in terms of amore » ranking of the five rock types with respect to their potential to serve as a geologic repository host rock. This comparative evaluation was conducted on a non-site-specific basis, by use of generic information together with rock evaluation criteria (RECs) derived from the DOE siting guidelines for geologic repositories (CFR 1984). An information base relevant to rock evaluation using these RECs was developed in hydrology, geochemistry, rock characteristics (rock occurrences, thermal response, rock mechanics), natural resources, and rock dissolution. Evaluation against postclosure and preclosure RECs yielded a ranking of the five subject rocks with respect to their potential as repository host rocks. Shale was determined to be the most preferred of the five rock types, with sandstone a distant second, the carbonate rocks and anhydrock a more distant third, and chalk a relatively close fourth.« less

Generic Argillite/Shale Disposal Reference Case

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zheng, Liange; Colon, Carlos Jové; Bianchi, Marco

Radioactive waste disposal in a deep subsurface repository hosted in clay/shale/argillite is a subject of widespread interest given the desirable isolation properties, geochemically reduced conditions, and widespread geologic occurrence of this rock type (Hansen 2010; Bianchi et al. 2013). Bianchi et al. (2013) provides a description of diffusion in a clay-hosted repository based on single-phase flow and full saturation using parametric data from documented studies in Europe (e.g., ANDRA 2005). The predominance of diffusive transport and sorption phenomena in this clay media are key attributes to impede radionuclide mobility making clay rock formations target sites for disposal of high-level radioactivemore » waste. The reports by Hansen et al. (2010) and those from numerous studies in clay-hosted underground research laboratories (URLs) in Belgium, France and Switzerland outline the extensive scientific knowledge obtained to assess long-term clay/shale/argillite repository isolation performance of nuclear waste. In the past several years under the UFDC, various kinds of models have been developed for argillite repository to demonstrate the model capability, understand the spatial and temporal alteration of the repository, and evaluate different scenarios. These models include the coupled Thermal-Hydrological-Mechanical (THM) and Thermal-Hydrological-Mechanical-Chemical (THMC) models (e.g. Liu et al. 2013; Rutqvist et al. 2014a, Zheng et al. 2014a) that focus on THMC processes in the Engineered Barrier System (EBS) bentonite and argillite host hock, the large scale hydrogeologic model (Bianchi et al. 2014) that investigates the hydraulic connection between an emplacement drift and surrounding hydrogeological units, and Disposal Systems Evaluation Framework (DSEF) models (Greenberg et al. 2013) that evaluate thermal evolution in the host rock approximated as a thermal conduction process to facilitate the analysis of design options. However, the assumptions and the properties (parameters) used in these models are different, which not only make inter-model comparisons difficult, but also compromise the applicability of the lessons learned from one model to another model. The establishment of a reference case would therefore be helpful to set up a baseline for model development. A generic salt repository reference case was developed in Freeze et al. (2013) and the generic argillite repository reference case is presented in this report. The definition of a reference case requires the characterization of the waste inventory, waste form, waste package, repository layout, EBS backfill, host rock, and biosphere. This report mainly documents the processes in EBS bentonite and host rock that are potentially important for performance assessment and properties that are needed to describe these processes, with brief description other components such as waste inventory, waste form, waste package, repository layout, aquifer, and biosphere. A thorough description of the generic argillite repository reference case will be given in Jové Colon et al. (2014).« less

The Function Biomedical Informatics Research Network Data Repository

PubMed Central

Keator, David B.; van Erp, Theo G.M.; Turner, Jessica A.; Glover, Gary H.; Mueller, Bryon A.; Liu, Thomas T.; Voyvodic, James T.; Rasmussen, Jerod; Calhoun, Vince D.; Lee, Hyo Jong; Toga, Arthur W.; McEwen, Sarah; Ford, Judith M.; Mathalon, Daniel H.; Diaz, Michele; O’Leary, Daniel S.; Bockholt, H. Jeremy; Gadde, Syam; Preda, Adrian; Wible, Cynthia G.; Stern, Hal S.; Belger, Aysenil; McCarthy, Gregory; Ozyurt, Burak; Potkin, Steven G.

2015-01-01

The Function Biomedical Informatics Research Network (FBIRN) developed methods and tools for conducting multi-scanner functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. Method and tool development were based on two major goals: 1) to assess the major sources of variation in fMRI studies conducted across scanners, including instrumentation, acquisition protocols, challenge tasks, and analysis methods, and 2) to provide a distributed network infrastructure and an associated federated database to host and query large, multi-site, fMRI and clinical datasets. In the process of achieving these goals the FBIRN test bed generated several multi-scanner brain imaging data sets to be shared with the wider scientific community via the BIRN Data Repository (BDR). The FBIRN Phase 1 dataset consists of a traveling subject study of 5 healthy subjects, each scanned on 10 different 1.5 to 4 Tesla scanners. The FBIRN Phase 2 and Phase 3 datasets consist of subjects with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder along with healthy comparison subjects scanned at multiple sites. In this paper, we provide concise descriptions of FBIRN’s multi-scanner brain imaging data sets and details about the BIRN Data Repository instance of the Human Imaging Database (HID) used to publicly share the data. PMID:26364863

A science and technology initiative within the office of civilian radioactive waste management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Budnitz, R.J.; Kiess, T.E.; Peters, M.; Duncan, D.

2003-01-01

In 2002, by following a national decision-making process that had been specified in the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act, Yucca Mountain (YM) was designated as the site for the nation's geologic repository for commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF). The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) must now obtain regulatory approval to construct and operate a repository there, and to develop transportation and infrastructure needed to support operations. The OCRWM has also recently begun a separate Science and Technology (S&T) initiative, whose purposes, beginnings, current projects, and future plans are described here.

An Optimal Centralized Carbon Dioxide Repository for Florida, USA

PubMed Central

Poiencot, Brandon; Brown, Christopher

2011-01-01

For over a decade, the United States Department of Energy, and engineers, geologists, and scientists from all over the world have investigated the potential for reducing atmospheric carbon emissions through carbon sequestration. Numerous reports exist analyzing the potential for sequestering carbon dioxide at various sites around the globe, but none have identified the potential for a statewide system in Florida, USA. In 2005, 83% of Florida’s electrical energy was produced by natural gas, coal, or oil (e.g., fossil fuels), from power plants spread across the state. In addition, only limited research has been completed on evaluating optimal pipeline transportation networks to centralized carbon dioxide repositories. This paper describes the feasibility and preliminary locations for an optimal centralized Florida-wide carbon sequestration repository. Linear programming optimization modeling is used to plan and route an idealized pipeline network to existing Florida power plants. Further analysis of the subsurface geology in these general locations will provide insight into the suitability of the subsurface conditions and the available capacity for carbon sequestration at selected possible repository sites. The identification of the most favorable site(s) is also presented. PMID:21695024

An optimal centralized carbon dioxide repository for Florida, USA.

PubMed

Poiencot, Brandon; Brown, Christopher

2011-04-01

For over a decade, the United States Department of Energy, and engineers, geologists, and scientists from all over the world have investigated the potential for reducing atmospheric carbon emissions through carbon sequestration. Numerous reports exist analyzing the potential for sequestering carbon dioxide at various sites around the globe, but none have identified the potential for a statewide system in Florida, USA. In 2005, 83% of Florida's electrical energy was produced by natural gas, coal, or oil (e.g., fossil fuels), from power plants spread across the state. In addition, only limited research has been completed on evaluating optimal pipeline transportation networks to centralized carbon dioxide repositories. This paper describes the feasibility and preliminary locations for an optimal centralized Florida-wide carbon sequestration repository. Linear programming optimization modeling is used to plan and route an idealized pipeline network to existing Florida power plants. Further analysis of the subsurface geology in these general locations will provide insight into the suitability of the subsurface conditions and the available capacity for carbon sequestration at selected possible repository sites. The identification of the most favorable site(s) is also presented.

Analogue Study of Actinide Transport at Sites in Russia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Novikov, A P; Simmons, A M; Halsey, W G

2003-02-12

The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) are engaged in a three-year cooperative study to observe the behavior of actinides in the natural environment at selected disposal sites and/or contamination sites in Russia. The purpose is to develop experimental data and models for actinide speciation, mobilization and transport processes in support of geologic repository design, safety and performance analyses. Currently at the mid-point of the study, the accomplishments to date include: evaluation of existing data and data needs, site screening and selection, initial data acquisition, and development of preliminary conceptual models.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Finch, Robert J.; Smartt, Heidi A.; Haddal, Risa

Once a geological repository has begun operations, the encapsulation and disposal of spent fuel will be performed as a continuous, industrial-scale series of processes, during which time safeguards seals will be applied to transportation casks before shipment from an encapsulation plant, and then verified and removed following receipt at the repository. These operations will occur approximately daily during several decades of Sweden's repository operation; however, requiring safeguards inspectors to perform the application, verification, and removal of every seal would be an onerous burden on International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA's) resources. Current IAEA practice includes allowing operators to either apply sealsmore » or remove them, but not both, so the daily task of either applying or verifying and removing would still require continuous presence of IAEA inspectors at one site at least. Of special importance is the inability to re-verify cask or canisters from which seals have been removed and the canisters emplaced underground. Successfully designing seals that can be applied, verified and removed by an operator with IAEA approval could impact more than repository shipments, but other applications as well, potentially reducing inspector burdens for a wide range of such duties.« less

Site characterization plan: Yucca Mountain Site, Nevada Research and Development Area, Nevada: Volume 8, Part B: Chapter 8, Sections 8.3.5 through 8.3.5.20

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1988-12-01

This site characterization plan (SCP) has been developed for the candidate repository site at Yucca Mountain in the State of Nevada. The SCP includes a description of the Yucca Mountain site (Chapters 1-5), a conceptual design for the repository (Chapter 6), a description of the packaging to be used for the waste to be emplaced in the repository (Chapter 7), and a description of the planned site characterization activities (Chapter 8). The schedules and milestones presented in Sections 8.3 and 8.5 of the SCP were developed to be consistent with the June 1988 draft Amendment to the DOE`s Mission Planmore » for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program. The five month delay in the scheduled start of exploratory shaft construction that was announced recently is not reflected in these schedules. 68 figs., 102 tabs.« less

Mineralogic Model (MM3.0) Analysis Model Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

C. Lum

2002-02-12

The purpose of this report is to document the Mineralogic Model (MM), Version 3.0 (MM3.0) with regard to data input, modeling methods, assumptions, uncertainties, limitations and validation of the model results, qualification status of the model, and the differences between Version 3.0 and previous versions. A three-dimensional (3-D) Mineralogic Model was developed for Yucca Mountain to support the analyses of hydrologic properties, radionuclide transport, mineral health hazards, repository performance, and repository design. Version 3.0 of the MM was developed from mineralogic data obtained from borehole samples. It consists of matrix mineral abundances as a function of x (easting), y (northing),more » and z (elevation), referenced to the stratigraphic framework defined in Version 3.1 of the Geologic Framework Model (GFM). The MM was developed specifically for incorporation into the 3-D Integrated Site Model (ISM). The MM enables project personnel to obtain calculated mineral abundances at any position, within any region, or within any stratigraphic unit in the model area. The significance of the MM for key aspects of site characterization and performance assessment is explained in the following subsections. This work was conducted in accordance with the Development Plan for the MM (CRWMS M&O 2000). The planning document for this Rev. 00, ICN 02 of this AMR is Technical Work Plan, TWP-NBS-GS-000003, Technical Work Plan for the Integrated Site Model, Process Model Report, Revision 01 (CRWMS M&O 2000). The purpose of this ICN is to record changes in the classification of input status by the resolution of the use of TBV software and data in this report. Constraints and limitations of the MM are discussed in the appropriate sections that follow. The MM is one component of the ISM, which has been developed to provide a consistent volumetric portrayal of the rock layers, rock properties, and mineralogy of the Yucca Mountain site. The ISM consists of three components: (1) Geologic Framework Model (GFM); (2) Rock Properties Model (RPM); and (3) Mineralogic Model (MM). The ISM merges the detailed stratigraphy and structural features of the site into a 3-D model that will be useful in primary downstream models and repository design. These downstream models include the hydrologic flow models and the radionuclide transport models. All the models and the repository design, in turn, will be incorporated into the Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA) of the potential nuclear waste repository block and vicinity to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a host for a repository. The interrelationship of the three components of the ISM and their interface with downstream uses are illustrated in Figure 1. The lateral boundaries of the ISM and its three component models are shown in Figure 2.« less

High-Level Waste System Process Interface Description

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

d'Entremont, P.D.

1999-01-14

The High-Level Waste System is a set of six different processes interconnected by pipelines. These processes function as one large treatment plant that receives, stores, and treats high-level wastes from various generators at SRS and converts them into forms suitable for final disposal. The three major forms are borosilicate glass, which will be eventually disposed of in a Federal Repository, Saltstone to be buried on site, and treated water effluent that is released to the environment.

Environmental assessment: Richton Dome Site, Mississippi

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

none,

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Richton Dome site in Mississippi as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Richton Dome site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOEmore » prepared the final EAs. The site is in the Gulf interior region, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. This setting contains two other potentially acceptable sites--the Cypress Creek Dome site in Mississippi and the Vacherie Dome site in Louisiana. Although the Cypress Creek Dome and the Vacherie Dome sites are suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Richton Dome site is the preferred site in the Gulf interior region. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Richton Dome site is not disqualified under the guidelines.« less

THE USE OF BATCH TESTS AS A SCREENING TOOL FOR RADIONUCLIDE SORPTION CHARACTERIZATION STUDIES, HANFORD, WASHINGTON, U.S.A.

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. Department of Energy was studying the feasibility of locating a high-level radioactive waste repository in basalt at the Hanford site in south-central Washington. This is a saturated site where ground water transport of radionuclides away from a repository is the mechani...

10 CFR 960.5 - Preclosure guidelines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines § 960.5 Preclosure guidelines. The guidelines in this subpart specify the factors to be considered in evaluating and comparing sites on the basis of expected repository performance...

Science is the first step to siting nuclear waste repositories

USGS Publications Warehouse

Neuzil, Christopher E.

2014-01-01

As Shaw [2014] notes, U.S. research on shale as a repository host was halted before expending anything close to the effort devoted to studying crystalline rock, salt, and - most notably - tuff at Yucca Mountain. The new political reality regarding Yucca Mountain may allow reconsideration of the decision to abandon research on shale as a repository host.

75 FR 62435 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-08

... Proposed Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.'' 3. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0199. [[Page... potential high-level waste geologic repository site, or wishing to participate in a license application review for the potential geologic repository. 7. An estimate of the number of annual responses: 3. 8. The...

77 FR 70190 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-23

... Repositories.'' 3. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0127. 4. The form number if applicable: N/A. 5. How often... the NRC staff regarding review of a potential high-level radioactive waste geologic repository site, or wishing to participate in a license application review for a potential geologic repository (other...

My Three Wishes for Digital Repositories. Building Digital Libraries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huwe, Terence K.

2005-01-01

In this column on digital repository management, the author defines three areas within the sphere of digital repositories that need work. The first two pertain to information architecture, while the last one pertains to taking action. The author's first "wish" is for top-notch library Web sites that act as a gateway to any sphere of knowledge. He…

Role of geophysics in identifying and characterizing sites for high-level nuclear waste repositories.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wynn, J.C.; Roseboom, E.H.

1987-01-01

Evaluation of potential high-level nuclear waste repository sites is an area where geophysical capabilities and limitations may significantly impact a major governmental program. Since there is concern that extensive exploratory drilling might degrade most potential disposal sites, geophysical methods become crucial as the only nondestructive means to examine large volumes of rock in three dimensions. Characterization of potential sites requires geophysicists to alter their usual mode of thinking: no longer are anomalies being sought, as in mineral exploration, but rather their absence. Thus the size of features that might go undetected by a particular method take on new significance. Legal and regulatory considerations that stem from this different outlook, most notably the requirements of quality assurance (necessary for any data used in support of a repository license application), are forcing changes in the manner in which geophysicists collect and document their data. -Authors

Radioactive waste management in Poland status and strategy for the future

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wlodarski, J.

1995-12-01

Site selection for a new radioactive waste repository in Poland has been started. The repository will contain low- and intermediate-level radioactive wastes and spent fuel. Superficial, shallow underground and deep underground disposal options were considered; 39 potential sites have been selected. Issues to be resolved regarding waste management in Poland are also outlined in this paper.

Results of instrument reliability study for high-level nuclear-waste repositories. [Geotechnical parameters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rogue, F.; Binnall, E.P.

1982-10-01

Reliable instrumentation will be needed to monitor the performance of future high-level waste repository sites. A study has been made to assess instrument reliability at Department of Energy (DOE) waste repository related experiments. Though the study covers a wide variety of instrumentation, this paper concentrates on experiences with geotechnical instrumentation in hostile repository-type environments. Manufacturers have made some changes to improve the reliability of instruments for repositories. This paper reviews the failure modes, rates, and mechanisms, along with manufacturer modifications and recommendations for additional improvements to enhance instrument performance. 4 tables.

Environmental assessment: Yucca Mountain site, Nevada research and development area, Nevada; Volume 1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada as one of nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high- level radioactive waste. The site is in the Great Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. To determine their suitability, the Yucca Mountain site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE`s General Guideline for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessmentsmore » (EA), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOE prepared the final EAs. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE found that the Yucca Mountain site is not disqualified under the guidelines. The DOE has also found that it is suitable for site characterization because the evidence does not support a conclusion that the site will not be able to meet each of the qualifying conditions specified in the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Yucca Mountain site as of five sites suitable for characterization.« less

Environmental assessment: Yucca Mountain site, Nevada research and development area, Nevada; Volume 3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada as one of nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The site is in the Great Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. To determine their suitability, the Yucca Mountain site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE`s General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs),more » which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOE prepared the final EAs. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Yucca Mountain site is not disqualified under the guidelines. The DOE has also found that it is suitable for site characterization because the evidence does not support a conclusion that the site will not be able to meet each of the qualifying conditions specified in the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Yucca Mountain site as one of five sites suitable for characterization.« less

A Safety Case Approach for Deep Geologic Disposal of DOE HLW and DOE SNF in Bedded Salt - 13350

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sevougian, S. David; MacKinnon, Robert J.; Leigh, Christi D.

2013-07-01

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility and utility of developing a defensible safety case for disposal of United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) high-level waste (HLW) and DOE spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in a conceptual deep geologic repository that is assumed to be located in a bedded salt formation of the Delaware Basin [1]. A safety case is a formal compilation of evidence, analyses, and arguments that substantiate and demonstrate the safety of a proposed or conceptual repository. We conclude that a strong initial safety case for potential licensing can be readily compiled bymore » capitalizing on the extensive technical basis that exists from prior work on the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), other U.S. repository development programs, and the work published through international efforts in salt repository programs such as in Germany. The potential benefits of developing a safety case include leveraging previous investments in WIPP to reduce future new repository costs, enhancing the ability to effectively plan for a repository and its licensing, and possibly expediting a schedule for a repository. A safety case will provide the necessary structure for organizing and synthesizing existing salt repository science and identifying any issues and gaps pertaining to safe disposal of DOE HLW and DOE SNF in bedded salt. The safety case synthesis will help DOE to plan its future R and D activities for investigating salt disposal using a risk-informed approach that prioritizes test activities that include laboratory, field, and underground investigations. It should be emphasized that the DOE has not made any decisions regarding the disposition of DOE HLW and DOE SNF. Furthermore, the safety case discussed herein is not intended to either site a repository in the Delaware Basin or preclude siting in other media at other locations. Rather, this study simply presents an approach for accelerated development of a safety case for a potential DOE HLW and DOE SNF repository using the currently available technical basis for bedded salt. This approach includes a summary of the regulatory environment relevant to disposal of DOE HLW and DOE SNF in a deep geologic repository, the key elements of a safety case, the evolution of the safety case through the successive phases of repository development and licensing, and the existing technical basis that could be used to substantiate the safety of a geologic repository if it were to be sited in the Delaware Basin. We also discuss the potential role of an underground research laboratory (URL). (authors)« less

Abstraction of information in repository performance assessments. Examples from the SKI project Site-94

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dverstorp, B.; Andersson, J.

1995-12-01

Performance Assessment of a nuclear waste repository implies an analysis of a complex system with many interacting processes. Even if some of these processes may be known to large detail, problems arise when combining all information, and means of abstracting information from complex detailed models into models that couple different processes are needed. Clearly, one of the major objectives of performance assessment, to calculate doses or other performance indicators, implies an enormous abstraction of information compared to all information that is used as input. Other problems are that the knowledge of different parts or processes is strongly variable and adjustments,more » interpretations, are needed when combining models from different disciplines. In addition, people as well as computers, even today, always have a limited capacity to process information and choices have to be made. However, because abstraction of information clearly is unavoidable in performance assessment the validity of choices made, always need to be scrutinized and judgements made need to be updated in an iterative process.« less

Case for retrievable high-level nuclear waste disposal

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roseboom, Eugene H.

1994-01-01

Plans for the nation's first high-level nuclear waste repository have called for permanently closing and sealing the repository soon after it is filled. However, the hydrologic environment of the proposed site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, should allow the repository to be kept open and the waste retrievable indefinitely. This would allow direct monitoring of the repository and maintain the options for future generations to improve upon the disposal methods or use the uranium in the spent fuel as an energy resource.

The Function Biomedical Informatics Research Network Data Repository.

PubMed

Keator, David B; van Erp, Theo G M; Turner, Jessica A; Glover, Gary H; Mueller, Bryon A; Liu, Thomas T; Voyvodic, James T; Rasmussen, Jerod; Calhoun, Vince D; Lee, Hyo Jong; Toga, Arthur W; McEwen, Sarah; Ford, Judith M; Mathalon, Daniel H; Diaz, Michele; O'Leary, Daniel S; Jeremy Bockholt, H; Gadde, Syam; Preda, Adrian; Wible, Cynthia G; Stern, Hal S; Belger, Aysenil; McCarthy, Gregory; Ozyurt, Burak; Potkin, Steven G

2016-01-01

The Function Biomedical Informatics Research Network (FBIRN) developed methods and tools for conducting multi-scanner functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. Method and tool development were based on two major goals: 1) to assess the major sources of variation in fMRI studies conducted across scanners, including instrumentation, acquisition protocols, challenge tasks, and analysis methods, and 2) to provide a distributed network infrastructure and an associated federated database to host and query large, multi-site, fMRI and clinical data sets. In the process of achieving these goals the FBIRN test bed generated several multi-scanner brain imaging data sets to be shared with the wider scientific community via the BIRN Data Repository (BDR). The FBIRN Phase 1 data set consists of a traveling subject study of 5 healthy subjects, each scanned on 10 different 1.5 to 4 T scanners. The FBIRN Phase 2 and Phase 3 data sets consist of subjects with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder along with healthy comparison subjects scanned at multiple sites. In this paper, we provide concise descriptions of FBIRN's multi-scanner brain imaging data sets and details about the BIRN Data Repository instance of the Human Imaging Database (HID) used to publicly share the data. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

10 CFR 960.4-2-1 - Geohydrology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... REPOSITORY Postclosure Guidelines § 960.4-2-1 Geohydrology. (a) Qualifying condition. The present and... the ability of the geologic repository to isolate the waste during the next 100,000 years. (3) Sites...

Mont Terri Underground Rock Laboratory, Switzerland-Research Program And Key Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nussbaum, C. O.; Bossart, P. J.

2012-12-01

Argillaceous formations generally act as aquitards because of their low hydraulic conductivities. This property, together with the large retention capacity of clays for cationic contaminants and the potential for self-sealing, has brought clay formations into focus as potential host rocks for the geological disposal of radioactive waste. Excavated in the Opalinus Clay formation, the Mont Terri underground rock laboratory in the Jura Mountains of NW Switzerland is an important international test site for researching clay formations. Research is carried out in the underground facility, which is located adjacent to the security gallery of the Mont Terri motorway tunnel. Fifteen partners from European countries, USA, Canada and Japan participate in the project. The objectives of the research program are to analyze the hydrogeological, geochemical and rock mechanical properties of the Opalinus Clay, to determine the changes induced by the excavation of galleries and by heating of the rock formation, to test sealing and container emplacement techniques and to evaluate and improve suitable investigation techniques. For the safety of deep geological disposal, it is of key importance to understand the processes occurring in the undisturbed argillaceous environment, as well as the processes in a disturbed system, during the operation of the repository. The objectives are related to: 1. Understanding processes and mechanisms in undisturbed clays and 2. Experiments related to repository-induced perturbations. Experiments of the first group are dedicated to: i) Improvement of drilling and excavation technologies and sampling methods; ii) Estimation of hydrogeological, rock mechanical and geochemical parameters of the undisturbed Opalinus Clay. Upscaling of parameters from laboratory to in situ scale; iii) Geochemistry of porewater and natural gases; evolution of porewater over time scales; iv) Assessment of long-term hydraulic transients associated with erosion and thermal scenarios and v) Evaluation of diffusion and retention parameters for long-lived radionuclides. Experiments related to repository-induced perturbations are focused on: i) Influence of rock liner on the disposal system and the buffering potential of the host rock; ii) Self-sealing processes in the excavation damaged zone; iii) Hydro-mechanical coupled processes (e.g. stress redistributions and pore pressure evolution during excavation); iv) Thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical coupled processes (e.g. heating of bentonite and host rock) and v) Gas-induced transport of radionuclides in porewater and along interfaces in the engineered barrier system. A third research direction is to demonstrate the feasibility of repository construction and long-term safety after repository closure. Demonstration experiments can contribute to improving the reliability of the scientific basis for the safety assessment of future geological repositories, particularly if they are performed on a large scale and with a long duration. These experiments include the construction and installation of engineered barriers on a 1:1 scale: i) Horizontal emplacement of canisters; ii) Evaluation of the corrosion of container materials; repository re-saturation; iii) Sealing of boreholes and repository access tunnels and iv) Long-term monitoring of the repository. References Bossart, P. & Thury, M. (2008): Mont Terri Rock Laboratory. Project, Programme 1996 to 2007 and Results. - Rep. Swiss Geol. Surv. 3.

NPL-PAD (National Priorities List Publication Assistance Database) for Region 7

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

THIS DATA ASSET NO LONGER ACTIVE: This is metadata documentation for the National Priorities List (NPL) Publication Assistance Databsae (PAD), a Lotus Notes application that holds Region 7's universe of NPL site information such as site description, threats and contaminants, cleanup approach, environmental process, community involvement, site repository, and regional contacts. This database used to be updated annually, at different times for different NPLs, but it is currently no longer being used. This work fell under objectives for EPA's 2003-2008 Strategic Plan (Goal 3) for Land Preservation & Restoration, which are to clean up and reuse contaminated land.

10 CFR Appendix II to Part 960 - NRC and EPA Requirements for Preclosure Repository Performance

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false NRC and EPA Requirements for Preclosure Repository Performance II Appendix II to Part 960 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Pt. 960, App. II Appendix II to Part 960—NRC and...

10 CFR Appendix II to Part 960 - NRC and EPA Requirements for Preclosure Repository Performance

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false NRC and EPA Requirements for Preclosure Repository Performance II Appendix II to Part 960 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Pt. 960, App. II Appendix II to Part 960—NRC and...

10 CFR Appendix II to Part 960 - NRC and EPA Requirements for Preclosure Repository Performance

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false NRC and EPA Requirements for Preclosure Repository Performance II Appendix II to Part 960 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Pt. 960, App. II Appendix II to Part 960—NRC and...

10 CFR Appendix I to Part 960 - NRC and EPA Requirements for Postclosure Repository Performance

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false NRC and EPA Requirements for Postclosure Repository Performance I Appendix I to Part 960 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Pt. 960, App. I Appendix I to Part 960—NRC and...

10 CFR Appendix II to Part 960 - NRC and EPA Requirements for Preclosure Repository Performance

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false NRC and EPA Requirements for Preclosure Repository Performance II Appendix II to Part 960 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Pt. 960, App. II Appendix II to Part 960—NRC and...

Mountain-Scale Coupled Processes (TH/THC/THM)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

P. Dixon

The purpose of this Model Report is to document the development of the Mountain-Scale Thermal-Hydrological (TH), Thermal-Hydrological-Chemical (THC), and Thermal-Hydrological-Mechanical (THM) Models and evaluate the effects of coupled TH/THC/THM processes on mountain-scale UZ flow at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. This Model Report was planned in ''Technical Work Plan (TWP) for: Performance Assessment Unsaturated Zone'' (BSC 2002 [160819], Section 1.12.7), and was developed in accordance with AP-SIII.10Q, Models. In this Model Report, any reference to ''repository'' means the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, and any reference to ''drifts'' means the emplacement drifts at the repository horizon. This Model Report provides themore » necessary framework to test conceptual hypotheses for analyzing mountain-scale hydrological/chemical/mechanical changes and predict flow behavior in response to heat release by radioactive decay from the nuclear waste repository at the Yucca Mountain site. The mountain-scale coupled TH/THC/THM processes models numerically simulate the impact of nuclear waste heat release on the natural hydrogeological system, including a representation of heat-driven processes occurring in the far field. The TH simulations provide predictions for thermally affected liquid saturation, gas- and liquid-phase fluxes, and water and rock temperature (together called the flow fields). The main focus of the TH Model is to predict the changes in water flux driven by evaporation/condensation processes, and drainage between drifts. The TH Model captures mountain-scale three dimensional (3-D) flow effects, including lateral diversion at the PTn/TSw interface and mountain-scale flow patterns. The Mountain-Scale THC Model evaluates TH effects on water and gas chemistry, mineral dissolution/precipitation, and the resulting impact to UZ hydrological properties, flow and transport. The THM Model addresses changes in permeability due to mechanical and thermal disturbances in stratigraphic units above and below the repository host rock. The Mountain-Scale THM Model focuses on evaluating the changes in 3-D UZ flow fields arising out of thermal stress and rock deformation during and after the thermal periods.« less

COINSTAC: A Privacy Enabled Model and Prototype for Leveraging and Processing Decentralized Brain Imaging Data.

PubMed

Plis, Sergey M; Sarwate, Anand D; Wood, Dylan; Dieringer, Christopher; Landis, Drew; Reed, Cory; Panta, Sandeep R; Turner, Jessica A; Shoemaker, Jody M; Carter, Kim W; Thompson, Paul; Hutchison, Kent; Calhoun, Vince D

2016-01-01

The field of neuroimaging has embraced the need for sharing and collaboration. Data sharing mandates from public funding agencies and major journal publishers have spurred the development of data repositories and neuroinformatics consortia. However, efficient and effective data sharing still faces several hurdles. For example, open data sharing is on the rise but is not suitable for sensitive data that are not easily shared, such as genetics. Current approaches can be cumbersome (such as negotiating multiple data sharing agreements). There are also significant data transfer, organization and computational challenges. Centralized repositories only partially address the issues. We propose a dynamic, decentralized platform for large scale analyses called the Collaborative Informatics and Neuroimaging Suite Toolkit for Anonymous Computation (COINSTAC). The COINSTAC solution can include data missing from central repositories, allows pooling of both open and "closed" repositories by developing privacy-preserving versions of widely-used algorithms, and incorporates the tools within an easy-to-use platform enabling distributed computation. We present an initial prototype system which we demonstrate on two multi-site data sets, without aggregating the data. In addition, by iterating across sites, the COINSTAC model enables meta-analytic solutions to converge to "pooled-data" solutions (i.e., as if the entire data were in hand). More advanced approaches such as feature generation, matrix factorization models, and preprocessing can be incorporated into such a model. In sum, COINSTAC enables access to the many currently unavailable data sets, a user friendly privacy enabled interface for decentralized analysis, and a powerful solution that complements existing data sharing solutions.

COINSTAC: A Privacy Enabled Model and Prototype for Leveraging and Processing Decentralized Brain Imaging Data

PubMed Central

Plis, Sergey M.; Sarwate, Anand D.; Wood, Dylan; Dieringer, Christopher; Landis, Drew; Reed, Cory; Panta, Sandeep R.; Turner, Jessica A.; Shoemaker, Jody M.; Carter, Kim W.; Thompson, Paul; Hutchison, Kent; Calhoun, Vince D.

2016-01-01

The field of neuroimaging has embraced the need for sharing and collaboration. Data sharing mandates from public funding agencies and major journal publishers have spurred the development of data repositories and neuroinformatics consortia. However, efficient and effective data sharing still faces several hurdles. For example, open data sharing is on the rise but is not suitable for sensitive data that are not easily shared, such as genetics. Current approaches can be cumbersome (such as negotiating multiple data sharing agreements). There are also significant data transfer, organization and computational challenges. Centralized repositories only partially address the issues. We propose a dynamic, decentralized platform for large scale analyses called the Collaborative Informatics and Neuroimaging Suite Toolkit for Anonymous Computation (COINSTAC). The COINSTAC solution can include data missing from central repositories, allows pooling of both open and “closed” repositories by developing privacy-preserving versions of widely-used algorithms, and incorporates the tools within an easy-to-use platform enabling distributed computation. We present an initial prototype system which we demonstrate on two multi-site data sets, without aggregating the data. In addition, by iterating across sites, the COINSTAC model enables meta-analytic solutions to converge to “pooled-data” solutions (i.e., as if the entire data were in hand). More advanced approaches such as feature generation, matrix factorization models, and preprocessing can be incorporated into such a model. In sum, COINSTAC enables access to the many currently unavailable data sets, a user friendly privacy enabled interface for decentralized analysis, and a powerful solution that complements existing data sharing solutions. PMID:27594820

Nuclear waste

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1991-09-01

Radioactive waste is mounting at U.S. nuclear power plants at a rate of more than 2,000 metric tons a year. Pursuant to statute and anticipating that a geologic repository would be available in 1998, the Department of Energy (DOE) entered into disposal contracts with nuclear utilities. Now, however, DOE does not expect the repository to be ready before 2010. For this reason, DOE does not want to develop a facility for monitored retrievable storage (MRS) by 1998. This book is concerned about how best to store the waste until a repository is available, congressional requesters asked GAO to review themore » alternatives of continued storage at utilities' reactor sites or transferring waste to an MRS facility, GAO assessed the likelihood of an MRSA facility operating by 1998, legal implications if DOE is not able to take delivery of wastes in 1998, propriety of using the Nuclear Waste Fund-from which DOE's waste program costs are paid-to pay utilities for on-site storage capacity added after 1998, ability of utilities to store their waste on-site until a repository is operating, and relative costs and safety of the two storage alternatives.« less

SIMULANT DEVELOPMENT FOR SAVANNAH RIVER SITE HIGH LEVEL WASTE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stone, M; Russell Eibling, R; David Koopman, D

2007-09-04

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at the Savannah River Site vitrifies High Level Waste (HLW) for repository internment. The process consists of three major steps: waste pretreatment, vitrification, and canister decontamination/sealing. The HLW consists of insoluble metal hydroxides (primarily iron, aluminum, magnesium, manganese, and uranium) and soluble sodium salts (carbonate, hydroxide, nitrite, nitrate, and sulfate). The HLW is processed in large batches through DWPF; DWPF has recently completed processing Sludge Batch 3 (SB3) and is currently processing Sludge Batch 4 (SB4). The composition of metal species in SB4 is shown in Table 1 as a function of the ratiomore » of a metal to iron. Simulants remove radioactive species and renormalize the remaining species. Supernate composition is shown in Table 2.« less

Environmental assessment: Davis Canyon site, Utah

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

none,

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Davis Canyon site in Utah as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Davis Canyon site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOEmore » prepared the final EA. The Davis Canyon site is in the Paradox Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considering for the first repository. This setting contains one other potentially acceptable site -- the Lavender Canyon site. Although the Lavender Canyon site is suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Davis Canyon site is the preferred site in the Paradox Basin. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Davis Canyon site is not disqualified under the guidelines. Furthermore, the DOE has found that the site is suitable for site characterization because the evidence does not support a conclusion that the site will not be able to meet each of the qualifying conditions specified in the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Davis Canyon site as one of five sites suitable for characterization.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harmon, K.M.; Lakey, L.T.; Leigh, I.W.

Worldwide activities related to nuclear fuel cycle and radioactive waste management programs are summarized. Several trends have developed in waste management strategy: All countries having to dispose of reprocessing wastes plan on conversion of the high-level waste (HLW) stream to a borosilicate glass and eventual emplacement of the glass logs, suitably packaged, in a deep geologic repository. Countries that must deal with plutonium-contaminated waste emphasize pluonium recovery, volume reduction and fixation in cement or bitumen in their treatment plans and expect to use deep geologic repositories for final disposal. Commercially available, classical engineering processing are being used worldwide to treatmore » and immobilize low- and intermediate-level wastes (LLW, ILW); disposal to surface structures, shallow-land burial and deep-underground repositories, such as played-out mines, is being done widely with no obvious technical problems. Many countries have established extensive programs to prepare for construction and operation of geologic repositories. Geologic media being studied fall into three main classes: argillites (clay or shale); crystalline rock (granite, basalt, gneiss or gabbro); and evaporates (salt formations). Most nations plan to allow 30 years or longer between discharge of fuel from the reactor and emplacement of HLW or spent fuel is a repository to permit thermal and radioactive decay. Most repository designs are based on the mined-gallery concept, placing waste or spent fuel packages into shallow holes in the floor of the gallery. Many countries have established extensive and costly programs of site evaluation, repository development and safety assessment. Two other waste management problems are the subject of major R and D programs in several countries: stabilization of uranium mill tailing piles; and immobilization or disposal of contaminated nuclear facilities, namely reactors, fuel cycle plants and R and D laboratories.« less

The environmental constraint needs for design improvements to the Saligny I/LLW-repository near Cernavoda NPP

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barariu, Gheorghe

2007-07-01

The paper presents the new perspectives on the development of the L/ILW Final Repository Project which will be built near Cernavoda NPP. The Repository is designed to satisfy the main performance objectives in accordance to IAEA recommendation. Starting in October 1996, Romania became a country with an operating nuclear power plant. Reactor 2 reached the criticality on May 6, 2007 and it will be put in commercial operation in September 2007. The Ministry of Economy and Finance has decided to proceed with the commissioning of Units 3 and 4 of Cernavoda NPP till 2014. The Strategy for radioactive waste managementmore » was elaborated by National Agency for Radioactive Waste (ANDRAD), the jurisdictional authority for definitive disposal and the coordination of nuclear spent fuel and radioactive waste management (Order 844/2004) with attributions established by Governmental Decision (GO) 31/2006. The Strategy specifies the commissioning of the Saligny L/IL Radwaste Repository near Cernavoda NPP in 2014. When designing the L/IL Radwaste Repository, the following prerequisites have been taken into account: 1) Cernavoda NPP will be equipped with 4 Candu 6 units. 2) National Legislation in radwaste management will be reviewed and/or completed to harmonize with UE standards 3) The selected site is now in process of confirmation after a comprehensive set of interdisciplinary investigations. (author)« less

10 CFR 960.3-1-2 - Diversity of rock types.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-2 Diversity of rock types. Consideration shall be given to a variety of geologic media in which sites for the development of repositories may be...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-4 - The environmental assessment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-4 The environmental assessment...; and an assessment of the regional and local impacts of locating a repository at the site. The draft...

The ConSurf-DB: pre-calculated evolutionary conservation profiles of protein structures.

PubMed

Goldenberg, Ofir; Erez, Elana; Nimrod, Guy; Ben-Tal, Nir

2009-01-01

ConSurf-DB is a repository for evolutionary conservation analysis of the proteins of known structures in the Protein Data Bank (PDB). Sequence homologues of each of the PDB entries were collected and aligned using standard methods. The evolutionary conservation of each amino acid position in the alignment was calculated using the Rate4Site algorithm, implemented in the ConSurf web server. The algorithm takes into account the phylogenetic relations between the aligned proteins and the stochastic nature of the evolutionary process explicitly. Rate4Site assigns a conservation level for each position in the multiple sequence alignment using an empirical Bayesian inference. Visual inspection of the conservation patterns on the 3D structure often enables the identification of key residues that comprise the functionally important regions of the protein. The repository is updated with the latest PDB entries on a monthly basis and will be rebuilt annually. ConSurf-DB is available online at http://consurfdb.tau.ac.il/

The ConSurf-DB: pre-calculated evolutionary conservation profiles of protein structures

PubMed Central

Goldenberg, Ofir; Erez, Elana; Nimrod, Guy; Ben-Tal, Nir

2009-01-01

ConSurf-DB is a repository for evolutionary conservation analysis of the proteins of known structures in the Protein Data Bank (PDB). Sequence homologues of each of the PDB entries were collected and aligned using standard methods. The evolutionary conservation of each amino acid position in the alignment was calculated using the Rate4Site algorithm, implemented in the ConSurf web server. The algorithm takes into account the phylogenetic relations between the aligned proteins and the stochastic nature of the evolutionary process explicitly. Rate4Site assigns a conservation level for each position in the multiple sequence alignment using an empirical Bayesian inference. Visual inspection of the conservation patterns on the 3D structure often enables the identification of key residues that comprise the functionally important regions of the protein. The repository is updated with the latest PDB entries on a monthly basis and will be rebuilt annually. ConSurf-DB is available online at http://consurfdb.tau.ac.il/ PMID:18971256

THM large spatial-temporal model to simulate the past 2 Ma hydrogeological evolution of Paris Basin including natural tracer transport as part of site characterization for radwaste repository project Cigéo - France

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benabderrahmane, A., Sr.

2017-12-01

Hydrogeological site characterization for deep geological high level and intermediate level long lived radioactive waste repository cover a large time scale needed for safety analysis and calculation. Hydrogeological performance of a site relies also on the effects of geodynamic evolution as tectonic uplift, erosion/sedimentation and climate including glaciation on the groundwater flow and solute and heat transfer. Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical model of multilayered aquifer system of Paris Basin is developed to reproduce the present time flow and the natural tracer (Helium) concentration profiles based on the last 2 Ma of geodynamic evolution. Present time geological conceptual model consist of 27 layers at Paris Basin (Triassic-Tertiary) with refinement at project site scale (29 layers from Triassic to Portlandian). Target layers are the clay host formation of Callovo-Oxfrodian age (160 Ma) and the surrounding aquifer layers of Oxfordian and Dogger. Modelled processes are: groundwater flow, heat and solutes (natural tracers) transport, freezing and thawing of groundwater (expansion and retreat of permafrost), deformation of the multilayered aquifer system induced by differential tectonic uplift and the hydro-mechanical stress effect as caused by erosion of the outcropping layers. Numerical simulation considers a period from 2 Ma BP and up to the present. Transient boundary conditions are governed by geodynamic processes: (i) modification of the geometry of the basin and (ii) temperatures along the topography will change according to a series of 15 identical climate cycles with multiple permafrost (glaciation) periods. Numerical model contains 71 layers and 18 million cells. The solution procedure solves three coupled systems of equations, head, temperature and concentrations, by the use of a finite difference method, and by applying extensive parallel processing. The major modelling results related to the processes of importance for site characterization as hydraulic head distribution, flow velocity, heat and natural tracer transport impacted by geodynamic past evolution are discussed.

Groundwater flow modeling of periods with periglacial and glacial climate conditions for the safety assessment of the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository site at Forsmark, Sweden

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidstrand, Patrik; Follin, Sven; Selroos, Jan-Olof; Näslund, Jens-Ove

2014-09-01

The impact of periglacial and glacial climate conditions on groundwater flow in fractured crystalline rock is studied by means of groundwater flow modeling of the Forsmark site, which was recently proposed as a repository site for the disposal of spent high-level nuclear fuel in Sweden. The employed model uses a thermal-hydraulically coupled approach for permafrost modeling and discusses changes in groundwater flow implied by the climate conditions found over northern Europe at different times during the last glacial cycle (Weichselian glaciation). It is concluded that discharge of particles released at repository depth occurs very close to the ice-sheet margin in the absence of permafrost. If permafrost is included, the greater part discharges into taliks in the periglacial area. During a glacial cycle, hydraulic gradients at repository depth reach their maximum values when the ice-sheet margin passes over the site; at this time, also, the interface between fresh and saline waters is distorted the most. The combined effect of advances and retreats during several glaciations has not been studied in the present work; however, the results indicate that hydrochemical conditions at depth in the groundwater flow model are almost restored after a single event of ice-sheet advance and retreat.

Basic repository environmental assessment design basis, Lavender Canyon site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1988-01-01

This study examines the engineering factors and costs associated with the construction, operation, and decommissioning of a high-level nuclear waste repository in salt in the Paradox Basin in Lavender Canyon, Utah. The study assumes a repository capacity of 36,000 metric tons of heavy metal (MTHM) of unreprocessed spent fuel and 36,000 MTHM of commercial high-level reprocessing waste, along with 7020 canisters of defense high-level reprocessing waste and associated quantities of remote- and contact-handled transuranic waste (TRU). With the exception of TRU, all the waste forms are placed in 300- to 1000-year-life carbon-steel waste packages in a collocated waste handling andmore » packaging facility (WHPF), which is also described. The construction, operation, and decommissioning of the proposed repository is estimated to cost approximately $5.51 billion. Costs include those for the collocated WHPP, engineering, and contingency, but exclude waste form assembly and shipment to the site and waste package fabrication and shipment to the site. These costs reflect the relative average wage rates of the region and the relatively sound nature of the salt at this site. Construction would require an estimated 7.75 years. Engineering factors and costs are not strongly influenced by environmental considerations. 51 refs., 24 figs., 20 tabs.« less

Fluid geochemistry of Yucca Mountain and vicinity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marshall, Brian D.; Moscati, Richard J.; Patterson, Gary L.; Stuckless, John S.

2012-01-01

Yucca Mountain, a site in southwest Nevada, has been proposed for a deep underground radioactive waste repository. An extensive database of geochemical and isotopic characteristics has been established for pore waters and gases from the unsaturated zone, perched water, and saturated zone waters in the Yucca Mountain area. The development of this database has been driven by diverse needs of the Yucca Mountain Project, especially those aspects of the project involving process modeling and performance assessment. Water and gas chemistries influence the sorption behavior of radionuclides and the solubility of the radionuclide compounds that form. The chemistry of waters that may infiltrate the proposed repository will be determined in part by that of water present in the unsaturated zone above the proposed repository horizon, whereas pore-water compositions beneath the repository horizon will influence the sorption behavior of the radionuclides transported toward the water table. However, more relevant to the discussion in this chapter, development and testing of conceptual flow and transport models for the Yucca Mountain hydrologic system are strengthened through the incorporation of natural environmental tracer data into the process. Chemical and isotopic data are used to establish bounds on key hydrologic parameters and to provide corroborative evidence for model assumptions and predictions. Examples of specific issues addressed by these data include spatial and temporal variability in net fluxes, the role of faults in controlling flow paths, fracture-matrix interactions, the age and origin of perched water, and the distribution of water traveltimes.

SITE GENERATED RADIOLOGICAL WASTE HANDLING SYSTEM DESCRIPTION DOCUMENT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

S. C. Khamankar

2000-06-20

The Site Generated Radiological Waste Handling System handles radioactive waste products that are generated at the geologic repository operations area. The waste is collected, treated if required, packaged for shipment, and shipped to a disposal site. Waste streams include low-level waste (LLW) in solid and liquid forms, as-well-as mixed waste that contains hazardous and radioactive constituents. Liquid LLW is segregated into two streams, non-recyclable and recyclable. The non-recyclable stream may contain detergents or other non-hazardous cleaning agents and is packaged for shipment. The recyclable stream is treated to recycle a large portion of the water while the remaining concentrated wastemore » is packaged for shipment; this greatly reduces the volume of waste requiring disposal. There will be no liquid LLW discharge. Solid LLW consists of wet solids such as ion exchange resins and filter cartridges, as-well-as dry active waste such as tools, protective clothing, and poly bags. Solids will be sorted, volume reduced, and packaged for shipment. The generation of mixed waste at the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) is not planned; however, if it does come into existence, it will be collected and packaged for disposal at its point of occurrence, temporarily staged, then shipped to government-approved off-site facilities for disposal. The Site Generated Radiological Waste Handling System has equipment located in both the Waste Treatment Building (WTB) and in the Waste Handling Building (WHB). All types of liquid and solid LLW are processed in the WTB, while wet solid waste from the Pool Water Treatment and Cooling System is packaged where received in the WHB. There is no installed hardware for mixed waste. The Site Generated Radiological Waste Handling System receives waste from locations where water is used for decontamination functions. In most cases the water is piped back to the WTB for processing. The WTB and WHB provide staging areas for storing and shipping LLW packages as well as any mixed waste packages. The buildings house the system and provide shielding and support for the components. The system is ventilated by and connects to the ventilation systems in the buildings to prevent buildup and confine airborne radioactivity via the high efficiency particulate air filters. The Monitored Geologic Repository Operations Monitoring and Control System will provide monitoring and supervisory control facilities for the system.« less

Volcanic hazards: Perspectives from eruption prediction to risk assessment for disposal of radioactive waste

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Crowe, B.

1980-12-31

This document summarizes an oral presentation that described the potential for volcanic activity at the proposed Yucca Mountain, Texas repository site. Yucca Mountain is located in a broad zone of volcanic activity known as the Death Valley-Pancake Ridge volcanic zone. The probability estimate for the likelihood that some future volcanic event will intersect a buried repository at Yucca Mountain is low. Additionally, the radiological consequences of penetration of a repository by basaltic magma followed by eruption of the magma at the surface are limited. The combination of low probability and limited consequence suggests that the risk posed by waste storagemore » at this site is low. (TEM)« less

Granite disposal of U.S. high-level radioactive waste.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Freeze, Geoffrey A.; Mariner, Paul E.; Lee, Joon H.

This report evaluates the feasibility of disposing U.S. high-level radioactive waste in granite several hundred meters below the surface of the earth. The U.S. has many granite formations with positive attributes for permanent disposal. Similar crystalline formations have been extensively studied by international programs, two of which, in Sweden and Finland, are the host rocks of submitted or imminent repository license applications. This report is enabled by the advanced work of the international community to establish functional and operational requirements for disposal of a range of waste forms in granite media. In this report we develop scoping performance analyses, basedmore » on the applicable features, events, and processes (FEPs) identified by international investigators, to support generic conclusions regarding post-closure safety. Unlike the safety analyses for disposal in salt, shale/clay, or deep boreholes, the safety analysis for a mined granite repository depends largely on waste package preservation. In crystalline rock, waste packages are preserved by the high mechanical stability of the excavations, the diffusive barrier of the buffer, and favorable chemical conditions. The buffer is preserved by low groundwater fluxes, favorable chemical conditions, backfill, and the rigid confines of the host rock. An added advantage of a mined granite repository is that waste packages would be fairly easy to retrieve, should retrievability be an important objective. The results of the safety analyses performed in this study are consistent with the results of comprehensive safety assessments performed for sites in Sweden, Finland, and Canada. They indicate that a granite repository would satisfy established safety criteria and suggest that a small number of FEPs would largely control the release and transport of radionuclides. In the event the U.S. decides to pursue a potential repository in granite, a detailed evaluation of these FEPs would be needed to inform site selection and safety assessment.« less

Geoengineering properties of potential repository units at Yucca Mountain, southern Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tillerson, J.R.; Nimick, F.B.

1984-12-01

The Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations (NNWSI) Project is currently evaluating volcanic tuffs at the Yucca Mountain site, located on and adjacent to the Nevada Test Site, for possible use as a host rock for a radioactive waste repository. The behavior of tuff as an engineering material must be understood to design, license, construct, and operate a repository. Geoengineering evaluations and measurements are being made to develop confidence in both the analysis techniques for thermal, mechanical, and hydrothermal effects and the supporting data base of rock properties. The analysis techniques and the data base are currently used for repository design,more » waste package design, and performance assessment analyses. This report documents the data base of geoengineering properties used in the analyses that aided the selection of the waste emplacement horizon and in analyses synopsized in the Environmental Assessment Report prepared for the Yucca Mountain site. The strategy used for the development of the data base relies primarily on data obtained in laboratory tests that are then confirmed in field tests. Average thermal and mechanical properties (and their anticipated variations) are presented. Based upon these data, analyses completed to date, and previous excavation experience in tuff, it is anticipated that existing mining technology can be used to develop stable underground openings and that repository operations can be carried out safely.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Petersen, C.A., Westinghouse Hanford

The overall objective of this report is to provide a technical basis to support a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission determination to classify the low-activity waste from the Hanford Site single-shell and double-shell tanks as `incidental` wastes after removal of additional radionuclides and immobilization.The proposed processing method, in addition to the previous radionuclide removal efforts, will remove the largest practical amount of total site radioactivity, attributable to high-level wastes, for disposal in a deep geologic repository. The remainder of the waste would be considered `incidental` waste and could be disposed onsite.

Environmental assessment: Davis Canyon site, Utah

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

none,

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Davis Canyon site in Utah as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Davis Canyon site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, the DOEmore » prepared the final EA. The Davis Canyon site is in the Paradox Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. This setting contains one other potentially acceptable site -- the Lavender Canyon site. Although the Lavender Canyon site is suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Davis Canyon site is the preferred site in the Paradox Basin. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Davis Canyon site is not disqualified under the guidelines. Furthermore, the DOE has fond that the site is suitable for site characterization because the evidence does not support a conclusion that the site will not be able to meet each of the qualifying conditions specified in the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Davis Canyon site as one of five sites suitable for characterization. 181 figs., 175 tabs.« less

Environmental assessment: Davis Canyon site, Utah

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

none,

1986-05-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Davis Canyon site in Utah as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high- level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Davis Canyon site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After considering the comments received on the draft EAs, themore » DOE prepared the final EA. The Davis Canyon site is in the Paradox Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. This setting contains one other potentially acceptable site -- the Lavender Canyon site. Although the Lavender Canyon site is suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Davis Canyon site is the preferred site in the Paradox Basin. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Davis Canyon site is not disqualified under the guidelines. Furthermore, the DOE has found that the site is suitable for site characterization because the evidence does not support a conclusion that the site will not be able to meet each of the qualifying conditions specified in the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Davis Canyon site as one of the five sites suitable for characterization.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 USC sections 10101-10226) requires the environmental assessment of a proposed site to include a statement of the basis for nominating a site as suitable for characterization. Volume 2 provides a detailed statement evaluating the site suitability of the Deaf Smith County Site under DOE siting guidelines, as well as a comparison of the Deaf Smith County Site to the other sites under consideration. The evaluation of the Deaf Smith County Site is based on the impacts associated with the reference repository design, but the evaluation will not change if based on themore » Mission Plan repository concept. The second part of this document compares the Deaf Smith County Site to Davis Canyon, Hanford, Richton Dome and Yucca Mountain. This comparison is required under DOE guidelines and is not intended to directly support subsequent recommendation of three sites for characterization as candidate sites. 259 refs., 29 figs., 66 refs. (MHB)« less

Hydrologic and geologic characteristics of the Yucca Mountain site relevant to the performance of a potential repository: Day 1, Las Vegas, Nevada to Pahrump, Nevada: Stop 6A. Keane Wonder Spring and regional groundwater flow in the Death Valley region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Steinkampf, W.C.

2000-01-01

Yucca Mountain, located ~100 mi northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been designated by Congress as a site to be characterized for a potential mined geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste. This field trip will examine the regional geologic and hydrologic setting for Yucca Mountain, as well as specific results of the site characterization program, The first day focuses on the regional seeing with emphasis on current and paleo hydrology, which are both of critical concern for predicting future performance of a potential repository. Morning stops will be in southern Nevada and afternoon stops will be in Death Valley. The second day will be spent at Yucca Mountain. The filed trip will visit the underground testing sites in the "Exploratory Studies Facility" and the "Busted Butte Unsaturated Zone Transport Field Test" plus several surface-based testing sites. Much of the work at the site has concentrated on studies of the unsaturated zone, and element of the hydrologic system that historically has received little attention. Discussions during the second day will comprise selected topics of Yucca Mountain geology, mic hazard in the Yucca Mountain area. Evening discussions will address modeling of regional groundwater flow, the geology and hydrology of Yucca Mountain to the performance of a potential repository. Day 3 will examine the geologic framework and hydrology of the Pahute Mesa-Oasis Valley Groundwater Basin and then will continue to Reno via Hawthorne, Nevada and the Walker Lake area.

Applying the institutional review board data repository approach to manage ethical considerations in evaluating and studying medical education

PubMed Central

Thayer, Erin K.; Rathkey, Daniel; Miller, Marissa Fuqua; Palmer, Ryan; Mejicano, George C.; Pusic, Martin; Kalet, Adina; Gillespie, Colleen; Carney, Patricia A.

2016-01-01

Issue Medical educators and educational researchers continue to improve their processes for managing medical student and program evaluation data using sound ethical principles. This is becoming even more important as curricular innovations are occurring across undergraduate and graduate medical education. Dissemination of findings from this work is critical, and peer-reviewed journals often require an institutional review board (IRB) determination. Approach IRB data repositories, originally designed for the longitudinal study of biological specimens, can be applied to medical education research. The benefits of such an approach include obtaining expedited review for multiple related studies within a single IRB application and allowing for more flexibility when conducting complex longitudinal studies involving large datasets from multiple data sources and/or institutions. In this paper, we inform educators and educational researchers on our analysis of the use of the IRB data repository approach to manage ethical considerations as part of best practices for amassing, pooling, and sharing data for educational research, evaluation, and improvement purposes. Implications Fostering multi-institutional studies while following sound ethical principles in the study of medical education is needed, and the IRB data repository approach has many benefits, especially for longitudinal assessment of complex multi-site data. PMID:27443407

The siting program of geological repository for spent fuel/high-level waste in Czech Republic

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Novotny, P.

1993-12-31

The management of high-level waste in Czech Republic have a very short history, because before the year 1989 spent nuclear fuel was re-exported back to USSR. The project ``Geological research of HLW repository in Czech Republic`` was initiated during 1990 by the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic and by this project delegated the Czech Geological Survey (CGU) Prague. The first CGU project late in 1990 for multibarrier concept has proposed a geological repository to be located at a depth of about 500 m. Screening and studies of potential sites for repository started in 1991. First stage representedmore » regional siting of the Czech Republic for perspective rock types and massifs. In cooperation with GEOPHYSICS Co., Geophysical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Charles University Prague 27 perspective regions were selected, using criteria IAEA. This work in the Czech Republic was possible thanks to the detailed geological studies done in the past and thanks to the numerous archive data, concentrated in the central geological archive GEOFOND. Selection of perspective sites also respected natural conservation regions, regions conserving water and mineral waters resources. CGU opened up contact with countries with similar geological situation and started cooperation with SKB (Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co.). The Project of geological research for the next 10 years is a result of these activities.« less

Geologic Framework Model Analysis Model Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

R. Clayton

2000-12-19

The purpose of this report is to document the Geologic Framework Model (GFM), Version 3.1 (GFM3.1) with regard to data input, modeling methods, assumptions, uncertainties, limitations, and validation of the model results, qualification status of the model, and the differences between Version 3.1 and previous versions. The GFM represents a three-dimensional interpretation of the stratigraphy and structural features of the location of the potential Yucca Mountain radioactive waste repository. The GFM encompasses an area of 65 square miles (170 square kilometers) and a volume of 185 cubic miles (771 cubic kilometers). The boundaries of the GFM were chosen to encompassmore » the most widely distributed set of exploratory boreholes (the Water Table or WT series) and to provide a geologic framework over the area of interest for hydrologic flow and radionuclide transport modeling through the unsaturated zone (UZ). The depth of the model is constrained by the inferred depth of the Tertiary-Paleozoic unconformity. The GFM was constructed from geologic map and borehole data. Additional information from measured stratigraphy sections, gravity profiles, and seismic profiles was also considered. This interim change notice (ICN) was prepared in accordance with the Technical Work Plan for the Integrated Site Model Process Model Report Revision 01 (CRWMS M&O 2000). The constraints, caveats, and limitations associated with this model are discussed in the appropriate text sections that follow. The GFM is one component of the Integrated Site Model (ISM) (Figure l), which has been developed to provide a consistent volumetric portrayal of the rock layers, rock properties, and mineralogy of the Yucca Mountain site. The ISM consists of three components: (1) Geologic Framework Model (GFM); (2) Rock Properties Model (RPM); and (3) Mineralogic Model (MM). The ISM merges the detailed project stratigraphy into model stratigraphic units that are most useful for the primary downstream models and the repository design. These downstream models include the hydrologic flow models and the radionuclide transport models. All the models and the repository design, in turn, will be incorporated into the Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA) of the potential radioactive waste repository block and vicinity to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a host for the repository. The interrelationship of the three components of the ISM and their interface with downstream uses are illustrated in Figure 2.« less

Potential Future Igneous Activity at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cline, M.; Perry, F. V.; Valentine, G. A.; Smistad, E.

2005-12-01

Location, timing, and volumes of post-Miocene volcanic activity, along with expert judgement, provide the basis for assessing the probability of future volcanism intersecting a proposed repository for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Analog studies of eruptive centers in the region that may represent the style and extent of possible future igneous activity at Yucca Mountain have aided in defining the consequence scenarios for intrusion into and eruption through a proposed repository. Modeling of magmatic processes related to magma/proposed repository interactions has been used to assess the potential consequences of a future igneous event through a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain. Results of work to date indicate future igneous activity in the Yucca Mountain region has a very low probability of intersecting the proposed repository. Probability of a future event intersecting a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain is approximately 1.7 X 10-8 per year. Since completion of the Probabilistic Volcanic Hazard Assessment (PVHA) in 1996, anomalies representing potential buried volcanic centers have been identified from aeromagnetic surveys. A re-assessment of the hazard is currently underway to evaluate the probability of intersection in light of new information and to estimate the probability of one or more volcanic conduits located in the proposed repository along a dike that intersects the proposed repository. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations for siting and licensing a proposed repository require that the consequences of a disruptive event (igneous event) with annual probability greater than 1 X 10-8 be evaluated. Two consequence scenarios are considered; 1) igneous intrusion-groundwater transport case and 2) volcanic eruptive case. These scenarios equate to a dike or dike swarm intersecting repository drifts containing waste packages, formation of a conduit leading to a volcanic eruption through the repository that carries the contents of the waste packages into the atmosphere, deposition of a tephra sheet, and redistribution of the contaminated ash. In both cases radioactive material is released to the accessible environment either through groundwater transport or through the atmospheric dispersal and deposition. Six Quaternary volcanic centers exist within 20 km of Yucca Mountain. Lathrop Wells cone (LWC), the youngest (approximately 75,000 yrs), is a well-preserved cinder cone with associated flows and tephra sheet that provides an excellent analogue for consequence studies related to future volcanism. Cone, lavas, hydrovolcanic ash, and ash-fall tephra have been examined to estimate eruptive volume and eruption type. LWC ejecta volumes suggest basaltic volcanism may be waning in the Yucca Mountain region.. The eruptive products indicate a sequence of initial fissure fountaining, early Strombolian ash and lapilli deposition forming the scoria cone, a brief hydrovolcanic pulse (possibly limited to the NW sector), and a violent Strombolian phase. Mathematical models have been developed to represent magmatic processes and their consequences on proposed repository performance. These models address dike propagation, magma interaction and flow into drifts, eruption through the proposed repository, and post intrusion/eruption effects. These models continue to be refined to reduce the uncertainty associated with the consequences from a possible future igneous event.

Lessons from Natural Analog Studies for Geologic Disposal of High-Level Nuclear Waste (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, W. M.

2009-12-01

For over fifty years natural analog studies have provided lessons addressing scientific, technical, and social problems concerning geologic disposal of high-level nuclear waste. Idealized concepts for permanent disposal environments evolved from an understanding of the geological, geochemical and hydrological characteristics of analogous rocks including natural salt deposits (as advocated by the US National Academy of Sciences in 1957), ancient cratonic rocks (as investigated at Lac du Bonnet, Canada, Aspö, Sweden, and Vienne, France), and marine sedimentary rock formations (as studied at Mol, Belgium, and Bure, France). Additional multidisciplinary studies have been conducted at natural sites that bear characteristics analogous to potential repository systems, notably at natural uranium (and thorium) deposits including Poços de Caldas, Brazil, Alligator Rivers, Australia, Peña Blanca, Mexico, and Oklo, Gabon. Researchers of natural analogs for geologic disposal have addressed technical uncertainties regarding processes that have transpired over large time and space scales, which are generally inaccessible to laboratory studies. Principal questions for nuclear waste disposal include the geochemical stability and alteration rates of radionuclide bearing minerals and the mechanisms and rates of transport of radionuclides in groundwater. In their most direct applications, natural analogs studies have been devoted to testing specific models for repository performance and the experimental data that support those models. Parameters used in predictive performance assessment modeling have been compared to natural system data, including mineral solubilities, sorption coefficients, diffusion rates, and colloid transport properties. For example, the rate of uraninite oxidation and the natural paragenesis of uranium mineral alteration at Peña Blanca have been compared favorably to results of experimental studies of spent fuel alteration related to the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA. These results generally bracket repository conditions between natural and experimental systems providing confidence in the understanding of expected processes. Also, the conceptual bases and numerical techniques for modeling unsaturated zone contaminant transport over periods of thousands of years at Yucca Mountain were tested by modeling the observable record of metal transport from archaeological artifacts buried in Holocene tuff at Akrotiri, Greece. Geologically episodic mineral alteration and contaminant transport have been documented using radioisotope data in numerous analog systems providing insights for the interpretation and validity of predictive models for long term repository performance. The applicability and value of natural analog studies to understanding geologic disposal systems is a persistent question. As proposed disposal sites become increasingly well defined by site characterization and engineering design, the strengths and weaknesses of analogies can be assessed. Confidence in predictive models for complex geologic and engineered phenomena can be enhanced through multiple lines of investigation including studies of natural analog systems.

Proceedings of the scientific visit on crystalline rock repository development.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mariner, Paul E.; Hardin, Ernest L.; Miksova, Jitka

2013-02-01

A scientific visit on Crystalline Rock Repository Development was held in the Czech Republic on September 24-27, 2012. The visit was hosted by the Czech Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (RAWRA), co-hosted by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The purpose of the visit was to promote technical information exchange between participants from countries engaged in the investigation and exploration of crystalline rock for the eventual construction of nuclear waste repositories. The visit was designed especially for participants of countries that have recently commenced (or recommenced) national repository programmes in crystalline host rock formations.more » Discussion topics included repository programme development, site screening and selection, site characterization, disposal concepts in crystalline host rock, regulatory frameworks, and safety assessment methodology. Interest was surveyed in establishing a %E2%80%9Cclub,%E2%80%9D the mission of which would be to identify and address the various technical challenges that confront the disposal of radioactive waste in crystalline rock environments. The idea of a second scientific visit to be held one year later in another host country received popular support. The visit concluded with a trip to the countryside south of Prague where participants were treated to a tour of the laboratory and underground facilities of the Josef Regional Underground Research Centre.« less

Hydrologic and geologic characteristics of the Yucca Mountain site relevant to the performance of a potential repository

USGS Publications Warehouse

Levich, R.A.; Linden, R.M.; Patterson, R.L.; Stuckless, J.S.

2000-01-01

Yucca Mountain, located ~100 mi northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been designated by Congress as a site to be characterized for a potential mined geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste. This field trip will examine the regional geologic and hydrologic setting for Yucca Mountain, as well as specific results of the site characterization program. The first day focuses on the regional setting with emphasis on current and paleo hydrology, which are both of critical concern for predicting future performance of a potential repository. Morning stops will be southern Nevada and afternoon stops will be in Death Valley. The second day will be spent at Yucca Mountain. The field trip will visit the underground testing sites in the "Exploratory Studies Facility" and the "Busted Butte Unsaturated Zone Transport Field Test" plus several surface-based testing sites. Much of the work at the site has concentrated on studies of the unsaturated zone, an element of the hydrologic system that historically has received little attention. Discussions during the second day will compromise selected topics of Yucca Mountain geology, hydrology and geochemistry and will include the probabilistic volcanic hazard analysis and the seismicity and seismic hazard in the Yucca Mountain area. Evening discussions will address modeling of regional groundwater flow, the results of recent hydrologic studies by the Nye County Nuclear Waste Program Office, and the relationship of the geology and hydrology of Yucca Mountain to the performance of a potential repository. Day 3 will examine the geologic framework and hydrology of the Pahute Mesa-Oasis Valley Groundwater Basin and then will continue to Reno via Hawthorne, Nevada and the Walker Lake area.

10 CFR 60.133 - Additional design criteria for the underground facility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... specific site conditions identified through in situ monitoring, testing, or excavation. (c) Retrieval of waste. The underground facility shall be designed to permit retrieval of waste in accordance with the... RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES Technical Criteria Design Criteria for the Geologic Repository...

10 CFR 60.133 - Additional design criteria for the underground facility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... specific site conditions identified through in situ monitoring, testing, or excavation. (c) Retrieval of waste. The underground facility shall be designed to permit retrieval of waste in accordance with the... RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES Technical Criteria Design Criteria for the Geologic Repository...

10 CFR 60.133 - Additional design criteria for the underground facility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... specific site conditions identified through in situ monitoring, testing, or excavation. (c) Retrieval of waste. The underground facility shall be designed to permit retrieval of waste in accordance with the... RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES Technical Criteria Design Criteria for the Geologic Repository...

10 CFR 60.133 - Additional design criteria for the underground facility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... specific site conditions identified through in situ monitoring, testing, or excavation. (c) Retrieval of waste. The underground facility shall be designed to permit retrieval of waste in accordance with the... RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES Technical Criteria Design Criteria for the Geologic Repository...

Is Yucca Mountain a long-term solution for disposing of US spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste?

PubMed

Thorne, M C

2012-06-01

On 26 January 2012, the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future released a report addressing, amongst other matters, options for the managing and disposal of high-level waste and spent fuel. The Blue Ribbon Commission was not chartered as a siting commission. Accordingly, it did not evaluate Yucca Mountain or any other location as a potential site for the storage or disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste. Nevertheless, if the Commission's recommendations are followed, it is clear that any future proposals to develop a repository at Yucca Mountain would require an extended period of consultation with local communities, tribes and the State of Nevada. Furthermore, there would be a need to develop generally applicable regulations for disposal of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste, so that the Yucca Mountain site could be properly compared with alternative sites that would be expected to be identified in the initial phase of the site-selection process. Based on what is now known of the conditions existing at Yucca Mountain and the large number of safety, environmental and legal issues that have been raised in relation to the DOE Licence Application, it is suggested that it would be imprudent to include Yucca Mountain in a list of candidate sites for future evaluation in a consent-based process for site selection. Even if there were a desire at the local, tribal and state levels to act as hosts for such a repository, there would be enormous difficulties in attempting to develop an adequate post-closure safety case for such a facility, and in showing why this unsaturated environment should be preferred over other geological contexts that exist in the USA and that are more akin to those being studied and developed in other countries.

75 FR 70310 - Sunshine Act Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-17

... Consumer Protection Act governing the security-based swap data repository registration process, the duties of such repositories, and the core principles applicable to such repositories. 4. The Commission will... security-based swap data repositories or the Commission and the public dissemination of security-based swap...

Experiments and Modeling to Support Field Test Design

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Johnson, Peter Jacob; Bourret, Suzanne Michelle; Zyvoloski, George Anthony

Disposition of heat-generating nuclear waste (HGNW) remains a continuing technical and sociopolitical challenge. We define HGNW as the combination of both heat generating defense high level waste (DHLW) and civilian spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Numerous concepts for HGNW management have been proposed and examined internationally, including an extensive focus on geologic disposal (c.f. Brunnengräber et al., 2013). One type of proposed geologic material is salt, so chosen because of its viscoplastic deformation that causes self-repair of damage or deformation induced in the salt by waste emplacement activities (Hansen and Leigh, 2011). Salt as a repository material has been tested atmore » several sites around the world, notably the Morsleben facility in Germany (c.f. Fahland and Heusermann, 2013; Wollrath et al., 2014; Fahland et al., 2015) and at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, NM. Evaluating the technical feasibility of a HGNW repository in salt is an ongoing process involving experiments and numerical modeling of many processes at many facilities.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Perry, Frank Vinton; Kelley, Richard E.

The DOE Spent Fuel and Waste Technology (SWFT) R&D Campaign is supporting research on crystalline rock, shale (argillite) and salt as potential host rocks for disposal of HLW and SNF in a mined geologic repository. The distribution of these three potential repository host rocks is limited to specific regions of the US and to different geologic and hydrologic environments (Perry et al., 2014), many of which may be technically suitable as a site for mined geologic disposal. This report documents a regional geologic evaluation of the Pierre Shale, as an example of evaluating a potentially suitable shale for siting amore » geologic HLW repository. This report follows a similar report competed in 2016 on a regional evaluation of crystalline rock that focused on the Superior Province of the north-central US (Perry et al., 2016).« less

Multi-scale groundwater flow modeling during temperate climate conditions for the safety assessment of the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository site at Forsmark, Sweden

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joyce, Steven; Hartley, Lee; Applegate, David; Hoek, Jaap; Jackson, Peter

2014-09-01

Forsmark in Sweden has been proposed as the site of a geological repository for spent high-level nuclear fuel, to be located at a depth of approximately 470 m in fractured crystalline rock. The safety assessment for the repository has required a multi-disciplinary approach to evaluate the impact of hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical conditions close to the repository and in a wider regional context. Assessing the consequences of potential radionuclide releases requires quantitative site-specific information concerning the details of groundwater flow on the scale of individual waste canister locations (1-10 m) as well as details of groundwater flow and composition on the scale of groundwater pathways between the facility and the surface (500 m to 5 km). The purpose of this article is to provide an illustration of multi-scale modeling techniques and the results obtained when combining aspects of local-scale flows in fractures around a potential contaminant source with regional-scale groundwater flow and transport subject to natural evolution of the system. The approach set out is novel, as it incorporates both different scales of model and different levels of detail, combining discrete fracture network and equivalent continuous porous medium representations of fractured bedrock.

Digitizing dissertations for an institutional repository: a process and cost analysis.

PubMed

Piorun, Mary; Palmer, Lisa A

2008-07-01

This paper describes the Lamar Soutter Library's process and costs associated with digitizing 300 doctoral dissertations for a newly implemented institutional repository at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Project tasks included identifying metadata elements, obtaining and tracking permissions, converting the dissertations to an electronic format, and coordinating workflow between library departments. Each dissertation was scanned, reviewed for quality control, enhanced with a table of contents, processed through an optical character recognition function, and added to the institutional repository. Three hundred and twenty dissertations were digitized and added to the repository for a cost of $23,562, or $0.28 per page. Seventy-four percent of the authors who were contacted (n = 282) granted permission to digitize their dissertations. Processing time per title was 170 minutes, for a total processing time of 906 hours. In the first 17 months, full-text dissertations in the collection were downloaded 17,555 times. Locally digitizing dissertations or other scholarly works for inclusion in institutional repositories can be cost effective, especially if small, defined projects are chosen. A successful project serves as an excellent recruitment strategy for the institutional repository and helps libraries build new relationships. Challenges include workflow, cost, policy development, and copyright permissions.

Milestones for Selection, Characterization, and Analysis of the Performance of a Repository for Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rechard, Robert P.

This report presents a concise history in tabular form of events leading up to site identification in 1978, site selection in 1987, subsequent characterization, and ongoing analysis through 2008 of the performance of a repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain in southern Nevada. The tabulated events generally occurred in five periods: (1) commitment to mined geologic disposal and identification of sites; (2) site selection and analysis, based on regional geologic characterization through literature and analogous data; (3) feasibility analysis demonstrating calculation procedures and importance of system components, based on rough measures of performance usingmore » surface exploration, waste process knowledge, and general laboratory experiments; (4) suitability analysis demonstrating viability of disposal system, based on environment-specific laboratory experiments, in-situ experiments, and underground disposal system characterization; and (5) compliance analysis, based on completed site-specific characterization. Because the relationship is important to understanding the evolution of the Yucca Mountain Project, the tabulation also shows the interaction between four broad categories of political bodies and government agencies/institutions: (a) technical milestones of the implementing institutions, (b) development of the regulatory requirements and related federal policy in laws and court decisions, (c) Presidential and agency directives and decisions, and (d) critiques of the Yucca Mountain Project and pertinent national and world events related to nuclear energy and radioactive waste.« less

Characterize Framework for Igneous Activity at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

F. Perry; B. Youngs

2000-11-06

The purpose of this Analysis/Model (AMR) report is twofold. (1) The first is to present a conceptual framework of igneous activity in the Yucca Mountain region (YMR) consistent with the volcanic and tectonic history of this region and the assessment of this history by experts who participated in the Probabilistic Volcanic Hazard Analysis (PVHA) (CRWMS M&O 1996). Conceptual models presented in the PVHA are summarized and extended in areas in which new information has been presented. Alternative conceptual models are discussed as well as their impact on probability models. The relationship between volcanic source zones defined in the PVHA andmore » structural features of the YMR are described based on discussions in the PVHA and studies presented since the PVHA. (2) The second purpose of the AMR is to present probability calculations based on PVHA outputs. Probability distributions are presented for the length and orientation of volcanic dikes within the repository footprint and for the number of eruptive centers located within the repository footprint (conditional on the dike intersecting the repository). The probability of intersection of a basaltic dike within the repository footprint was calculated in the AMR ''Characterize Framework for Igneous Activity at Yucca Mountain, Nevada'' (CRWMS M&O 2000g) based on the repository footprint known as the Enhanced Design Alternative [EDA II, Design B (CRWMS M&O 1999a; Wilkins and Heath 1999)]. Then, the ''Site Recommendation Design Baseline'' (CRWMS M&O 2000a) initiated a change in the repository design, which is described in the ''Site Recommendation Subsurface Layout'' (CRWMS M&O 2000b). Consequently, the probability of intersection of a basaltic dike within the repository footprint has also been calculated for the current repository footprint, which is called the 70,000 Metric Tons of Uranium (MTU) No-Backfill Layout (CRWMS M&O 2000b). The calculations for both footprints are presented in this AMR. In addition, the probability of an eruptive center(s) forming within the repository footprint is calculated and presented in this AMR for both repository footprint designs. This latter type of calculation was not included in the PVHA.« less

4D reconstruction of the past: the image retrieval and 3D model construction pipeline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hadjiprocopis, Andreas; Ioannides, Marinos; Wenzel, Konrad; Rothermel, Mathias; Johnsons, Paul S.; Fritsch, Dieter; Doulamis, Anastasios; Protopapadakis, Eftychios; Kyriakaki, Georgia; Makantasis, Kostas; Weinlinger, Guenther; Klein, Michael; Fellner, Dieter; Stork, Andre; Santos, Pedro

2014-08-01

One of the main characteristics of the Internet era we are living in, is the free and online availability of a huge amount of data. This data is of varied reliability and accuracy and exists in various forms and formats. Often, it is cross-referenced and linked to other data, forming a nexus of text, images, animation and audio enabled by hypertext and, recently, by the Web3.0 standard. Our main goal is to enable historians, architects, archaeolo- gists, urban planners and affiliated professionals to reconstruct views of historical monuments from thousands of images floating around the web. This paper aims to provide an update of our progress in designing and imple- menting a pipeline for searching, filtering and retrieving photographs from Open Access Image Repositories and social media sites and using these images to build accurate 3D models of archaeological monuments as well as enriching multimedia of cultural / archaeological interest with metadata and harvesting the end products to EU- ROPEANA. We provide details of how our implemented software searches and retrieves images of archaeological sites from Flickr and Picasa repositories as well as strategies on how to filter the results, on two levels; a) based on their built-in metadata including geo-location information and b) based on image processing and clustering techniques. We also describe our implementation of a Structure from Motion pipeline designed for producing 3D models using the large collection of 2D input images (>1000) retrieved from Internet Repositories.

Modeling transient heat transfer in nuclear waste repositories.

PubMed

Yang, Shaw-Yang; Yeh, Hund-Der

2009-09-30

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 host rock, which is considered as a radial two-layer heat flux problem. A conceptual model is first constructed for the heat conduction in a nuclear waste repository and then mathematical equations are formulated for modeling heat flow distribution at repository sites. The Laplace transforms are employed to develop a solution for the temperature distributions in the buffer and the host rock in the Laplace domain, which is numerically inverted to the time-domain solution using the modified Crump method. The transient temperature distributions for both the single- and multi-borehole cases are simulated in the hypothetical geological repositories of nuclear waste. The results show that the temperature distributions in the thermal field are significantly affected by the decay heat of the waste canister, the thermal properties of the buffer and the host rock, the disposal spacing, and the thickness of the host rock at a nuclear waste repository.

FY94 CAG trip reports, CAG memos and other products: Volume 2. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1994-12-15

The Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP) of the US DOE is tasked with designing, constructing, and operating an Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF) at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The purpose of the YMP is to provide detailed characterization of the Yucca Mountain site for the potential mined geologic repository for permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Detailed characterization of properties of the site are to be conducted through a wide variety of short-term and long-term in-situ tests. Testing methods require the installation of a large number of test instruments and sensors with a variety of functions. These instruments produce analog andmore » digital data that must be collected, processed, stored, and evaluated in an attempt to predict performance of the repository. The Integrated Data and Control System (IDCS) is envisioned as a distributed data acquisition that electronically acquires and stores data from these test instruments. IDCS designers are responsible for designing and overseeing the procurement of the system, IDCS Operation and Maintenance operates and maintains the installed system, and the IDCS Data Manager is responsible for distribution of IDCS data to participants. This report is a compilation of trip reports, interoffice memos, and other memos relevant to Computer Applications Group, Inc., work on this project.« less

Web Based Autonomous Geophysical/Hydrological Monitoring of the Gilt Edge Mine Site: Implementation and Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Versteeg, R. J.; Wangerud, K.; Mattson, E.; Ankeny, M.; Richardson, A.; Heath, G.

2005-05-01

The Ruby Gulch repository at the Gilt Edge Mine Superfund site is a capped waste rock repository. Early in the system design EPA and its subcontractor, Bureau of Reclamation, recognized the need for long-term monitoring system to provide information on the repository behavior with the following objectives: 1 Provide information on the integrity of the newly constructed surface cover and diversion system 2 Continually assess the waste's hydrological and geochemical behavior, such that rational decisions can be made for the operation of this cover and liner system 3 Easily access of information pertaining to the system performance to stakeholders 4 Integration of a variety of data sources to produce information which could be used to enhance future cover designs. Through discussions between EPA, the Bureau of Reclamation and Idaho National Laboratory a long-term monitoring system was designed and implemented allowing EPA to meet these objectives. This system was designed to provide a cost effective way to deal with massive amounts of data and information, subject to the following specifications: 1 Data acquisition should occur autonomously and automatically, 2 Data management, processing and presentation should be automated as much as possible, 3 Users should be able to access all data and information remotely through a web browser. The INL long-term monitoring system integrates the data from a set of 522 electrodes resistivity electrodes consisting of 462 surface electrodes and 60 borehole electrodes (in 4 wells with 15 electrodes each), an outflow meter at the toe of the repository, an autonomous, remotely accessible weather station, and four wells (average depths of 250 feet) with thermocouples, pressure transducers and sampling ports for water and air. The monitoring system has currently been in operation for over a year, and has collected data continuously over this period. Results from this system have shown both the diurnal variation in rockmass behavior, movement of water through the waste (allowing estimated in residence time) and are leading to a comprehensive model of the repository behavior. Due to the sheer volume of data, a user driven interface allows users to create their own views of the different datasets.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dreimanis, A.

This report considers the problem of multilevel consensus building for siting and construction of shared multinational/regional repositories for radioactive waste (RW) deep disposal. In the siting of a multinational repository there appears an essential innovative component of stakeholder consensus building, namely: to reach consent - political, social, economic, ecological - among international partners, in addition to solving the whole set of intra-national consensus building items. An entire partnering country is considered as a higher-level stakeholder - the national stakeholder, represented by the national government, being faced to simultaneous seeking an upward (international) and a downward (intra-national) consensus in a psychologicallymore » stressed environment, possibly being characterized by diverse political, economic and social interests. The following theses as a possible interdisciplinary approach towards building of shared understanding and stakeholder consensus on the international scale of RW disposal are forwarded and developed: a) building of international stakeholder consensus would be promoted by activating and diversifying on the international scale multilateral interactions between intra- and international stakeholders, including web-based networks of the RW disposal site investigations and decision-making, as well as networks for international cooperation among government authorities in nuclear safety, b) gradual progress in intergovernmental consensus and reaching multilateral agreements on shared deep repositories will be the result of democratic dialogue, via observing the whole set of various interests and common resolving of emerged controversies by using advanced synergetic approaches of conflict resolution, c) cross-cultural thinking and world perception, mental flexibility, creativity and knowledge are considered as basic prerogatives for gaining a higher level of mutual understanding and consensus for seeking further consensus, for advancing the preparedness to act together, and ultimately - for achieving desired shared goals. It is proposed that self-organized social learning will make it possible to promote adequate perception of risk and prevent, by diminishing uncertainties and unknown factors, social amplification of an imagined risk, as well as to increase the trust level and facilitate more adequate equity perception. The proposed approach to the multilevel stakeholder consensus building on international scale is extrapolated to the present-day activities of siting of such near-surface RW disposal facilities which supposedly could have non-negligible trans-boundary impact. A multilevel stakeholder interaction process is considered for the case of resolving of emerged problems in site selection for the planned near-surface RW repository in vicinity of the Lithuanian-Latvian border foreseen for disposal of short lived low- and intermediate level waste arising from the decommissioning of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. (authors)« less

The Environmental Protection Agency's Safety Standards for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel: Potential Path Forward in Response to the Report of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future - 13388

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Forinash, Betsy; Schultheisz, Daniel; Peake, Tom

2013-07-01

Following the decision to withdraw the Yucca Mountain license application, the Department of Energy created a Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) on America's Nuclear Future, tasked with recommending a national strategy to manage the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. The BRC issued its final report in January 2012, with recommendations covering transportation, storage and disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF); potential reprocessing; and supporting institutional measures. The BRC recommendations on disposal of SNF and high-level waste (HLW) are relevant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which shares regulatory responsibility with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC): EPA issues 'generallymore » applicable' performance standards for disposal repositories, which are then implemented in licensing. For disposal, the BRC endorses developing one or more geological repositories, with siting based on an approach that is adaptive, staged and consent-based. The BRC recommends that EPA and NRC work cooperatively to issue generic disposal standards-applying equally to all sites-early in any siting process. EPA previously issued generic disposal standards that apply to all sites other than Yucca Mountain. However, the BRC concluded that the existing regulations should be revisited and revised. The BRC proposes a number of general principles to guide the development of future regulations. EPA continues to review the BRC report and to assess the implications for Agency action, including potential regulatory issues and considerations if EPA develops new or revised generic disposal standards. This review also involves preparatory activities to define potential process and public engagement approaches. (authors)« less

Draft environmental assessment: Davis Canyon site, Utah. Nuclear Waste Policy Act (Section 112). [Contains glossary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1984-12-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Davis Canyon site in Utah, as one of nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Davis Canyon site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations are reported in this draft environmental assessment (EA), which is being issued for public review and comment. The DOE findings and determinations that are based on these evaluationsmore » are preliminary and subject to public review and comment. A final EA will be prepared after considering the comments received. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this draft EA, the DOE has found that the Davis Canyon site is not disqualified under the guidelines. The site is in the Paradox Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. This setting contains one other potentially acceptable site - the Lavender Canyon site. Although the Lavender Canyon site appears to be suitable for site characterization, the DOE has concluded that the Davis Canyon site is the preferred site in the Paradox Basin. Furthermore, the DOE finds that the site is suitable for site characterization because the evidence does not support a conclusion that the site will not be able to meet each of the qualifying conditions specified in the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is proposing to nominate the Davis Canyon site as one of five sites suitable for characterization. Having compared the Davis Canyon site with the other four sites proposed for nomination, the DOE has determined that the Davis Canyon site is not one of the three preferred sites for recommendation to the President as candidates for characterization.« less

Usability Evaluation of a Research Repository and Collaboration Web Site

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Tao; Maron, Deborah J.; Charles, Christopher C.

2013-01-01

This article reports results from an empirical usability evaluation of Human-Animal Bond Research Initiative Central as part of the effort to develop an open access research repository and collaboration platform for human-animal bond researchers. By repurposing and altering key features of the original HUBzero system, Human-Animal Bond Research…

International Approaches for Nuclear Waste Disposal in Geological Formations: Geological Challenges in Radioactive Waste Isolation—Fifth Worldwide Review

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Faybishenko, Boris; Birkholzer, Jens; Sassani, David

The overall objective of the Fifth Worldwide Review (WWR-5) is to document the current state-of-the-art of major developments in a number of nations throughout the World pursuing geological disposal programs, and to summarize challenging problems and experience that have been obtained in siting, preparing and reviewing cases for the operational and long-term safety of proposed and operating nuclear waste repositories. The scope of the Review is to address current specific technical issues and challenges in safety case development along with the interplay of technical feasibility, siting, engineering design issues, and operational and post-closure safety. In particular, the chapters included inmore » the report present the following types of information: the current status of the deep geological repository programs for high level nuclear waste and low- and intermediate level nuclear waste in each country, concepts of siting and radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel management in different countries (with the emphasis of nuclear waste disposal under different climatic conditions and different geological formations), progress in repository site selection and site characterization, technology development, buffer/backfill materials studies and testing, support activities, programs, and projects, international cooperation, and future plans, as well as regulatory issues and transboundary problems.« less

Characterization of Noise Signatures of Involuntary Head Motion in the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange Repository

PubMed Central

Caballero, Carla; Mistry, Sejal; Vero, Joe; Torres, Elizabeth B

2018-01-01

The variability inherently present in biophysical data is partly contributed by disparate sampling resolutions across instrumentations. This poses a potential problem for statistical inference using pooled data in open access repositories. Such repositories combine data collected from multiple research sites using variable sampling resolutions. One example is the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange repository containing thousands of imaging and demographic records from participants in the spectrum of autism and age-matched neurotypical controls. Further, statistical analyses of groups from different diagnoses and demographics may be challenging, owing to the disparate number of participants across different clinical subgroups. In this paper, we examine the noise signatures of head motion data extracted from resting state fMRI data harnessed under different sampling resolutions. We characterize the quality of the noise in the variability of the raw linear and angular speeds for different clinical phenotypes in relation to age-matched controls. Further, we use bootstrapping methods to ensure compatible group sizes for statistical comparison and report the ranges of physical involuntary head excursions of these groups. We conclude that different sampling rates do affect the quality of noise in the variability of head motion data and, consequently, the type of random process appropriate to characterize the time series data. Further, given a qualitative range of noise, from pink to brown noise, it is possible to characterize different clinical subtypes and distinguish them in relation to ranges of neurotypical controls. These results may be of relevance to the pre-processing stages of the pipeline of analyses of resting state fMRI data, whereby head motion enters the criteria to clean imaging data from motion artifacts. PMID:29556179

Data repositories for medical education research: issues and recommendations.

PubMed

Schwartz, Alan; Pappas, Cleo; Sandlow, Leslie J

2010-05-01

The authors explore issues surrounding digital repositories with the twofold intention of clarifying their creation, structure, content, and use, and considering the implementation of a global digital repository for medical education research data sets-an online site where medical education researchers would be encouraged to deposit their data in order to facilitate the reuse and reanalysis of the data by other researchers. By motivating data sharing and reuse, investigators, medical schools, and other stakeholders might see substantial benefits to their own endeavors and to the progress of the field of medical education.The authors review digital repositories in medicine, social sciences, and education, describe the contents and scope of repositories, and present extant examples. The authors describe the potential benefits of a medical education data repository and report results of a survey of the Society for Directors of Research in Medicine Education, in which participants responded to questions about data sharing and a potential data repository. Respondents strongly endorsed data sharing, with the caveat that principal investigators should choose whether or not to share data they collect. A large majority believed that a repository would benefit their unit and the field of medical education. Few reported using existing repositories. Finally, the authors consider challenges to the establishment of such a repository, including taxonomic organization, intellectual property concerns, human subjects protection, technological infrastructure, and evaluation standards. The authors conclude with recommendations for how a medical education data repository could be successfully developed.

Digitizing Dissertations for an Institutional Repository: A Process and Cost Analysis*

PubMed Central

Piorun, Mary; Palmer, Lisa A.

2008-01-01

Objective: This paper describes the Lamar Soutter Library's process and costs associated with digitizing 300 doctoral dissertations for a newly implemented institutional repository at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Methodology: Project tasks included identifying metadata elements, obtaining and tracking permissions, converting the dissertations to an electronic format, and coordinating workflow between library departments. Each dissertation was scanned, reviewed for quality control, enhanced with a table of contents, processed through an optical character recognition function, and added to the institutional repository. Results: Three hundred and twenty dissertations were digitized and added to the repository for a cost of $23,562, or $0.28 per page. Seventy-four percent of the authors who were contacted (n = 282) granted permission to digitize their dissertations. Processing time per title was 170 minutes, for a total processing time of 906 hours. In the first 17 months, full-text dissertations in the collection were downloaded 17,555 times. Conclusion: Locally digitizing dissertations or other scholarly works for inclusion in institutional repositories can be cost effective, especially if small, defined projects are chosen. A successful project serves as an excellent recruitment strategy for the institutional repository and helps libraries build new relationships. Challenges include workflow, cost, policy development, and copyright permissions. PMID:18654648

Analog earthquakes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hofmann, R.B.

1995-09-01

Analogs are used to understand complex or poorly understood phenomena for which little data may be available at the actual repository site. Earthquakes are complex phenomena, and they can have a large number of effects on the natural system, as well as on engineered structures. Instrumental data close to the source of large earthquakes are rarely obtained. The rare events for which measurements are available may be used, with modfications, as analogs for potential large earthquakes at sites where no earthquake data are available. In the following, several examples of nuclear reactor and liquified natural gas facility siting are discussed.more » A potential use of analog earthquakes is proposed for a high-level nuclear waste (HLW) repository.« less

HEPData: a repository for high energy physics data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maguire, Eamonn; Heinrich, Lukas; Watt, Graeme

2017-10-01

The Durham High Energy Physics Database (HEPData) has been built up over the past four decades as a unique open-access repository for scattering data from experimental particle physics papers. It comprises data points underlying several thousand publications. Over the last two years, the HEPData software has been completely rewritten using modern computing technologies as an overlay on the Invenio v3 digital library framework. The software is open source with the new site available at https://hepdata.net now replacing the previous site at http://hepdata.cedar.ac.uk. In this write-up, we describe the development of the new site and explain some of the advantages it offers over the previous platform.

Geohydrology of the near-surface unsaturated zone adjacent to the disposal site for low-level radioactive waste near Beatty, Nevada: A section in Safe disposal of radionuclides in low-level radioactive-waste repository sites; Low-level radioactive-waste disposal workshop, U.S. Geological Survey, July 11-16, 1987, Big Bear Lake, Calif., Proceedings (Circular 1036)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fisher, Jeffrey M.; Bedinger, Marion S.; Stevens, Peter R.

1990-01-01

Shallow-land burial in arid areas is considered the best method for isolating low-level radioactive waste from the environment (Nichols and Goode, this report; Mercer and others, 1983). A major threat to waste isolation in shallow trenches is ground-water percolation. Repository sites in arid areas are believed to minimize the risk of ground-water contamination because such sites receive minimal precipitation and are underlain by thick unsaturated zones. Unfortunately, few data are available on rates of water percolation in an arid environment.

Report of the Peer Review Panel on the early site suitability evaluation of the Potential Repository Site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada; Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1992-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Yucca mountain Site Characterization Project Office (YMPO) assigned Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), the Technical and Management Support Services (T&MSS) contractor to the YmPo, the task of conducting an Early Site Suitability Evaluation (ESSE) of the Yucca mountain site as a potential site for a high-level radioactive waste repository. First, the assignment called for the development of a method to evaluate a single site against the DOE General Guidelines for Recommendation of Sites for Nuclear Waste Repositories, 10 CFR Part 960. Then, using this method, an evaluation team, the ESSE Core Team, of seniormore » YMP scientists, engineers, and technical experts, evaluated new information obtained about the site since publication of the final Environmental Assessment (DOE, 1986) to determine if new suitability/unsuitability findings could be recommended. Finally, the Core Team identified further information and analyses needed to make final determinations for each of the guidelines. As part of the task, an independent peer review of the ESSE report has been conducted. Expertise was solicited that covered the entire spectrum of siting guidelines in 10 CFR Part 960 in order to provide a complete, in-depth critical review of the data evaluated and cited in the ESSE report, the methods used to evaluate the data, and the conclusions and recommendations offered by the report. Fourteen nationally recognized technical experts (Table 2) served on the Peer Review Panel. The comments from the Panel and the responses prepared by the ESSE Core Team, documented on formal Comment Response Forms, constitute the body of this document.« less

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-4 - The environmental assessment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...; and an assessment of the regional and local impacts of locating a repository at the site. The draft... 10 Energy 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false The environmental assessment. 960.3-2-2-4 Section 960.3-2... FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-4 The environmental assessment...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-4 - The environmental assessment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...; and an assessment of the regional and local impacts of locating a repository at the site. The draft... 10 Energy 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false The environmental assessment. 960.3-2-2-4 Section 960.3-2... FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-4 The environmental assessment...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-4 - The environmental assessment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...; and an assessment of the regional and local impacts of locating a repository at the site. The draft... 10 Energy 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false The environmental assessment. 960.3-2-2-4 Section 960.3-2... FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-4 The environmental assessment...

10 CFR 60.132 - Additional design criteria for surface facilities in the geologic repository operations area.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... conversion to a form suitable for disposal at an alternative site in accordance with any regulations that are... 10 Energy 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Additional design criteria for surface facilities in the geologic repository operations area. 60.132 Section 60.132 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED...

10 CFR 60.132 - Additional design criteria for surface facilities in the geologic repository operations area.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... conversion to a form suitable for disposal at an alternative site in accordance with any regulations that are... 10 Energy 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Additional design criteria for surface facilities in the geologic repository operations area. 60.132 Section 60.132 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED...

10 CFR 60.132 - Additional design criteria for surface facilities in the geologic repository operations area.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... conversion to a form suitable for disposal at an alternative site in accordance with any regulations that are... 10 Energy 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Additional design criteria for surface facilities in the geologic repository operations area. 60.132 Section 60.132 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED...

10 CFR 60.132 - Additional design criteria for surface facilities in the geologic repository operations area.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... conversion to a form suitable for disposal at an alternative site in accordance with any regulations that are... 10 Energy 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Additional design criteria for surface facilities in the geologic repository operations area. 60.132 Section 60.132 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED...

Coupling of Nuclear Waste Form Corrosion and Radionuclide Transports in Presence of Relevant Repository Sediments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wall, Nathalie A.; Neeway, James J.; Qafoku, Nikolla P.

2015-09-30

Assessments of waste form and disposal options start with the degradation of the waste forms and consequent mobilization of radionuclides. Long-term static tests, single-pass flow-through tests, and the pressurized unsaturated flow test are often employed to study the durability of potential waste forms and to help create models that predict their durability throughout the lifespan of the disposal site. These tests involve the corrosion of the material in the presence of various leachants, with different experimental designs yielding desired information about the behavior of the material. Though these tests have proved instrumental in elucidating various mechanisms responsible for material corrosion,more » the chemical environment to which the material is subject is often not representative of a potential radioactive waste repository where factors such as pH and leachant composition will be controlled by the near-field environment. Near-field materials include, but are not limited to, the original engineered barriers, their resulting corrosion products, backfill materials, and the natural host rock. For an accurate performance assessment of a nuclear waste repository, realistic waste corrosion experimental data ought to be modeled to allow for a better understanding of waste form corrosion mechanisms and the effect of immediate geochemical environment on these mechanisms. Additionally, the migration of radionuclides in the resulting chemical environment during and after waste form corrosion must be quantified and mechanisms responsible for migrations understood. The goal of this research was to understand the mechanisms responsible for waste form corrosion in the presence of relevant repository sediments to allow for accurate radionuclide migration quantifications. The rationale for this work is that a better understanding of waste form corrosion in relevant systems will enable increased reliance on waste form performance in repository environments and potentially decrease the need for expensive engineered barriers.Our current work aims are 1) quantifying and understanding the processes associated with glass alteration in contact with Fe-bearing materials; 2) quantifying and understanding the processes associated with glass alteration in presence of MgO (example of engineered barrier used in WIPP); 3) identifying glass alteration suppressants and the processes involved to reach glass alteration suppression; 4) quantifying and understanding the processes associated with Saltstone and Cast Stone (SRS and Hanford cementitious waste forms) in various representative groundwaters; 5) investigating positron annihilation as a new tool for the study of glass alteration; and 6) quantifying and understanding the processes associated with glass alteration under gamma irradiation.« less

The French Geological Repository Project Cigeo - 12023

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harman, Alain; Labalette, Thibaud; Dupuis, Marie-Claude

The French Agency for Radioactive Waste Management, ANDRA, was launched by law in 1991 to perform and develop the research programme for managing high level and intermediate level long-lived radioactive waste generated by the French nuclear fleet. After a 15-year intensive research programme, including the study of alternative solutions, an overall review and assessment of the results was organized, including a national public debate. As a result, the Parliament passed a Planning Act on radioactive waste management in 2006. Commissioning of a geological repository by 2025 was one of the most important decisions taken at that time. To reach thismore » goal, a license application must be submitted and reviewed by the competent authorities by 2015. A detailed review and consultation process is, as well, defined in the Planning Act. Beside the legal framework the project needs to progress on two fronts. The first one is on siting. A significant milestone was reached in 2009 with the definition of a defined area to locate the underground repository facilities. This area was approved in March 2010 by the Government, after having collected the opinions and positions of all the interested parties, at both National and local levels. A new phase of dialogue with local players began to refine the implementation scenarios of surface facilities. The final site selection will be approved after a public debate planned for 2013. The second one is the industrial organization, planning and costing. The industrial project of this geological repository was called Cigeo (Centre Industriel de Stockage Geologique). Given the amount of work to be done to comply with the given time framework, a detailed organization with well-defined milestones must be set-up. Cigeo will be a specific nuclear facility, built and operated underground for over a hundred years. The consequence of this long duration is that the development of the repository facilities will take place in successive operational phases. The characteristics of the first waste packages received will determine the work and the corresponding investments by 2025 on the repository site. One of the main challenges will be to accommodate both activities of mining and nuclear operations at the same time and at the same location. From the technical standpoint, ventilation and fire risk cannot be managed through a simple transposition from current nuclear industry practices. The reversibility demand also leads to concrete proposals with regard to repository management flexibility and waste package retrievability. These proposals contribute to the dialogue with stakeholders to prepare for the public debate and a future law which will determine the reversibility conditions. New design developments are expected to be introduced in the application from the current studies conducted until 2014. The possibility of optimization beyond 2015 will be kept open taking into account the one hundred years operating time as well as the capability to integrate feedback gained from the first construction and operation works. The industrial committed work aims to reach the application stage by 2015. The license application procedure was defined by the 2006 Act. Subject to authorization, the construction might begin in 2017. (authors)« less

Characterize Eruptive Processes at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

G. Valentine

2001-12-20

This Analysis/Model Report (AMR), ''Characterize Eruptive Processes at Yucca Mountain, Nevada'', presents information about natural volcanic systems and the parameters that can be used to model their behavior. This information is used to develop parameter-value distributions appropriate for analysis of the consequences of volcanic eruptions through a potential repository at Yucca Mountain. Many aspects of this work are aimed at resolution of the Igneous Activity Key Technical Issue (KTI) as identified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC 1998, p. 3), Subissues 1 and 2, which address the probability and consequence of igneous activity at the proposed repository site, respectively. Withinmore » the framework of the Disruptive Events Process Model Report (PMR), this AMR provides information for the calculations in two other AMRs ; parameters described herein are directly used in calculations in these reports and will be used in Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA). Compilation of this AMR was conducted as defined in the Development Plan, except as noted. The report begins with considerations of the geometry of volcanic feeder systems, which are of primary importance in predicting how much of a potential repository would be affected by an eruption. This discussion is followed by one of the physical and chemical properties of the magmas, which influences both eruptive styles and mechanisms for interaction with radioactive waste packages. Eruptive processes including the ascent velocity of magma at depth, the onset of bubble nucleation and growth in the rising magmas, magma fragmentation, and velocity of the resulting gas-particle mixture are then discussed. The duration of eruptions, their power output, and mass discharge rates are also described. The next section summarizes geologic constraints regarding the interaction between magma and waste packages. Finally, they discuss bulk grain size produced by relevant explosive eruptions and grain shapes.« less

Public involvement on closure of Asse II radioactive waste repository in Germany

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kallenbach-Herbert, Beate

2013-07-01

From 1967 to 1978, about 125,800 barrels of low- and intermediate level waste were disposed of - nominally for research purposes - in the former 'Asse' salt mine which had before been used for the production of potash for many years. Since 1988 an inflow of brine is being observed which will cause dangers of flooding and of a collapse due to salt weakening and dissolution if it should increase. Since several years the closure of the Asse repository is planned with the objective to prevent the flooding and collapse of the mine and the release of radioactive substances tomore » the biosphere. The first concept that was presented by the former operator, however, seemed completely unacceptable to regional representatives from politics and NGOs. Their activities against these plans made the project a top issue on the political agenda from the federal to the local level. The paper traces the main reasons which lead to the severe safety problems in the past as well as relevant changes in the governance system today. A focus is put on the process for public involvement in which the Citizens' Advisory Group 'A2B' forms the core measure. Its structure and framework, experience and results, expectations from inside and outside perspectives are presented. Furthermore the question is tackled how far this process can serve as an example for a participatory approach in a siting process for a geological repository for high active waste which can be expected to be highly contested in the affected regions. (authors)« less

10 CFR 960.3-2-3 - Recommendation of sites for characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Recommendation of sites for characterization. 960.3-2-3... POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-3 Recommendation of sites... President not less than three candidate sites for such characterization. The recommendation decision shall...

10 CFR 960.3-1-4-3 - Site recommendation for characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Site recommendation for characterization. 960.3-1-4-3... POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-4-3 Site recommendation for characterization. The evidence required to support the recommendation of a site as a candidate...

Analysis of Academic Attitudes and Existing Processes to Inform the Design of Teaching and Learning Material Repositories: A User-Centred Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Melanie; Loddington, Steve; Manuel, Sue; Oppenheim, Charles

2008-01-01

The last couple of years have brought a rise in the number of institutional repositories throughout the world and within UK Higher Education institutions, with the majority of these repositories being devoted to research output. Repositories containing teaching and learning material are less common and the workflows and business processes…

Electrical Resistance Tomography to Monitor Mitigation of Metal-Toxic Acid-Leachates Ruby Gulch Waste Rock Repository Gilt Edge Mine Superfund Site, South Dakota USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Versteeg, R.; Heath, G.; Richardson, A.; Paul, D.; Wangerud, K.

2003-12-01

At a cyanide heap-leach open-pit mine, 15-million cubic yards of acid-generating sulfides were dumped at the head of a steep-walled mountain valley, with 30 inches/year precipitation generating 60- gallons/minute ARD leachate. Remediation has reshaped the dump to a 70-acre, 3.5:1-sloped geometry, installed drainage benches and runoff diversions, and capped the repository and lined diversions with a polyethylene geomembrane and cover system. Monitoring was needed to evaluate (a) long-term geomembrane integrity, (b) diversion liner integrity and long-term effectiveness, (c) ARD geochemistry, kinetics and pore-gas dynamics within the repository mass, and (d) groundwater interactions. Observation wells were paired with a 600-electrode resistivity survey system. Using near-surface and down-hole electrodes and automated data collection and post-processing, periodic two- and three-dimensional resistivity images are developed to reflect current and changed-conditions in moisture, temperature, geochemical components, and flow-direction analysis. Examination of total resistivity values and time variances between images allows direct observation of liner and cap integrity with precise identification and location of leaks; likewise, if runoff migrates from degraded diversion ditches into the repository zone, there is an accompanying and noticeable change in resistivity values. Used in combination with monitoring wells containing borehole resistivity electrodes (calibrated with direct sampling of dump water/moisture, temperature and pore-gas composition), the resistivity arrays allow at-depth imaging of geochemical conditions within the repository mass. The information provides early indications of progress or deficiencies in de-watering and ARD- mitigation that is the remedy intent. If emerging technologies present opportunities for secondary treatment, deep resistivity images may assist in developing application methods and evaluating the effectiveness of any reagents introduced into the repository mass to further effect changes in oxidation/reduction reactions.

The Rail Alignment Environmental Impact Statement: An Update

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

R. Sweeney

2005-01-20

On July 23,2002, the President of the United States signed into law a joint resolution of the United States Congress designating the Yucca Mountain site in Nye County, Nevada, for development as a geologic repository for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. If the US. Nuclear Regulatory Commission authorizes construction of the repository and receipt and possession of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive at Yucca Mountain, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) would be responsible for transporting these materials to the Yucca Mountain repository as part of its obligation under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.more » Part of the site recommendation decision included the analysis of a nation-wide shipping campaign to the proposed repository site. The ''Final Environmental Impact Statement for a Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada'' (February 2002) (Repository EIS) evaluated the potential impacts of the transportation of 70,000 Metric Tons of Heavy Metal spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from 77 locations around the nation to the potential repository in Nevada over a 24 year shipping campaign. In the Repository EIS, DOE identified mostly rail as its preferred mode of transportation, both nationally and in the State of Nevada. In December 2003, based on public comments and the environmental analyses in the Repository EIS, DOE identified a preference for the Caliente rail corridor in Nevada. On April 8, 2004, DOE issued a Record of Decision (ROD) on the Mode of Transportation and Nevada Rail Corridor for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada. In this ROD, the DOE announced that it had decided to select the mostly rail scenario analyzed in the Repository EIS as the transportation mode both on a national basis and in the State of Nevada. Under the mostly rail scenario, the DOE would rely on a combination of rail, truck and possibly barge to transport to the repository site at Yucca Mountain up to 70,000 MTHM of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, with most of the spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste being transported by rail. This will ultimately require construction of a rail line in Nevada to the repository. In addition, the DOE has decided to select the Caliente rail corridor in which to examine potential alignments within which to construct that rail line. A corridor is a strip of land, approximately 400 meters (0.25 miles) wide, that encompasses one of several possible routes through which DOE could build a rail line. An alignment is the specific location of a rail line in a corridor, and would likely be 60 meters [200 feet] or less in width. Also on April 8, 2004, DOE issued a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Alignment, Construction, and Operation of a Rail Line to a Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, NV. In the Notice of Intent, the Department announced its intent to prepare a Rail Alignment EIS to assist in selecting a possible alignment for construction of a rail line that would connect the repository at Yucca Mountain to an existing main rail line in Nevada. The Rail Alignment EIS also would consider the potential construction and operation of a rail-to-truck intermodal transfer facility, proposed to be located at the confluence of an existing mainline railroad and a highway, to support legal-weight truck transportation until the rail system is fully operational. This corridor is approximately 513 kilometers (319 miles) long and would cost an estimated $880 million (2001 dollars). Should DOE decide to build the Caliente corridor, it may be the longest rail line built in the United States since the Transcontinental Railroad was constructed in 1869. Some of the challenges in building this rail corridor are steep grades (the corridor crosses over 7 mountain ranges), isolated terrain, possible tunnels, and stakeholder acceptance.« less

Site characterization progress report: Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Number 15, April 1--September 30, 1996

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1997-04-01

During the second half of fiscal year 1996, activities at the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (Project) supported the objectives of the revised Program Plan released this period by the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management of the US Department of Energy (Department). Outlined in the revised plan is a focused, integrated program of site characterization, design, engineering, environmental, and performance assessment activities that will achieve key Program and statutory objectives. The plan will result in the development of a license application for repository construction at Yucca Mountain, if the site is found suitable. Activities this period focused on twomore » of the three near-term objectives of the revised plan: updating in 1997 the regulatory framework for determining the suitability of the site for the proposed repository concept and providing information for a 1998 viability assessment of continuing toward the licensing of a repository. The Project has also developed a new design approach that uses the advanced conceptual design published during the last reporting period as a base for developing a design that will support the viability assessment. The initial construction phase of the Thermal Testing Facility was completed and the first phase of the in situ heater tests began on schedule. In addition, phase-one construction was completed for the first of two alcoves that will provide access to the Ghost Dance fault.« less

Road-map to plan and structure the preliminary site investigation program for a geological repository in Japan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deguchi, Akira; Tsuchi, Hiroyuki; Kitayama, Kazumi

2007-07-01

Available in abstract form only. Full text of publication follows: A stepwise site selection process has been adopted for geological disposal of HLW in Japan. Literature surveys (LS), followed by preliminary investigations (PI) and, finally, detailed investigations (DI) in underground facilities will be carried out in the successive selection stages. In the PI stage, surface-based investigations such as borehole surveys and geophysical prospecting will be implemented with two main objectives. The first is to obtain information relating to legal requirements on siting, such as the occurrence of igneous or fault activity, and to confirm the extremely low likelihood of adversemore » impacts on the candidate site resulting from such phenomena. The second is to obtain the information required for the design and performance assessment of the engineered barrier system and the repository. In order to implement these preliminary investigations rigorously and efficiently within the constraints of a limited time period, budget and resources, PI planning before commencing investigations and on-site PI management during the investigation phase are very important issues. The planning and management of PI have to be performed by NUMO staff, but not all staff have sufficient experience in the range of disciplines involved. NUMO therefore decided to compile existing knowledge and experience in the planning and management of investigations in the form of manuals to be used to improve and maintain internal expertise. Experts with experience in overseas investigation programs were requested to prepare these manuals. This paper outlines the structure and scope of the upper level manual (road-map) and discusses NUMO's experience in applying it in 'dry-runs' to model sites. (authors)« less

Current Status of The Romanian National Deep Geological Repository Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Radu, M.; Nicolae, R.; Nicolae, D.

2008-07-01

Construction of a deep geological repository is a very demanding and costly task. By now, countries that have Candu reactors, have not processed the spent fuel passing to the interim storage as a preliminary step of final disposal within the nuclear fuel cycle back-end. Romania, in comparison to other nations, represents a rather small territory, with high population density, wherein the geological formation areas with radioactive waste storage potential are limited and restricted not only from the point of view of the selection criteria due to the rocks natural characteristics, but also from the point of view of their involvementmore » in social and economical activities. In the framework of the national R and D Programs, series of 'Map investigations' have been made regarding the selection and preliminary characterization of the host geological formation for the nation's spent fuel deep geological repository. The fact that Romania has many deposits of natural gas, oil, ore and geothermal water, and intensively utilizes soil and also is very forested, cause some of the apparent acceptable sites to be rejected in the subsequent analysis. Currently, according to the Law on the spent fuel and radioactive waste management, including disposal, The National Agency of Radioactive Waste is responsible and coordinates the national strategy in the field and, subsequently, further actions will be decided. The Romanian National Strategy, approved in 2004, projects the operation of a deep geological repository to begin in 2055. (authors)« less

Performance-assessment progress for the Rozan low-level waste disposal facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smietanski, L.; Mitrega, J.; Frankowski, Z.

1995-12-31

The paper presents a condensed progress report on the performance assessment of Poland`s low-level waste disposal facility which is operating since 1961. The Rozan repository is of near-surface type with facilities which are the concrete fortifications built about 1910. Site characterization activities supplied information on regional geology, geohydrology, climatic and hydrologic conditions and terrain surface evolution due to geodynamic processes. Field surveys enabled to decode lithological, hydrogeological and geochemical site specific conditions. From the laboratory tests the data on groundwater chemistry and soil geochemical and hydraulic characteristics were obtained. The site geohydrologic main vulnerable element is the upmost directly endangeredmore » unconfined aquifer which is perched in relation to the region-wide hydraulic system. Heterogeneity of this system reflects in a wide range of hydraulic conductivity and thickness variations. It strongly affects velocity and flow directions. The chemistry of groundwater is unstable due to large sensitivity to external impacts. Modeling of the migration of the critical long-lived radionuclides Tc-99, U-238 and Pu-239 showed that the nearly 20 m thick unsaturated zone plays crucial role as an effective protective barrier. These radionuclides constitute minor part of the total inventory. Modeling of the development of the H-3 plume pointed out the role the macrodispersion plays in the unsaturated zone beneath the repository.« less

Core Certification of Data Repositories: Trustworthiness and Long-Term Stewardship

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Sherbinin, A. M.; Mokrane, M.; Hugo, W.; Sorvari, S.; Harrison, S.

2017-12-01

Scientific integrity and norms dictate that data created and used by scientists should be managed, curated, and archived in trustworthy data repositories thus ensuring that science is verifiable and reproducible while preserving the initial investment in collecting data. Research stakeholders including researchers, science funders, librarians, and publishers must also be able to establish the trustworthiness of data repositories they use to confirm that the data they submit and use remain useful and meaningful in the long term. Data repositories are increasingly recognized as a key element of the global research infrastructure and the importance of establishing their trustworthiness is recognised as a prerequisite for efficient scientific research and data sharing. The Core Trustworthy Data Repository Requirements are a set of universal requirements for certification of data repositories at the core level (see: https://goo.gl/PYsygW). They were developed by the ICSU World Data System (WDS: www.icsu-wds.org) and the Data Seal of Approval (DSA: www.datasealofapproval.org)—the two authoritative organizations responsible for the development and implementation of this standard to be further developed under the CoreTrustSeal branding . CoreTrustSeal certification of data repositories involves a minimally intensive process whereby repositories supply evidence that they are sustainable and trustworthy. Repositories conduct a self-assessment which is then reviewed by community peers. Based on this review CoreTrustSeal certification is granted by the CoreTrustSeal Standards and Certification Board. Certification helps data communities—producers, repositories, and consumers—to improve the quality and transparency of their processes, and to increase awareness of and compliance with established standards. This presentation will introduce the CoreTrustSeal certification requirements for repositories and offer an opportunity to discuss ways to improve the contribution of certified data repositories to sustain open data for open scientific research.

10 CFR 960.3-1-4 - Evidence for siting decisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Evidence for siting decisions. 960.3-1-4 Section 960.3-1-4 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-4 Evidence for siting decisions. The siting...

10 CFR 960.3-1-4 - Evidence for siting decisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Evidence for siting decisions. 960.3-1-4 Section 960.3-1-4 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-4 Evidence for siting decisions. The siting...

10 CFR 960.3-1-4 - Evidence for siting decisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Evidence for siting decisions. 960.3-1-4 Section 960.3-1-4 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-4 Evidence for siting decisions. The siting...

10 CFR 960.3-1-4 - Evidence for siting decisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Evidence for siting decisions. 960.3-1-4 Section 960.3-1-4 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-4 Evidence for siting decisions. The siting...

Use of an analog site near Raymond, California, to develop equipment and methods for characterizing a potential high-level, nuclear waste repository site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Umari, A.M.J.; Geldon, A.; Patterson, G.

1994-12-31

Yucca Mountain, Nevada, currently is being investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey as a potential site for a high-level nuclear waste repository. Planned hydraulic-stress and tracer tests in fractured, tuffaceous rocks below the water table at Yucca Mountain will require work at depths in excess of 1,300 feet. To facilitate prototype testing of equipment and methods to be used in aquifer tests at Yucca Mountain, an analog site was selected in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada near Raymond, California. Two of nine 250- to 300-feet deep wells drilled into fractured, granitic rocks at the Raymond site have been instrumentedmore » with packers, pressure transducers, and other equipment that will be used at Yucca Mountain. Aquifer tests conducted at the Raymond site to date have demonstrated a need to modify some of the equipment and methods conceived for use at Yucca Mountain.« less

Developing a concept for a national used fuel interim storage facility in the United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lewis, Donald Wayne

2013-07-01

In the United States (U.S.) the nuclear waste issue has plagued the nuclear industry for decades. Originally, spent fuel was to be reprocessed but with the threat of nuclear proliferation, spent fuel reprocessing has been eliminated, at least for now. In 1983, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 [1] was established, authorizing development of one or more spent fuel and high-level nuclear waste geological repositories and a consolidated national storage facility, called a 'Monitored Retrievable Storage' facility, that could store the spent nuclear fuel until it could be placed into the geological repository. Plans were under way to buildmore » a geological repository, Yucca Mountain, but with the decision by President Obama to terminate the development of Yucca Mountain, a consolidated national storage facility that can store spent fuel for an interim period until a new repository is established has become very important. Since reactor sites have not been able to wait for the government to come up with a storage or disposal location, spent fuel remains in wet or dry storage at each nuclear plant. The purpose of this paper is to present a concept developed to address the DOE's goals stated above. This concept was developed over the past few months by collaboration between the DOE and industry experts that have experience in designing spent nuclear fuel facilities. The paper examines the current spent fuel storage conditions at shutdown reactor sites, operating reactor sites, and the type of storage systems (transportable versus non-transportable, welded or bolted). The concept lays out the basis for a pilot storage facility to house spent fuel from shutdown reactor sites and then how the pilot facility can be enlarged to a larger full scale consolidated interim storage facility. (authors)« less

A Preliminary Performance Assessment for Salt Disposal of High-Level Nuclear Waste - 12173

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Joon H.; Clayton, Daniel; Jove-Colon, Carlos

2012-07-01

A salt repository is one of the four geologic media currently under study by the U.S. DOE Office of Nuclear Energy to support the development of a long-term strategy for geologic disposal of commercial used nuclear fuel (UNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). The immediate goal of the generic salt repository study is to develop the necessary modeling tools to evaluate and improve the understanding of the repository system response and processes relevant to long-term disposal of UNF and HLW in a salt formation. The current phase of this study considers representative geologic settings and features adopted from previous studiesmore » for salt repository sites. For the reference scenario, the brine flow rates in the repository and underlying interbeds are very low, and transport of radionuclides in the transport pathways is dominated by diffusion and greatly retarded by sorption on the interbed filling materials. I-129 is the dominant annual dose contributor at the hypothetical accessible environment, but the calculated mean annual dose is negligibly small. For the human intrusion (or disturbed) scenario, the mean mass release rate and mean annual dose histories are very different from those for the reference scenario. Actinides including Pu-239, Pu-242 and Np-237 are major annual dose contributors, and the calculated peak mean annual dose is acceptably low. A performance assessment model for a generic salt repository has been developed incorporating, where applicable, representative geologic settings and features adopted from literature data for salt repository sites. The conceptual model and scenario for radionuclide release and transport from a salt repository were developed utilizing literature data. The salt GDS model was developed in a probabilistic analysis framework. The preliminary performance analysis for demonstration of model capability is for an isothermal condition at the ambient temperature for the near field. The capability demonstration emphasizes key attributes of a salt repository that are potentially important to the long-term safe disposal of UNF and HLW. The analysis presents and discusses the results showing repository responses to different radionuclide release scenarios (undisturbed and human intrusion). For the reference (or nominal or undisturbed) scenario, the brine flow rates in the repository and underlying interbeds are very low, and transport of radionuclides in the transport pathways is dominated by diffusion and greatly retarded by sorption on the interbed filling materials. I-129 (non-sorbing and unlimited solubility with a very long half-life) is the dominant annual dose contributor at the hypothetical accessible environment, but the calculated mean annual dose is negligibly small that there is no meaningful consequence for the repository performance. For the human intrusion (or disturbed) scenario analysis, the mean mass release rate and mean annual dose histories are very different from those for the reference scenario analysis. Compared to the reference scenario, the relative annual dose contributions by soluble, non-sorbing fission products, particularly I-129, are much lower than by actinides including Pu-239, Pu-242 and Np-237. The lower relative mean annual dose contributions by the fission product radionuclides are due to their lower total inventory available for release (i.e., up to five affected waste packages), and the higher mean annual doses by the actinides are the outcome of the direct release of the radionuclides into the overlying aquifer having high water flow rates, thereby resulting in an early arrival of higher concentrations of the radionuclides at the biosphere drinking water well prior to their significant decay. The salt GDS model analysis has also identified the following future recommendations and/or knowledge gaps to improve and enhance the confidence of the future repository performance analysis. - Repository thermal loading by UNF and HLW, and the effect on the engineered barrier and near-field performance. - Closure and consolidation of salt rocks by creep deformation under the influence of thermal perturbation, and the effect on the engineered barrier and near-field performance. - Brine migration and radionuclide transport under the influence of thermal perturbation in generic salt repository environment, and the effect on the engineered barrier and near-field performance and far-field performance. - Near-field geochemistry and radionuclide mobility in generic salt repository environment (high ionic strength brines, elevated temperatures and chemically reducing condition). - Degradation of engineer barrier components (waste package, waste canister, waste forms, etc.) in a generic salt repository environment (high ionic strength brines, elevated temperatures and chemically reducing condition). - Waste stream types and inventory estimates, particularly for reprocessing high-level waste. (authors)« less

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-4 - The environmental assessment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... the site-characterization activities at the site on public health and safety and the environment; a discussion of alternative activities related to site characterization that may be taken to avoid such impact; and an assessment of the regional and local impacts of locating a repository at the site. The draft...

10 CFR 960.3-2-3 - Recommendation of sites for characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Recommendation of sites for characterization. 960.3-2-3 Section 960.3-2-3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-3 Recommendation of sites...

10 CFR 960.3-2-1 - Site screening for potentially acceptable sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Section 960.3-2-1 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-1 Site screening for... technical guidelines can exist in the same land unit, the DOE shall seek to evaluate the composite...

10 CFR 960.3-2-3 - Recommendation of sites for characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Recommendation of sites for characterization. 960.3-2-3 Section 960.3-2-3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-3 Recommendation of sites...

10 CFR 960.3-2-1 - Site screening for potentially acceptable sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Section 960.3-2-1 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-1 Site screening for... technical guidelines can exist in the same land unit, the DOE shall seek to evaluate the composite...

10 CFR 960.3-2-3 - Recommendation of sites for characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Recommendation of sites for characterization. 960.3-2-3 Section 960.3-2-3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-3 Recommendation of sites...

10 CFR 960.3-2-1 - Site screening for potentially acceptable sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Section 960.3-2-1 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-1 Site screening for... technical guidelines can exist in the same land unit, the DOE shall seek to evaluate the composite...

Determination of In-situ Porosity and Investigation of Diffusion Processes at the Grimsel Test Site, Switzerland.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biggin, C.; Ota, K.; Siittari-Kauppi, M.; Moeri, A.

2004-12-01

In the context of a repository for radioactive waste, 'matrix diffusion' is used to describe the process by which solute, flowing in distinct flow paths, penetrates the surrounding rock matrix. Diffusion into the matrix occurs in a connected system of pores or microfractures. Matrix diffusion provides a mechanism for greatly enlarging the area of rock surface in contact with advecting radionuclides, from that of the flow path surfaces (and infills), to a much larger portion of the bulk rock and increases the global pore volume which can retard radionuclides. In terms of a repository safety assessment, demonstration of a significant depth of diffusion-accessible pore space may result in a significant delay in the calculated release of any escaping radionuclides to the environment and a dramatic reduction in the resulting concentration released into the biosphere. For the last decade, Nagra has investigated in situ matrix diffusion at the Grimsel Test Site (GTS) in the Swiss Alps. The in situ investigations offer two distinct advantages to those performed in the lab, namely: 1. Lab-based determination of porosity and diffusivity can lead to an overestimation of matrix diffusion due to stress relief when the rock is sampled (which would overestimate the retardation in the geosphere) 2. Lab-based analysis usually examines small (cm scale) samples and cannot therefore account for any matrix heterogeneity over the hundreds or thousands of metres a typical flow path The in situ investigations described began with the Connected Porosity project, wherein a specially developed acrylic resin was injected into the rock matrix to fill the pore space and determine the depth of connected porosity. The resin was polymerised in situ and the entire rock mass removed by overcoring. The results indicated that lab-based porosity measurements may be two to three times higher than those obtained in situ. While the depth of accessible matrix from a water-conducting feature assumed in repository performance assessments is generally 1 to 10 cm, the results from the GTS in situ experiment suggested depths of several metres could be more appropriate. More recently, the Pore Space Geometry (PSG) experiment at the GTS has used a C-14 doped acrylic resin, combined with state-of-the-art digital beta autoradiography and fluorescence detection to examine a larger area of rock for determination of porosity and the degree of connected pore space. Analysis is currently ongoing and the key findings will be reported in this paper. Starting at the GTS in 2005, the Long-term Diffusion (LTD) project will investigate such processes over spatial and temporal scales more relevant to a repository than traditional lab-based experiments. In the framework of this experiment, long-term (10 to 50 years) in situ diffusion experiments and resin injection experiments are planned to verify current models for matrix diffusion as a radionuclide retardation process. This paper will discuss the findings of the first two experiments and their significance to repository safety assessments before discussing the strategy for the future in relation to the LTD project.

Extreme ground motions and Yucca Mountain

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hanks, Thomas C.; Abrahamson, Norman A.; Baker, Jack W.; Boore, David M.; Board, Mark; Brune, James N.; Cornell, C. Allin; Whitney, John W.

2013-01-01

Yucca Mountain is the designated site of the underground repository for the United States' high-level radioactive waste (HLW), consisting of commercial and military spent nuclear fuel, HLW derived from reprocessing of uranium and plutonium, surplus plutonium, and other nuclear-weapons materials. Yucca Mountain straddles the western boundary of the Nevada Test Site, where the United States has tested nuclear devices since the 1950s, and is situated in an arid, remote, and thinly populated region of Nevada, ~100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Yucca Mountain was originally considered as a potential underground repository of HLW because of its thick units of unsaturated rocks, with the repository horizon being not only ~300 m above the water table but also ~300 m below the Yucca Mountain crest. The fundamental rationale for a geologic (underground) repository for HLW is to securely isolate these materials from the environment and its inhabitants to the greatest extent possible and for very long periods of time. Given the present climate conditions and what is known about the current hydrologic system and conditions around and in the mountain itself, one would anticipate that the rates of infiltration, corrosion, and transport would be very low—except for the possibility that repository integrity might be compromised by low-probability disruptive events, which include earthquakes, strong ground motion, and (or) a repository-piercing volcanic intrusion/eruption. Extreme ground motions (ExGM), as we use the phrase in this report, refer to the extremely large amplitudes of earthquake ground motion that arise at extremely low probabilities of exceedance (hazard). They first came to our attention when the 1998 probabilistic seismic hazard analysis for Yucca Mountain was extended to a hazard level of 10-8/yr (a 10-4/yr probability for a 104-year repository “lifetime”). The primary purpose of this report is to summarize the principal results of the ExGM research program as they have developed over the past 5 years; what follows will be focused on Yucca Mountain, but not restricted to it.

Addressing challenges in cross-site synthesis of long-term ecological data

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Long-term ecological datasets are becoming increasingly abundant on the internet, and are available both on websites hosted by the originating sites and/or in online repositories. While sites and networks are increasingly conforming to adopted metadata standards (which themselves continue to evolve ...

10 CFR 60.16 - Site characterization plan required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Site characterization plan required. 60.16 Section 60.16 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) DISPOSAL OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES Licenses Preapplication Review § 60.16 Site characterization plan required. Before proceeding to...

The preliminary design and feasibility study of the spent fuel and high level waste repository in the Czech Republic

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Valvoda, Z.; Holub, J.; Kucerka, M.

1996-12-31

In the year 1993, began the Program of Development of the Spent Fuel and High Level Waste Repository in the Conditions of the Czech Republic. During the first phase, the basic concept and structure of the Program has been developed, and the basic design criteria and requirements were prepared. In the conditions of the Czech Republic, only an underground repository in deep geological formation is acceptable. Expected depth is between 500 to 1000 meters and as host rock will be granites. A preliminary variant design study was realized in 1994, that analyzed the radioactive waste and spent fuel flow frommore » NPPs to the repository, various possibilities of transportation in accordance to the various concepts of spent fuel conditioning and transportation to the underground structures. Conditioning and encapsulation of spent fuel and/or radioactive waste is proposed on the repository site. Underground disposal structures are proposed at one underground floor. The repository will have reserve capacity for radioactive waste from NPPs decommissioning and for waste non acceptable to other repositories. Vertical disposal of unshielded canisters in boreholes and/or horizontal disposal of shielded canisters is studied. As the base term of the start up of the repository operation, the year 2035 has been established. From this date, a preliminary time schedule of the Project has been developed. A method of calculating leveled and discounted costs within the repository lifetime, for each of selected 5 variants, was used for economic calculations. Preliminary expected parametric costs of the repository are about 0,1 Kc ($0.004) per MWh, produced in the Czech NPPs. In 1995, the design and feasibility study has gone in more details to the technical concept of repository construction and proposed technologies, as well as to the operational phase of the repository. Paper will describe results of the 1995 design work and will present the program of the repository development in next period.« less

Preliminary Concept of Operations for the Spent Fuel Management System--WM2017

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cumberland, Riley M; Adeniyi, Abiodun Idowu; Howard, Rob L

The Nuclear Fuels Storage and Transportation Planning Project (NFST) within the U.S. Department of Energy s Office of Nuclear Energy is tasked with identifying, planning, and conducting activities to lay the groundwork for developing interim storage and transportation capabilities in support of an integrated waste management system. The system will provide interim storage for commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from reactor sites and deliver it to a repository. The system will also include multiple subsystems, potentially including; one or more interim storage facilities (ISF); one or more repositories; facilities to package and/or repackage SNF; and transportation systems. The project teammore » is analyzing options for an integrated waste management system. To support analysis, the project team has developed a Concept of Operations document that describes both the potential integrated system and inter-dependencies between system components. The goal of this work is to aid systems analysts in the development of consistent models across the project, which involves multiple investigators. The Concept of Operations document will be updated periodically as new developments emerge. At a high level, SNF is expected to travel from reactors to a repository. SNF is first unloaded from reactors and placed in spent fuel pools for wet storage at utility sites. After the SNF has cooled enough to satisfy loading limits, it is placed in a container at reactor sites for storage and/or transportation. After transportation requirements are met, the SNF is transported to an ISF to store the SNF until a repository is developed or directly to a repository if available. While the high level operation of the system is straightforward, analysts must evaluate numerous alternative options. Alternative options include the number of ISFs (if any), ISF design, the stage at which SNF repackaging occurs (if any), repackaging technology, the types of containers used, repository design, component sizing, and timing of events. These alternative options arise due to technological, economic, or policy considerations. As new developments regularly emerge, the operational concepts will be periodically updated. This paper gives an overview of the different potential alternatives identified in the Concept of Operations document at a conceptual level.« less

Radionuclide transfer in marine coastal ecosystems, a modelling study using metabolic processes and site data.

PubMed

Konovalenko, L; Bradshaw, C; Kumblad, L; Kautsky, U

2014-07-01

This study implements new site-specific data and improved process-based transport model for 26 elements (Ac, Ag, Am, Ca, Cl, Cm, Cs, Ho, I, Nb, Ni, Np, Pa, Pb, Pd, Po, Pu, Ra, Se, Sm, Sn, Sr, Tc, Th, U, Zr), and validates model predictions with site measurements and literature data. The model was applied in the safety assessment of a planned nuclear waste repository in Forsmark, Öregrundsgrepen (Baltic Sea). Radionuclide transport models are central in radiological risk assessments to predict radionuclide concentrations in biota and doses to humans. Usually concentration ratios (CRs), the ratio of the measured radionuclide concentration in an organism to the concentration in water, drive such models. However, CRs vary with space and time and CR estimates for many organisms are lacking. In the model used in this study, radionuclides were assumed to follow the circulation of organic matter in the ecosystem and regulated by radionuclide-specific mechanisms and metabolic rates of the organisms. Most input parameters were represented by log-normally distributed probability density functions (PDFs) to account for parameter uncertainty. Generally, modelled CRs for grazers, benthos, zooplankton and fish for the 26 elements were in good agreement with site-specific measurements. The uncertainty was reduced when the model was parameterized with site data, and modelled CRs were most similar to measured values for particle reactive elements and for primary consumers. This study clearly demonstrated that it is necessary to validate models with more than just a few elements (e.g. Cs, Sr) in order to make them robust. The use of PDFs as input parameters, rather than averages or best estimates, enabled the estimation of the probable range of modelled CR values for the organism groups, an improvement over models that only estimate means. Using a mechanistic model that is constrained by ecological processes enables (i) the evaluation of the relative importance of food and water uptake pathways and processes such as assimilation and excretion, (ii) the possibility to extrapolate within element groups (a common requirement in many risk assessments when initial model parameters are scarce) and (iii) predictions of radionuclide uptake in the ecosystem after changes in ecosystem structure or environmental conditions. These features are important for the longterm (>1000 year) risk assessments that need to be considered for a deep nuclear waste repository. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Donor human milk bank data collection in north america: an assessment of current status and future needs.

PubMed

Brownell, Elizabeth A; Lussier, Mary M; Herson, Victor C; Hagadorn, James I; Marinelli, Kathleen A

2014-02-01

The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) is a nonprofit association that standardizes and facilitates the establishment and operation of donor human milk (DHM) banks in North America. Each HMBANA milk bank in the network collects data on the DHM it receives and distributes, but a centralized data repository does not yet exist. In 2010, the Food and Drug Administration recognized the need to collect and disseminate systematic, standardized DHM bank data and suggested that HMBANA develop a DHM data repository. This study aimed to describe data currently collected by HMBANA DHM banks and evaluate feasibility and interest in participating in a centralized data repository. We conducted phone interviews with individuals in different HMBANA milk banks and summarized descriptive statistics. Eight of 13 (61.5%) sites consented to participate. All respondents collected donor demographics, and half (50%; n = 4) rescreened donors after 6 months of continued donation. The definition of preterm milk varied between DHM banks (≤ 32 to ≤ 40 weeks). The specific computer program used to house the data also differed. Half (50%; n = 4) indicated that they would consider participation in a centralized repository. Without standardized data across all HMBANA sites, the creation of a centralized data repository is not yet feasible. Lack of standardization and transparency may deter implementation of donor milk programs in the neonatal intensive care unit setting and hinder benchmarking, research, and quality improvement initiatives.

The NIH BD2K center for big data in translational genomics

PubMed Central

Paten, Benedict; Diekhans, Mark; Druker, Brian J; Friend, Stephen; Guinney, Justin; Gassner, Nadine; Guttman, Mitchell; James Kent, W; Mantey, Patrick; Margolin, Adam A; Massie, Matt; Novak, Adam M; Nothaft, Frank; Pachter, Lior; Patterson, David; Smuga-Otto, Maciej; Stuart, Joshua M; Van’t Veer, Laura; Haussler, David

2015-01-01

The world’s genomics data will never be stored in a single repository – rather, it will be distributed among many sites in many countries. No one site will have enough data to explain genotype to phenotype relationships in rare diseases; therefore, sites must share data. To accomplish this, the genetics community must forge common standards and protocols to make sharing and computing data among many sites a seamless activity. Through the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health, we are pioneering the development of shared application programming interfaces (APIs) to connect the world’s genome repositories. In parallel, we are developing an open source software stack (ADAM) that uses these APIs. This combination will create a cohesive genome informatics ecosystem. Using containers, we are facilitating the deployment of this software in a diverse array of environments. Through benchmarking efforts and big data driver projects, we are ensuring ADAM’s performance and utility. PMID:26174866

Yucca Mountain Biological Resources Monitoring Program; Annual report, FY91

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1992-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (as amended in 1987) to study and characterize Yucca Mountain as a possible site for a geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste. During site characterization, the DOE will conduct a variety of geotechnical, geochemical, geological, and hydrological studies to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a repository. To ensure that site characterization activities (SCA) do not adversely affect the Yucca Mountain area, an environmental program has been implemented to monitor and mitigate potential impacts and to ensure that activities comply with applicable environmentalmore » regulations. This report describes the activities and accomplishments during fiscal year 1991 (FY91) for six program areas within the Terrestrial Ecosystem component of the YMP environmental program. The six program areas are Site Characterization Activities Effects, Desert Tortoises, Habitat Reclamation, Monitoring and Mitigation, Radiological Monitoring, and Biological Support.« less

Draft environmental assessment: Lavender Canyon site, Utah. Nuclear Waste Policy Act (Section 112). [Contains glossary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1984-12-01

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Lavender Canyon site in Utah, as one of nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Lavender Canyon site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites h

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant transuranic waste repository: A sleeping beauty

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eriksson, L.G.

On May 13, 1998, crowning a 24-year United States Department of Energy effort, the US Environmental Protection Agency certified that the deep geological repository for safe disposal of long-lived, transuranic radioactive waste proposed by the DOE at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site in New Mexico complied with all applicable environmental radiation protection standards and compliance criteria. Pursuant to the applicable law, the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act of 1992, as amended in 1997, at the decision of the secretary of energy, the WIPP repository could open 30 calendar days after receiving the EPA certification. The secretary of energy announced Maymore » 13, 1998, that he intended to open the WIPP TRUW repository by June 14, 1998. However, at the end of 1998, the opening of the WIPP TRUW repository remains hostage to time-consuming, hazardous-waste-permitting procedures by the state of New Mexico Environment Department and two legal actions. Based on the EPA-verified high safety and the demonstrated risk reduction to both current and future generations offered by the WIPP TRUW repository, it is concluded that the WIPP TRUW repository is a sleeping beauty that will awake, perhaps in stages, and begin its important mission in 1999.« less

Compensation as Means for Local Acceptance The Case of the Final Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel in Eurajoki, Finland

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kojo, M.

The paper sheds light on the local negotiations on compensation as a part of the site selection for the spent nuclear fuel repository in Finland. The negotiation took place between the representatives of the Municipality of Eurajoki, the nuclear power company Teollisuuden Voima Ltd (TVO) and the nuclear waste management company Posiva Ltd in the late 1990's. The compensation negotiation process and the development of the requirements are elucidated in detail on the basis of the analysis of the minutes of the meetings of the Vuojoki working party. The paper helps to understand the smooth site selection process in Finland.more » The context of the local decision-making is viewed from the policy, institutional and economic aspect. It is concluded in the paper that when trying to understand the progress of the Finnish site selection process more emphasis should be put on the role of TVO, the economic dependency of the Municipality of Eurajoki on TVO and the partnership between TVO and the leading local politicians. (authors)« less

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-5 - Formal site nomination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-5 Formal site nomination. After the final..., consideration of the available evidence, evaluations, and the resultant findings for the guidelines of subparts...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-5 - Formal site nomination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-5 Formal site nomination. After the final..., consideration of the available evidence, evaluations, and the resultant findings for the guidelines of subparts...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-5 - Formal site nomination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-5 Formal site nomination. After the final..., consideration of the available evidence, evaluations, and the resultant findings for the guidelines of subparts...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-5 - Formal site nomination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-5 Formal site nomination. After the final..., consideration of the available evidence, evaluations, and the resultant findings for the guidelines of subparts...

10 CFR 63.16 - Review of site characterization activities. 2

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... which such activities are carried out and to observe excavations, borings, and in situ tests, as they... IN A GEOLOGIC REPOSITORY AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA Licenses Preapplication Review § 63.16 Review of site characterization activities. 2 2 In addition to the review of site characterization activities...

10 CFR 63.16 - Review of site characterization activities. 2

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... which such activities are carried out and to observe excavations, borings, and in situ tests, as they... IN A GEOLOGIC REPOSITORY AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA Licenses Preapplication Review § 63.16 Review of site characterization activities. 2 2 In addition to the review of site characterization activities...

10 CFR 63.16 - Review of site characterization activities. 2

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... which such activities are carried out and to observe excavations, borings, and in situ tests, as they... IN A GEOLOGIC REPOSITORY AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA Licenses Preapplication Review § 63.16 Review of site characterization activities. 2 2 In addition to the review of site characterization activities...

10 CFR 63.16 - Review of site characterization activities. 2

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... which such activities are carried out and to observe excavations, borings, and in situ tests, as they... IN A GEOLOGIC REPOSITORY AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA Licenses Preapplication Review § 63.16 Review of site characterization activities. 2 2 In addition to the review of site characterization activities...

10 CFR 63.16 - Review of site characterization activities. 2

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... which such activities are carried out and to observe excavations, borings, and in situ tests, as they... IN A GEOLOGIC REPOSITORY AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA Licenses Preapplication Review § 63.16 Review of site characterization activities. 2 2 In addition to the review of site characterization activities...

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Manteufel, R.D.; Ahola, M.P.; Turner, D.R.

A literature review has been conducted to determine the state of knowledge available in the modeling of coupled thermal (T), hydrologic (H), mechanical (M), and chemical (C) processes relevant to the design and/or performance of the proposed high-level waste (HLW) repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The review focuses on identifying coupling mechanisms between individual processes and assessing their importance (i.e., if the coupling is either important, potentially important, or negligible). The significance of considering THMC-coupled processes lies in whether or not the processes impact the design and/or performance objectives of the repository. A review, such as reported here, is usefulmore » in identifying which coupled effects will be important, hence which coupled effects will need to be investigated by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in order to assess the assumptions, data, analyses, and conclusions in the design and performance assessment of a geologic reposit``. Although this work stems from regulatory interest in the design of the geologic repository, it should be emphasized that the repository design implicitly considers all of the repository performance objectives, including those associated with the time after permanent closure. The scope of this review is considered beyond previous assessments in that it attempts with the current state-of-knowledge) to determine which couplings are important, and identify which computer codes are currently available to model coupled processes.« less

Developing an Integrated Institutional Repository at Imperial College London

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Afshari, Fereshteh; Jones, Richard

2007-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to demonstrate how a highly integrated approach to repository development and deployment can be beneficial in producing a successful archive. Design/methodology/approach: Imperial College London undertook a significant specifications process to gather and formalise requirements for its repository system. This was done…

International Collaboration Activities on Engineered Barrier Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jove-Colon, Carlos F.

The Used Fuel Disposition Campaign (UFDC) within the DOE Fuel Cycle Technologies (FCT) program has been engaging in international collaborations between repository R&D programs for high-level waste (HLW) disposal to leverage on gathered knowledge and laboratory/field data of near- and far-field processes from experiments at underground research laboratories (URL). Heater test experiments at URLs provide a unique opportunity to mimetically study the thermal effects of heat-generating nuclear waste in subsurface repository environments. Various configurations of these experiments have been carried out at various URLs according to the disposal design concepts of the hosting country repository program. The FEBEX (Full-scale Engineeredmore » Barrier Experiment in Crystalline Host Rock) project is a large-scale heater test experiment originated by the Spanish radioactive waste management agency (Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos S.A. – ENRESA) at the Grimsel Test Site (GTS) URL in Switzerland. The project was subsequently managed by CIEMAT. FEBEX-DP is a concerted effort of various international partners working on the evaluation of sensor data and characterization of samples obtained during the course of this field test and subsequent dismantling. The main purpose of these field-scale experiments is to evaluate feasibility for creation of an engineered barrier system (EBS) with a horizontal configuration according to the Spanish concept of deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste in crystalline rock. Another key aspect of this project is to improve the knowledge of coupled processes such as thermal-hydro-mechanical (THM) and thermal-hydro-chemical (THC) operating in the near-field environment. The focus of these is on model development and validation of predictions through model implementation in computational tools to simulate coupled THM and THC processes.« less

Testimony of Dr. Raul A. Deju, Basalt Waste Isolation Project, before the Subcommittee on Energy Research and Production, Committee on Sceince and Technology, United States House of Representatives, March 2, 1983

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1983-01-01

Status of the Basalt Waste Isolation Project is given. Three key concerns have been identified that need to be resolved to either confirm or eliminate the basalts as a potential nuclear waste repository host medium. They are: A thorough understanding of the groundwater hydrology beneath the Hanford Site is needed to assure that a repository in basalt will not contribute unacceptable amounts of contaminants to the accessible environment. Our ability to construct a repository shaft and a network of underground tunnels needs to be fully demonstrated through an exploratory shaft program. Our ability to ultimately seal a repository, such thatmore » its integrity and the isolation of the waste are guaranteed, needs to be demonstrated.« less

10 CFR 960.3-1-4-3 - Site recommendation for characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Site recommendation for characterization. 960.3-1-4-3 Section 960.3-1-4-3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-4-3 Site recommendation...

10 CFR 960.3-1-4-3 - Site recommendation for characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Site recommendation for characterization. 960.3-1-4-3 Section 960.3-1-4-3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-4-3 Site recommendation...

10 CFR 960.3-1-4-3 - Site recommendation for characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Site recommendation for characterization. 960.3-1-4-3 Section 960.3-1-4-3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-4-3 Site recommendation...

10 CFR 960.3-1-4-1 - Site identification as potentially acceptable.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Site identification as potentially acceptable. 960.3-1-4-1 Section 960.3-1-4-1 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-4-1 Site identification...

10 CFR 960.4-2-8-2 - Site ownership and control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Site ownership and control. 960.4-2-8-2 Section 960.4-2-8-2 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Postclosure Guidelines § 960.4-2-8-2 Site ownership and control. (a...

10 CFR 960.3-1-4-3 - Site recommendation for characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Site recommendation for characterization. 960.3-1-4-3 Section 960.3-1-4-3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-1-4-3 Site recommendation...

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

W. L. Poe, Jr.; P.F. Wise

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is preparing a proposal to construct, operate 2nd monitor, and eventually close a repository at Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nevada, for the geologic disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). As part of this effort, DOE has prepared a viability assessment and an assessment of potential consequences that may exist if the repository is not constructed. The assessment of potential consequences if the repository is not constructed assumes that all SNF and HLW would be left at the generator sites. These include 72 commercial generator sites (three commercial facilitymore » pairs--Salem and Hope Creek, Fitzpatrick and Nine Mile Point, and Dresden and Morris--would share common storage due to their close proximity to each other) and five DOE sites across the country. DOE analyzed the environmental consequences of the effects of the continued storage of these materials at these sites in a report titled Continued Storage Analysis Report (CSAR; Reference 1 ) . The CSAR analysis includes a discussion of the degradation of these materials when exposed to the environment. This document describes the environmental parameters that influence the degradation analyzed in the CSAR. These include temperature, relative humidity, precipitation chemistry (pH and chemical composition), annual precipitation rates, annual number of rain-days, and annual freeze/thaw cycles. The document also tabulates weather conditions for each storage site, evaluates the degradation of concrete storage modules and vaults in different regions of the country, and provides a thermal analysis of commercial SNF in storage.« less

Federated queries of clinical data repositories: Scaling to a national network.

PubMed

Weber, Griffin M

2015-06-01

Federated networks of clinical research data repositories are rapidly growing in size from a handful of sites to true national networks with more than 100 hospitals. This study creates a conceptual framework for predicting how various properties of these systems will scale as they continue to expand. Starting with actual data from Harvard's four-site Shared Health Research Information Network (SHRINE), the framework is used to imagine a future 4000 site network, representing the majority of hospitals in the United States. From this it becomes clear that several common assumptions of small networks fail to scale to a national level, such as all sites being online at all times or containing data from the same date range. On the other hand, a large network enables researchers to select subsets of sites that are most appropriate for particular research questions. Developers of federated clinical data networks should be aware of how the properties of these networks change at different scales and design their software accordingly. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

10 CFR 60.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

.... Site characterization includes borings, surface excavations, excavation of exploratory shafts, limited subsurface lateral excavations and borings, and in situ testing at depth needed to determine the suitability of the site for a geologic repository, but does not include preliminary borings and geophysical...

10 CFR 60.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

.... Site characterization includes borings, surface excavations, excavation of exploratory shafts, limited subsurface lateral excavations and borings, and in situ testing at depth needed to determine the suitability of the site for a geologic repository, but does not include preliminary borings and geophysical...

10 CFR 60.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

.... Site characterization includes borings, surface excavations, excavation of exploratory shafts, limited subsurface lateral excavations and borings, and in situ testing at depth needed to determine the suitability of the site for a geologic repository, but does not include preliminary borings and geophysical...

An open data repository and a data processing software toolset of an equivalent Nordic grid model matched to historical electricity market data.

PubMed

Vanfretti, Luigi; Olsen, Svein H; Arava, V S Narasimham; Laera, Giuseppe; Bidadfar, Ali; Rabuzin, Tin; Jakobsen, Sigurd H; Lavenius, Jan; Baudette, Maxime; Gómez-López, Francisco J

2017-04-01

This article presents an open data repository, the methodology to generate it and the associated data processing software developed to consolidate an hourly snapshot historical data set for the year 2015 to an equivalent Nordic power grid model (aka Nordic 44), the consolidation was achieved by matching the model׳s physical response w.r.t historical power flow records in the bidding regions of the Nordic grid that are available from the Nordic electricity market agent, Nord Pool. The model is made available in the form of CIM v14, Modelica and PSS/E (Siemens PTI) files. The Nordic 44 model in Modelica and PSS/E were first presented in the paper titled "iTesla Power Systems Library (iPSL): A Modelica library for phasor time-domain simulations" (Vanfretti et al., 2016) [1] for a single snapshot. In the digital repository being made available with the submission of this paper (SmarTSLab_Nordic44 Repository at Github, 2016) [2], a total of 8760 snapshots (for the year 2015) that can be used to initialize and execute dynamic simulations using tools compatible with CIM v14, the Modelica language and the proprietary PSS/E tool are provided. The Python scripts to generate the snapshots (processed data) are also available with all the data in the GitHub repository (SmarTSLab_Nordic44 Repository at Github, 2016) [2]. This Nordic 44 equivalent model was also used in iTesla project (iTesla) [3] to carry out simulations within a dynamic security assessment toolset (iTesla, 2016) [4], and has been further enhanced during the ITEA3 OpenCPS project (iTEA3) [5]. The raw, processed data and output models utilized within the iTesla platform (iTesla, 2016) [4] are also available in the repository. The CIM and Modelica snapshots of the "Nordic 44" model for the year 2015 are available in a Zenodo repository.

Audit of a Scientific Data Center for Certification as a Trustworthy Digital Repository: A Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Downs, R. R.; Chen, R. S.

2011-12-01

Services that preserve and enable future access to scientific data are necessary to ensure that the data that are being collected today will be available for use by future generations of scientists. Many data centers, archives, and other digital repositories are working to improve their ability to serve as long-term stewards of scientific data. Trust in sustainable data management and preservation capabilities of digital repositories can influence decisions to use these services to deposit or obtain scientific data. Building on the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model developed by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) and adopted by the International Organization for Standardization as ISO 14721:2003, new standards are being developed to improve long-term data management processes and documentation. The Draft Information Standard ISO/DIS 16363, "Space data and information transfer systems - Audit and certification of trustworthy digital repositories" offers the potential to evaluate digital repositories objectively in terms of their trustworthiness as long-term stewards of digital resources. In conjunction with this, the CCSDS and ISO are developing another draft standard for the auditing and certification process, ISO/DIS 16919, "Space data and information transfer systems - Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of candidate trustworthy digital repositories". Six test audits were conducted of scientific data centers and archives in Europe and the United States to test the use of these draft standards and identify potential improvements for the standards and for the participating digital repositories. We present a case study of the test audit conducted on the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) and describe the preparation, the audit process, recommendations received, and next steps to obtain certification as a trustworthy digital repository, after approval of the ISO/DIS standards.

Influences of specific ions in groundwater on concrete degradation in subsurface engineered barrier system.

PubMed

Lin, Wen-Sheng; Liu, Chen-Wuing; Li, Ming-Hsu

2016-01-01

Many disposal concepts currently show that concrete is an effective confinement material used in engineered barrier systems (EBS) at a number of low-level radioactive waste (LLW) disposal sites. Cement-based materials have properties for the encapsulation, isolation, or retardation of a variety of hazardous contaminants. The reactive chemical transport model of HYDROGEOCHEM 5.0 was applied to simulate the effect of hydrogeochemical processes on concrete barrier degradation in an EBS which has been proposed to use in the LLW disposal site in Taiwan. The simulated results indicated that the main processes that are responsible for concrete degradation are the species induced from hydrogen ion, sulfate, and chloride. The EBS with the side ditch drainage system effectively discharges the infiltrated water and lowers the solute concentrations that may induce concrete degradation. The redox processes markedly influence the formations of the degradation materials. The reductive environment in the EBS reduces the formation of ettringite in concrete degradation processes. Moreover, the chemical conditions in the concrete barriers maintain an alkaline condition after 300 years in the proposed LLW repository. This study provides a detailed picture of the long-term evolution of the hydrogeochemical environment in the proposed LLW disposal site in Taiwan.

10 CFR 60.15 - Site characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... in situ testing before and during construction shall be planned and coordinated with geologic... REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) DISPOSAL OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES Licenses... be described in such application. (b) Unless the Commission determines with respect to the site...

10 CFR 60.15 - Site characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... in situ testing before and during construction shall be planned and coordinated with geologic... REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) DISPOSAL OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES Licenses... be described in such application. (b) Unless the Commission determines with respect to the site...

10 CFR 60.15 - Site characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... in situ testing before and during construction shall be planned and coordinated with geologic... REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) DISPOSAL OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES Licenses... be described in such application. (b) Unless the Commission determines with respect to the site...

10 CFR 60.15 - Site characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... in situ testing before and during construction shall be planned and coordinated with geologic... REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) DISPOSAL OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES Licenses... be described in such application. (b) Unless the Commission determines with respect to the site...

The Nevada initiative: A risk communication Fiasco

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Flynn, J.; Solvic, P.; Mertz, C.K.

The U.S. Congress has designated Yucca Mountain, Nevada as the only potential site to be studied for the nation`s first high-level nuclear waste repository. People in Nevada strongly oppose the program, managed by the U.S. Department of Energy. Survey research shows that the public believes there are great risks from a repository program, in contrast to a majority of scientists who feel the risks are acceptably small. Delays in the repository program resulting in part from public opposition in Nevada have concerned the nuclear power industry, which collects the fees for the federal repository program and believes it needs themore » repository as a final disposal facility for its high-level nuclear wastes. To assist the repository program, the American Nuclear Energy Council (ANEC), an industry group, sponsored a massive advertising campaign in Nevada. The campaign attempted to assure people that the risks of a repository were small and that the repository studies should proceed. The campaign failed because its managers misunderstood the issues underlying the controversy, attempted a covert manipulation of public opinion that was revealed, and most importantly, lacked the public trust that was necessary to communicate credibly about the risks of a nuclear waste facility. This article describes the advertising campaign and its effects. The manner in which the ANEC campaign itself became a controversial public issue is reviewed. The advertising campaign is discussed as it relates to risk assessment and communication. 29 refs., 2 tabs.« less

Preservation of Earth Science Data History with Digital Content Repository Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Y.; Pan, J.; Shrestha, B.; Cook, R. B.

2011-12-01

An increasing need for derived and on-demand data product in Earth Science research makes the digital content more difficult for providers to manage and preserve and for users to locate, understand, and consume. Specifically, this increasing need presents additional challenges in managing data processing history information and delivering such information to end users. For example, the North American Carbon Program (NACP) Multi-scale Synthesis and Terrestrial Model Intercomparison Project (MsTMIP) chose a modified SYNMAP land cover data as one of the input driver data for participating terrestrial biospheric models. The global 1km resolution SYNMAP data was created by harmonizing 3 remote sensing-based land cover products: GLCC, GLC2000, and the MODIS land cover product. The original SYNMAP land cover data was aggregated into half and quarter degree resolution. It was then enhanced with more detailed grassland and cropland types. Currently, there lacks an effective mechanism to convey this data processing information to different modeling teams for them to determine if a data product meets their needs. It still highly relies on offline human interaction. The NASA-sponsored ORNL DAAC has leveraged the contemporary digital object repository technology to promote the representation, management, and delivery of data processing history and provenance information. Within digital object repository, different data products are managed as objects, with metadata as attributes and content delivery and management services as dissemination methods. Derivation relationships among data products can be semantically referenced between digital objects. Within the repository, data users can easily track a derived data product back to its origin, explorer metadata and documents about each intermediate data product, and discover processing details involved in each derivation step. Coupled with Drupal Web Content Management System, the digital repository interface was enhanced to provide intuitive graphic representation of the data processing history. Each data product is also associated with a formal metadata record in FGDC standards, and the main fields of the FGDC record are indexed for search, and are displayed as attributes of the data product. These features enable data users to better understand and consume a data product. The representation of data processing history in digital repository can further promote long-term data preservation. Lineage information is a major aspect to make digital data understandable and usable long time into the future. Derivation references can be setup between digital objects not only within a single digital repository, but also across multiple distributed digital repositories. Along with emerging identification mechanisms, such as Digital Object Identifier (DOI), a flexible distributed digital repository network can be setup to better preserve digital content. In this presentation, we describe how digital content repository technology can be used to manage, preserve, and deliver digital data processing history information in Earth Science research domain, with selected data archived in ORNL DAAC and Model and Synthesis Thematic Data Center (MAST-DC) as testing targets.

Geologic, geochemical rock mechanics and hydrologic characteristics of candidate repository horizons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Long, P. E.; Apted, M. J.; Spane, F. A., Jr.; Kim, K.

1982-09-01

The feasibility of constructing a nuclear waste repository in basalt (NWRB) on the Hanford Site is determined. Studies conducted indicate feasibility and performance requirements are within a significant safety margin. The two most promising candidate repository horizons for an NWRB are the middle Sentinel Bluffs and the Umtanum flows. Both of these flows are laterally continuous and have thicknesses of competent rock adequate to accommodate a repository. Significant geologic differences between the two flows are their depth, total thickness, and variability of flow top thickness. These differences are considered in selection of one of the two flows for breakout from an exploratory shaft. The geochemical characteristics of both the middle Sentinel Bluffs flow and the Umtanum flow favor long term isolation of radionuclides by providing an environment in which canister corrosion rates and solubility of many radionuclide bearing solids is relatively low.

On-line remote monitoring of radioactive waste repositories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calì, Claudio; Cosentino, Luigi; Litrico, Pietro; Pappalardo, Alfio; Scirè, Carlotta; Scirè, Sergio; Vecchio, Gianfranco; Finocchiaro, Paolo; Alfieri, Severino; Mariani, Annamaria

2014-12-01

A low-cost array of modular sensors for online monitoring of radioactive waste was developed at INFN-LNS. We implemented a new kind of gamma counter, based on Silicon PhotoMultipliers and scintillating fibers, that behaves like a cheap scintillating Geiger-Muller counter. It can be placed in shape of a fine grid around each single waste drum in a repository. Front-end electronics and an FPGA-based counting system were developed to handle the field data, also implementing data transmission, a graphical user interface and a data storage system. A test of four sensors in a real radwaste storage site was performed with promising results. Following the tests an agreement was signed between INFN and Sogin for the joint development and installation of a prototype DMNR (Detector Mesh for Nuclear Repository) system inside the Garigliano radwaste repository in Sessa Aurunca (CE, Italy). Such a development is currently under way, with the installation foreseen within 2014.

Reactive transport studies at the Raymond Field Site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Freifeld, B.; Karasaki, K.; Solbau, R.

1995-12-01

To ensure the safety of a nuclear waste repository, an understanding of the transport of radionuclides from the repository nearfield to the biosphere is necessary. At the Raymond Field Site, in Raymond, California, tracer tests are being conducted to test characterization methods for fractured media and to evaluate the equipment and tracers that will be used for Yucca Mountain`s fracture characterization. Recent tracer tests at Raymond have used reactive cations to demonstrate transport with sorption. A convective-dispersive model was used to simulate a two-well recirculating test with reasonable results. However, when the same model was used to simulate a radiallymore » convergent tracer test, the model poorly predicted the actual test data.« less

Investigations of the unsaturated zone at two radioactive waste disposal sites in Lithuania.

PubMed

Skuratovič, Žana; Mažeika, Jonas; Petrošius, Rimantas; Martma, Tõnu

2016-01-01

The unsaturated zone is an important part of the water cycle, governed by many hydrological and hydrogeological factors and processes and provide water and nutrients to the terrestrial ecosystem. Besides, the soils of the unsaturated zone are regarded as the first natural barrier to a large extent and are able to limit the spread of contaminants depending on their properties. The unsaturated zone provides a linkage between atmospheric moisture, groundwater, and seepage of groundwater to streams, lakes, or other surface water bodies. The major difference between water flow in saturated and unsaturated soils is that the hydraulic conductivity, which is conventionally assumed to be a constant in saturated soils, is a function of the degree of saturation or matrix suction in the unsaturated soils. In Lithuania, low and intermediate level radioactive wastes generated from medicine, industry and research were accumulated at the Maisiagala radioactive waste repository. Short-lived low and intermediate levels radioactive waste, generated during the operation of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) and arising after the INPP decommissioning will be disposed of in the near surface repository close to the INPP (Stabatiske site). Extensive data sets of the hydraulic properties and water content attributed to unsaturated zone soil profiles of the two radioactive waste disposal sites have been collected and summarized. Globally widespread radionuclide tritium ((3)H) and stable isotope ratio ((18)O/(16)O and (2)H/(1)H) distribution features were determined in precipitation, unsaturated zone soil moisture profiles and groundwater.

VerSeDa: vertebrate secretome database

PubMed Central

Cortazar, Ana R.; Oguiza, José A.

2017-01-01

Based on the current tools, de novo secretome (full set of proteins secreted by an organism) prediction is a time consuming bioinformatic task that requires a multifactorial analysis in order to obtain reliable in silico predictions. Hence, to accelerate this process and offer researchers a reliable repository where secretome information can be obtained for vertebrates and model organisms, we have developed VerSeDa (Vertebrate Secretome Database). This freely available database stores information about proteins that are predicted to be secreted through the classical and non-classical mechanisms, for the wide range of vertebrate species deposited at the NCBI, UCSC and ENSEMBL sites. To our knowledge, VerSeDa is the only state-of-the-art database designed to store secretome data from multiple vertebrate genomes, thus, saving an important amount of time spent in the prediction of protein features that can be retrieved from this repository directly. Database URL: VerSeDa is freely available at http://genomics.cicbiogune.es/VerSeDa/index.php PMID:28365718

VerSeDa: vertebrate secretome database.

PubMed

Cortazar, Ana R; Oguiza, José A; Aransay, Ana M; Lavín, José L

2017-01-01

Based on the current tools, de novo secretome (full set of proteins secreted by an organism) prediction is a time consuming bioinformatic task that requires a multifactorial analysis in order to obtain reliable in silico predictions. Hence, to accelerate this process and offer researchers a reliable repository where secretome information can be obtained for vertebrates and model organisms, we have developed VerSeDa (Vertebrate Secretome Database). This freely available database stores information about proteins that are predicted to be secreted through the classical and non-classical mechanisms, for the wide range of vertebrate species deposited at the NCBI, UCSC and ENSEMBL sites. To our knowledge, VerSeDa is the only state-of-the-art database designed to store secretome data from multiple vertebrate genomes, thus, saving an important amount of time spent in the prediction of protein features that can be retrieved from this repository directly. VerSeDa is freely available at http://genomics.cicbiogune.es/VerSeDa/index.php. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Java-based browsing, visualization and processing of heterogeneous medical data from remote repositories.

PubMed

Masseroli, M; Bonacina, S; Pinciroli, F

2004-01-01

The actual development of distributed information technologies and Java programming enables employing them also in the medical arena to support the retrieval, integration and evaluation of heterogeneous data and multimodal images in a web browser environment. With this aim, we used them to implement a client-server architecture based on software agents. The client side is a Java applet running in a web browser and providing a friendly medical user interface to browse and visualize different patient and medical test data, integrating them properly. The server side manages secure connections and queries to heterogeneous remote databases and file systems containing patient personal and clinical data. Based on the Java Advanced Imaging API, processing and analysis tools were developed to support the evaluation of remotely retrieved bioimages through the quantification of their features in different regions of interest. The Java platform-independence allows the centralized management of the implemented prototype and its deployment to each site where an intranet or internet connection is available. Giving healthcare providers effective support for comprehensively browsing, visualizing and evaluating medical images and records located in different remote repositories, the developed prototype can represent an important aid in providing more efficient diagnoses and medical treatments.

Low Level Waste Conceptual Design Adaption to Poor Geological Conditions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bell, J.; Drimmer, D.; Giovannini, A.

2002-02-26

Since the early eighties, several studies have been carried out in Belgium with respect to a repository for the final disposal of low-level radioactive waste (LLW). In 1998, the Belgian Government decided to restrict future investigations to the four existing nuclear sites in Belgium or sites that might show interest. So far, only two existing nuclear sites have been thoroughly investigated from a geological and hydrogeological point of view. These sites are located in the North-East (Mol-Dessel) and in the mid part (Fleurus-Farciennes) of the country. Both sites have the disadvantage of presenting poor geological and hydrogeological conditions, which aremore » rather unfavorable to accommodate a surface disposal facility for LLW. The underground of the Mol-Dessel site consists of neogene sand layers of about 180 m thick which cover a 100 meters thick clay layer. These neogene sands contain, at 20 m depth, a thin clayey layer. The groundwater level is quite close to the surface (0-2m) and finally, the topography is almost totally flat. The upper layer of the Fleurus-Farciennes site consists of 10 m silt with poor geomechanical characteristics, overlying sands (only a few meters thick) and Westphalian shales between 15 and 20 m depth. The Westphalian shales are tectonized and strongly weathered. In the past, coal seams were mined out. This activity induced locally important surface subsidence. For both nuclear sites that were investigated, a conceptual design was made that could allow any unfavorable geological or hydrogeological conditions of the site to be overcome. In Fleurus-Farciennes, for instance, the proposed conceptual design of the repository is quite original. It is composed of a shallow, buried concrete cylinder, surrounded by an accessible concrete ring, which allows permanent inspection and control during the whole lifetime of the repository. Stability and drainage systems should be independent of potential differential settlements an d subsidences. Potential radionuclides releases are controlled and have a single discharge point to the biosphere.« less

ArrayWiki: an enabling technology for sharing public microarray data repositories and meta-analyses

PubMed Central

Stokes, Todd H; Torrance, JT; Li, Henry; Wang, May D

2008-01-01

Background A survey of microarray databases reveals that most of the repository contents and data models are heterogeneous (i.e., data obtained from different chip manufacturers), and that the repositories provide only basic biological keywords linking to PubMed. As a result, it is difficult to find datasets using research context or analysis parameters information beyond a few keywords. For example, to reduce the "curse-of-dimension" problem in microarray analysis, the number of samples is often increased by merging array data from different datasets. Knowing chip data parameters such as pre-processing steps (e.g., normalization, artefact removal, etc), and knowing any previous biological validation of the dataset is essential due to the heterogeneity of the data. However, most of the microarray repositories do not have meta-data information in the first place, and do not have a a mechanism to add or insert this information. Thus, there is a critical need to create "intelligent" microarray repositories that (1) enable update of meta-data with the raw array data, and (2) provide standardized archiving protocols to minimize bias from the raw data sources. Results To address the problems discussed, we have developed a community maintained system called ArrayWiki that unites disparate meta-data of microarray meta-experiments from multiple primary sources with four key features. First, ArrayWiki provides a user-friendly knowledge management interface in addition to a programmable interface using standards developed by Wikipedia. Second, ArrayWiki includes automated quality control processes (caCORRECT) and novel visualization methods (BioPNG, Gel Plots), which provide extra information about data quality unavailable in other microarray repositories. Third, it provides a user-curation capability through the familiar Wiki interface. Fourth, ArrayWiki provides users with simple text-based searches across all experiment meta-data, and exposes data to search engine crawlers (Semantic Agents) such as Google to further enhance data discovery. Conclusions Microarray data and meta information in ArrayWiki are distributed and visualized using a novel and compact data storage format, BioPNG. Also, they are open to the research community for curation, modification, and contribution. By making a small investment of time to learn the syntax and structure common to all sites running MediaWiki software, domain scientists and practioners can all contribute to make better use of microarray technologies in research and medical practices. ArrayWiki is available at . PMID:18541053

The Efficacy of Institutional Repositories: Reflections on the Development of a Personalised Collection on UPSpace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olivier, Elsabe

2007-01-01

There is much speculation that the development of institutional repositories will impact on or even change the traditional scholarly communication process. The purpose of this conversation is to introduce the reader to the use of and response to institutional repositories which were initiated by the Open Access Initiative. The concept of…

Analysis of water flow paths: methodology and example calculations for a potential geological repository in Sweden.

PubMed

Werner, Kent; Bosson, Emma; Berglund, Sten

2006-12-01

Safety assessment related to the siting of a geological repository for spent nuclear fuel deep in the bedrock requires identification of potential flow paths and the associated travel times for radionuclides originating at repository depth. Using the Laxemar candidate site in Sweden as a case study, this paper describes modeling methodology, data integration, and the resulting water flow models, focusing on the Quaternary deposits and the upper 150 m of the bedrock. Example simulations identify flow paths to groundwater discharge areas and flow paths in the surface system. The majority of the simulated groundwater flow paths end up in the main surface waters and along the coastline, even though the particles used to trace the flow paths are introduced with a uniform spatial distribution at a relatively shallow depth. The calculated groundwater travel time, determining the time available for decay and retention of radionuclides, is on average longer to the coastal bays than to other biosphere objects at the site. Further, it is demonstrated how GIS-based modeling can be used to limit the number of surface flow paths that need to be characterized for safety assessment. Based on the results, the paper discusses an approach for coupling the present models to a model for groundwater flow in the deep bedrock.

Assuring the Quality of Agricultural Learning Repositories: Issues for the Learning Object Metadata Creation Process of the CGIAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zschocke, Thomas; Beniest, Jan

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Re- search (CGIAR) has established a digital repository to share its teaching and learning resources along with descriptive educational information based on the IEEE Learning Object Metadata (LOM) standard. As a critical component of any digital repository, quality metadata are critical not only to enable users to find more easily the resources they require, but also for the operation and interoperability of the repository itself. Studies show that repositories have difficulties in obtaining good quality metadata from their contributors, especially when this process involves many different stakeholders as is the case with the CGIAR as an international organization. To address this issue the CGIAR began investigating the Open ECBCheck as well as the ISO/IEC 19796-1 standard to establish quality protocols for its training. The paper highlights the implications and challenges posed by strengthening the metadata creation workflow for disseminating learning objects of the CGIAR.

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-2 - Selection of sites within geohydrologic settings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Selection of sites within geohydrologic settings. 960.3-2-2-2 Section 960.3-2-2-2 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-2 Selection...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-2 - Selection of sites within geohydrologic settings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Selection of sites within geohydrologic settings. 960.3-2-2-2 Section 960.3-2-2-2 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-2 Selection...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-2 - Selection of sites within geohydrologic settings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Selection of sites within geohydrologic settings. 960.3-2-2-2 Section 960.3-2-2-2 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-2 Selection...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-1 - Evaluation of all potentially acceptable sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Evaluation of all potentially acceptable sites. 960.3-2-2-1 Section 960.3-2-2-1 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-1 Evaluation...

Yucca Mountain Biological Resources Monitoring Program. Progress report, January 1994--December 1994

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1995-07-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (as amended in 1987) to study and characterize the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a potential geological repository for high-level nuclear waste. During site characterization, the DOE will conduct a variety of geotechnical, geochemical, geological, and hydrological studies to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a potential repository. To ensure that site characterization activities do not adversely affect the environment at Yucca Mountain, a program has been implemented to monitor and mitigate potential impacts and ensure activities comply with applicable environmental regulations. Thismore » report describes the activities and accomplishments of EG and G Energy Measurements, Inc. (EG and G/EM) from January 1994 through December 1994 for six program areas within the Terrestrial Ecosystem component of the environmental program for the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP): Site Characterization Effects, Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii), Habitat Reclamation, Monitoring and Mitigation, Radiological Monitoring, and Biological Support.« less

Yucca Mountain biological resources monitoring program; Annual report FY92

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1993-02-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (as amended in 1987) to study and characterize Yucca Mountain as a potential site for a geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste. During site characterization, the DOE will conduct a variety of geotechnical, geochemical, geological, and hydrological studies to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a potential repository. To ensure that site characterization activities (SCA) do not adversely affect the environment at Yucca Mountain, an environmental program has been implemented to monitor and mitigate potential impacts and ensure activities comply with applicable environmentalmore » regulations. This report describes the activities and accomplishments of EG&G Energy Measurements, Inc. (EG&G/EM) during fiscal year 1992 (FY92) for six program areas within the Terrestrial Ecosystem component of the YMP environmental program. The six program areas are Site Characterization Effects, Desert Tortoises, Habitat Reclamation, Monitoring and Mitigation, Radiological Monitoring, and Biological Support.« less

Unifying Access to National Hydrologic Data Repositories via Web Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valentine, D. W.; Jennings, B.; Zaslavsky, I.; Maidment, D. R.

2006-12-01

The CUAHSI hydrologic information system (HIS) is designed to be a live, multiscale web portal system for accessing, querying, visualizing, and publishing distributed hydrologic observation data and models for any location or region in the United States. The HIS design follows the principles of open service oriented architecture, i.e. system components are represented as web services with well defined standard service APIs. WaterOneFlow web services are the main component of the design. The currently available services have been completely re-written compared to the previous version, and provide programmatic access to USGS NWIS. (steam flow, groundwater and water quality repositories), DAYMET daily observations, NASA MODIS, and Unidata NAM streams, with several additional web service wrappers being added (EPA STORET, NCDC and others.). Different repositories of hydrologic data use different vocabularies, and support different types of query access. Resolving semantic and structural heterogeneities across different hydrologic observation archives and distilling a generic set of service signatures is one of the main scalability challenges in this project, and a requirement in our web service design. To accomplish the uniformity of the web services API, data repositories are modeled following the CUAHSI Observation Data Model. The web service responses are document-based, and use an XML schema to express the semantics in a standard format. Access to station metadata is provided via web service methods, GetSites, GetSiteInfo and GetVariableInfo. The methdods form the foundation of CUAHSI HIS discovery interface and may execute over locally-stored metadata or request the information from remote repositories directly. Observation values are retrieved via a generic GetValues method which is executed against national data repositories. The service is implemented in ASP.Net, and other providers are implementing WaterOneFlow services in java. Reference implementation of WaterOneFlow web services is available. More information about the ongoing development of CUAHSI HIS is available from http://www.cuahsi.org/his/.

10 CFR 960.4-2 - Technical guidelines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... REPOSITORY Postclosure Guidelines § 960.4-2 Technical guidelines. The technical guidelines in this subpart... conditions on the characteristics, processes, and events that may influence the performance of a repository...

The MCIC collection: a shared repository of multi-modal, multi-site brain image data from a clinical investigation of schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Gollub, Randy L.; Shoemaker, Jody M.; King, Margaret D.; White, Tonya; Ehrlich, Stefan; Sponheim, Scott R.; Clark, Vincent P.; Turner, Jessica A.; Mueller, Bryon A.; Magnotta, Vince; O’Leary, Daniel; Ho, Beng C.; Brauns, Stefan; Manoach, Dara S.; Seidman, Larry; Bustillo, Juan R.; Lauriello, John; Bockholt, Jeremy; Lim, Kelvin O.; Rosen, Bruce R.; Schulz, S. Charles; Calhoun, Vince D.; Andreasen, Nancy C.

2013-01-01

Expertly collected, well-curated data sets consisting of comprehensive clinical characterization and raw structural, functional and diffusion-weighted DICOM images in schizophrenia patients and sex and age-matched controls are now accessible to the scientific community through an on-line data repository (coins.mrn.org). The Mental Illness and Neuroscience Discovery Institute, now the Mind Research Network (MRN, www.mrn.org), comprised of investigators at the University of New Mexico, the University of Minnesota, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the University of Iowa, conducted a cross-sectional study to identify quantitative neuroimaging biomarkers of schizophrenia. Data acquisition across multiple sites permitted the integration and cross-validation of clinical, cognitive, morphometric, and functional neuroimaging results gathered from unique samples of schizophrenia patients and controls using a common protocol across sites. Particular effort was made to recruit patients early in the course of their illness, at the onset of their symptoms. There is a relatively even sampling of illness duration in chronic patients. This data repository will be useful to 1) scientists who can study schizophrenia by further analysis of this cohort and/or by pooling with other data; 2) computer scientists and software algorithm developers for testing and validating novel registration, segmentation, and other analysis software; and 3) educators in the fields of neuroimaging, medical image analysis and medical imaging informatics who need exemplar data sets for courses and workshops. Sharing provides the opportunity for independent replication of already published results from this data set and novel exploration. This manuscript describes the inclusion/exclusion criteria, imaging parameters and other information that will assist those wishing to use this data repository. PMID:23760817

The MCIC collection: a shared repository of multi-modal, multi-site brain image data from a clinical investigation of schizophrenia.

PubMed

Gollub, Randy L; Shoemaker, Jody M; King, Margaret D; White, Tonya; Ehrlich, Stefan; Sponheim, Scott R; Clark, Vincent P; Turner, Jessica A; Mueller, Bryon A; Magnotta, Vince; O'Leary, Daniel; Ho, Beng C; Brauns, Stefan; Manoach, Dara S; Seidman, Larry; Bustillo, Juan R; Lauriello, John; Bockholt, Jeremy; Lim, Kelvin O; Rosen, Bruce R; Schulz, S Charles; Calhoun, Vince D; Andreasen, Nancy C

2013-07-01

Expertly collected, well-curated data sets consisting of comprehensive clinical characterization and raw structural, functional and diffusion-weighted DICOM images in schizophrenia patients and sex and age-matched controls are now accessible to the scientific community through an on-line data repository (coins.mrn.org). The Mental Illness and Neuroscience Discovery Institute, now the Mind Research Network (MRN, http://www.mrn.org/ ), comprised of investigators at the University of New Mexico, the University of Minnesota, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the University of Iowa, conducted a cross-sectional study to identify quantitative neuroimaging biomarkers of schizophrenia. Data acquisition across multiple sites permitted the integration and cross-validation of clinical, cognitive, morphometric, and functional neuroimaging results gathered from unique samples of schizophrenia patients and controls using a common protocol across sites. Particular effort was made to recruit patients early in the course of their illness, at the onset of their symptoms. There is a relatively even sampling of illness duration in chronic patients. This data repository will be useful to 1) scientists who can study schizophrenia by further analysis of this cohort and/or by pooling with other data; 2) computer scientists and software algorithm developers for testing and validating novel registration, segmentation, and other analysis software; and 3) educators in the fields of neuroimaging, medical image analysis and medical imaging informatics who need exemplar data sets for courses and workshops. Sharing provides the opportunity for independent replication of already published results from this data set and novel exploration. This manuscript describes the inclusion/exclusion criteria, imaging parameters and other information that will assist those wishing to use this data repository.

Probabilistic estimation of long-term volcanic hazard under evolving tectonic conditions in a 1 Ma timeframe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaquet, O.; Lantuéjoul, C.; Goto, J.

2017-10-01

Risk assessments in relation to the siting of potential deep geological repositories for radioactive wastes demand the estimation of long-term tectonic hazards such as volcanicity and rock deformation. Owing to their tectonic situation, such evaluations concern many industrial regions around the world. For sites near volcanically active regions, a prevailing source of uncertainty is related to volcanic hazard. For specific situations, in particular in relation to geological repository siting, the requirements for the assessment of volcanic and tectonic hazards have to be expanded to 1 million years. At such time scales, tectonic changes are likely to influence volcanic hazard and therefore a particular stochastic model needs to be developed for the estimation of volcanic hazard. The concepts and theoretical basis of the proposed model are given and a methodological illustration is provided using data from the Tohoku region of Japan.

Restoration of areas disturbed by site studies for a mined commercial radioactive waste repository: The Basalt Waste Isolation Project (BWIP)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brandt, C.A.; Rickard, W.H. Jr.; Biehert, R.W.

1989-01-01

The Basalt Waste Isolation Project (BWIP) was undertaken to environmentally characterize a portion of the US Department of Energy's Hanford Site in Washington State as a potential host for the nation's first mined commercial nuclear waste repository. Studies were terminated by Congress in 1987. Between 1976 and 1987, 72 areas located across the Hanford Site were disturbed by the BWIP. These areas include borehole pads, a large Exploratory Shaft Facility, and the Near Surface Test Facility. Most boreholes were cleared of vegetation, leveled, and stabilized with a thick layer of compacted pit-run gravel and sand. The Near Surface Test Facilitymore » consists of three mined adits, a rock-spoils bench, and numerous support facilities. Restoration began in 1988 with the objective of returning sites to pre-existing conditions using native species. The Hanford Site retains some of the last remnants of the shrub-steppe ecosystem in Washington. The primary constraints to restoring native vegetation at Hanford are low precipitation and the presence of cheatgrass, an extremely capable alien competitor. 5 figs.« less

Trustworthy Digital Repositories: Building Trust the Old Fashion Way, EARNING IT.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kinkade, D.; Chandler, C. L.; Shepherd, A.; Rauch, S.; Groman, R. C.; Wiebe, P. H.; Glover, D. M.; Allison, M. D.; Copley, N. J.; Ake, H.; York, A.

2016-12-01

There are several drivers increasing the importance of high quality data management and curation in today's research process (e.g., OSTP PARR memo, journal publishers, funders, academic and private institutions), and proper management is necessary throughout the data lifecycle to enable reuse and reproducibility of results. Many digital data repositories are capable of satisfying the basic management needs of an investigator looking to share their data (i.e., publish data in the public domain), but repository services vary greatly and not all provide mature services that facilitate discovery, access, and reuse of research data. Domain-specific repositories play a vital role in the data curation process by working closely with investigators to create robust metadata, perform first order QC, and assemble and publish research data. In addition, they may employ technologies and services that enable increased discovery, access, and long-term archive. However, smaller domain facilities operate in varying states of capacity and curation ability. Within this repository environment, individual investigators (driven by publishers, funders, or institutions) need to find trustworthy repositories for their data; and funders need to direct investigators to quality repositories to ensure return on their investment. So, how can one determine the best home for valuable research data? Metrics can be applied to varying aspects of data curation, and many credentialing organizations offer services that assess and certify the trustworthiness of a given data management facility. Unfortunately, many of these certifications can be inaccessible to a small repository in cost, time, or scope. Are there alternatives? This presentation will discuss methods and approaches used by the Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO; a domain-specific, intermediate digital data repository) to demonstrate trustworthiness in the face of a daunting accreditation landscape.

Intramolecular deactivation processes of electronically excited Lanthanide(III) complexes with organic acids of low molecular weight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burek, Katja; Eidner, Sascha; Kuke, Stefanie; Kumke, Michael U.

2018-02-01

The luminescence of Lanthanide(III) complexes with different model ligands was studied under direct as well as sensitized excitation conditions. The research was performed in the context of studies dealing with deep-underground storages for high-level nuclear waste. Here, Lanthanide(III) ions served as natural analogues for Actinide(III) ions and the low-molecular weight organic ligands are present in clay minerals and furthermore, they were employed as proxies for building blocks of humic substances, which are important complexing molecules in the natural environment, e.g., in the far field of a repository site. Time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy was applied for a detailed characterization of Eu(III), Tb(III), Sm(III) and Dy(III) complexes in aqueous solutions. Based on the observed luminescence the ligands were tentatively divided into two groups (A, B). The luminescence of Lanthanide(III) complexes of group A was mainly influenced by an energy transfer to OH-vibrations. Lanthanide(III) complexes of group B showed ligand-related luminescence quenching, which was further investigated. To gain more information on the underlying quenching processes of group A and B ligands, measurements at different temperatures (77 K ≤ T ≤ 353 K) were performed and activation energies were determined based on an Arrhenius analysis. Moreover, the influence of the ionic strength between 0 M ≤ I ≤ 4 M on the Lanthanide(III) luminescence was monitored for different complexes, in order to evaluate the influence of specific conditions encountered in host rocks foreseen as potential repository sites.

Shales and other argillaceous strata in the United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gonzales, S.; Johnson, K.S.

This report presents detailed geologic and hydrologic data that describe shales and other argillaceous rocks; data are from the open literature. These data are intended to be used in the future to aid in assessment of various strata and their potential for repository siting. No observations, conclusions, or recommendations are made by the authors of this report relative to the suitability of various argillaceous rocks for waste disposal. There are, however, other published reports that contain technical data and evaluative statements regarding the suitability of various argillaceous rocks for repository siting. Where appropriate, the authors of this report have referencedmore » this previously published literature and have summarized the technical data. 838 refs., 121 figs., 6 tabs.« less

The microbiology of the Maqarin site, Jordan -- A natural analogue for cementitious radioactive waste repositories

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

West, J.M.; Coombs, P.; Gardner, S.J.

1995-12-31

The Maqarin site, Jordan is being studied as a natural analogue of a cementitious radioactive waste repository. The microbiology has been studied and diverse microbial populations capable of tolerating alkaline pH were detected at all sampling localities. Dissolved organic carbon was identified as the potentially most important reductant with sulfate identified as the main oxidant, both supply energy for microbial life. Calculations on upper limits of microbial numbers were made with a microbiology code (MGSE) using existing information but the results are overestimates when compared with field observations. This indicates that the model is very conservative and that more informationmore » on, for example, carbon sources is required.« less

Radioactive waste isolation in salt: special advisory report on the status of the Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation's plans for repository performance assessment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ditmars, J.D.; Walbridge, E.W.; Rote, D.M.

1983-10-01

Repository performance assessment is analysis that identifies events and processes that might affect a repository system for isolation of radioactive waste, examines their effects on barriers to waste migration, and estimates the probabilities of their occurrence and their consequences. In 1983 Battelle Memorial Institute's Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation (ONWI) prepared two plans - one for performance assessment for a waste repository in salt and one for verification and validation of performance assessment technology. At the request of the US Department of Energy's Salt Repository Project Office (SRPO), Argonne National Laboratory reviewed those plans and prepared this report to advisemore » SRPO of specific areas where ONWI's plans for performance assessment might be improved. This report presents a framework for repository performance assessment that clearly identifies the relationships among the disposal problems, the processes underlying the problems, the tools for assessment (computer codes), and the data. In particular, the relationships among important processes and 26 model codes available to ONWI are indicated. A common suggestion for computer code verification and validation is the need for specific and unambiguous documentation of the results of performance assessment activities. A major portion of this report consists of status summaries of 27 model codes indicated as potentially useful by ONWI. The code summaries focus on three main areas: (1) the code's purpose, capabilities, and limitations; (2) status of the elements of documentation and review essential for code verification and validation; and (3) proposed application of the code for performance assessment of salt repository systems. 15 references, 6 figures, 4 tables.« less

Research on Geo-information Data Model for Preselected Areas of Geological Disposal of High-level Radioactive Waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, M.; Huang, S. T.; Wang, P.; Zhao, Y. A.; Wang, H. B.

2016-11-01

The geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste (hereinafter referred to "geological disposal") is a long-term, complex, and systematic scientific project, whose data and information resources in the research and development ((hereinafter referred to ”R&D”) process provide the significant support for R&D of geological disposal system, and lay a foundation for the long-term stability and safety assessment of repository site. However, the data related to the research and engineering in the sitting of the geological disposal repositories is more complicated (including multi-source, multi-dimension and changeable), the requirements for the data accuracy and comprehensive application has become much higher than before, which lead to the fact that the data model design of geo-information database for the disposal repository are facing more serious challenges. In the essay, data resources of the pre-selected areas of the repository has been comprehensive controlled and systematic analyzed. According to deeply understanding of the application requirements, the research work has made a solution for the key technical problems including reasonable classification system of multi-source data entity, complex logic relations and effective physical storage structures. The new solution has broken through data classification and conventional spatial data the organization model applied in the traditional industry, realized the data organization and integration with the unit of data entities and spatial relationship, which were independent, holonomic and with application significant features in HLW geological disposal. The reasonable, feasible and flexible data conceptual models, logical models and physical models have been established so as to ensure the effective integration and facilitate application development of multi-source data in pre-selected areas for geological disposal.

Use of a Knowledge Management System in Waste Management Projects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gruendler, D.; Boetsch, W.U.; Holzhauer, U.

2006-07-01

In Germany the knowledge management system 'WasteInfo' about waste management and disposal issues has been developed and implemented. Beneficiaries of 'WasteInfo' are official decision makers having access to a large information pool. The information pool is fed by experts, so called authors This means compiling of information, evaluation and assigning of appropriate properties (metadata) to this information. The knowledge management system 'WasteInfo' has been introduced at the WM04, the operation of 'WasteInfo' at the WM05. The recent contribution describes the additional advantage of the KMS being used as a tool for the dealing with waste management projects. This specific aspectmore » will be demonstrated using a project concerning a comparative analysis of the implementation of repositories in six countries using nuclear power as examples: The information of 'WasteInfo' is assigned to categories and structured according to its origin and type of publication. To use 'WasteInfo' as a tool for the processing the projects, a suitable set of categories has to be developed for each project. Apart from technical and scientific aspects, the selected project deals with repository strategies and policies in various countries, with the roles of applicants and authorities in licensing procedures, with safety philosophy and with socio-economic concerns. This new point of view has to be modelled in the categories. Similar to this, new sources of information such as local and regional dailies or particular web-sites have to be taken into consideration. In this way 'WasteInfo' represents an open document which reflects the current status of the respective repository policy in several countries. Information with particular meaning for the German repository planning is marked and by this may influence the German strategy. (authors)« less

A Report to Congress on Long-Term Stewardship. Volume II, Site Summaries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None, None

2001-01-01

During World War II and the Cold War, the Federal government developed and operated a vast network of industrial facilities for the research, production, and testing of nuclear weapons, as well as for other scientific and engineering research. These processes left a legacy of radioactive and chemical waste, environmental contamination, and hazardous facilities and materials at well over a 100 sites in 30 States and one U.S. Territory. Hundreds of thousand of acres of residually contaminated soils, contaminated groundwater, surface water and sediment contamination, and contaminated buildings are present at many sites across the country. These sites range in sizemore » from less than one acre, containing only a single facility, to large sites spanning over 100,000 acres with huge uranium enrichment plants and plutonium processing canyons. Since 1989, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Environmental Management (EM) program has made significant progress in addressing this environmental legacy. Millions of cubic meters of waste have been removed, stabilized, or disposed of, resulting in significant risk and cost reduction. In addition, DOE began disposing of transuranic (i.e., plutonium-contaminated) waste in the nation’s first deep geologic repository – the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. DOE is now carrying out its long-term stewardship obligations at dozens of sites, including smaller sites where DOE has completed cleanup work for the entire site and many larger sites where DOE has remediated portions of the site.« less

Getting Beyond Yucca Mountain - 12305

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Halstead, Robert J.; Williams, James M.

2012-07-01

The U.S. Department of Energy has terminated the Yucca Mountain repository project. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has indefinitely suspended the Yucca Mountain licensing proceeding. The presidentially-appointed Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) on America's Nuclear Future is preparing a report, due in January 2012, to the Secretary of Energy on recommendations for a new national nuclear waste management and disposal program. The BRC Draft Report published in July 2011 provides a compelling critique of the past three decades failed efforts in the United States to site storage and disposal facilities for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). However,more » the BRC Draft Report fails to provide detailed guidance on how to implement an alternative, successful approach to facility site selection. The comments submitted to the BRC by the State of Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects provide useful details on how the US national nuclear waste program can get beyond the failed Yucca Mountain repository project. A detailed siting process, consisting of legislative elements, procedural elements, and 'rules' for volunteer sites, could meet the objectives of the BRC and the Western Governors Association (WGA), while promoting and protecting the interests of potential host states. The recent termination of the proposed Yucca Mountain repository provides both an opportunity and a need to re-examine the United States' nuclear waste management program. The BRC Draft Report published in July 2011 provides a compelling critique of the past three decades failed efforts in the United States to site storage and disposal facilities for SNF and HLW. It is anticipated that the BRC Final report in January 2012 will recommend a new general course of action, but there will likely continue to be a need for detailed guidance on how to implement an alternative, successful approach to facility site selection. Getting the nation's nuclear waste program back on track requires, among other things, new principles for siting-principles based on partnership between the federal implementing agency and prospective host states. These principles apply to the task of developing an integrated waste management strategy, to interactions between the federal government and prospective host states for consolidated storage and disposal facilities, and to the logistically and politically complicated task of transportation system design. Lessons from the past 25 years, in combination with fundamental parameters of the nuclear waste management task in the US, suggest new principles for partnership outlined in this paper. These principles will work better if well-grounded and firm guidelines are set out beforehand and if the challenge of maintaining competence, transparency and integrity in the new organization is treated as a problem to be addressed rather than a result to be expected. (authors)« less

Basic repository source term and data sheet report: Lavender Canyon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1988-01-01

This report is one of a series describing studies undertaken in support of the US Department of Energy Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (CRWM) Program. This study contains the derivation of values for environmental source terms and resources consumed for a CRWM repository. Estimates include heavy construction equipment; support equipment; shaft-sinking equipment; transportation equipment; and consumption of fuel, water, electricity, and natural gas. Data are presented for construction and operation at an assumed site in Lavender Canyon, Utah. 3 refs; 6 tabs.

Overview of actinide chemistry in the WIPP

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Borkowski, Marian; Lucchini, Jean - Francois; Richmann, Michael K

2009-01-01

The year 2009 celebrates 10 years of safe operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the only nuclear waste repository designated to dispose defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste in the United States. Many elements contributed to the success of this one-of-the-kind facility. One of the most important of these is the chemistry of the actinides under WIPP repository conditions. A reliable understanding of the potential release of actinides from the site to the accessible environment is important to the WIPP performance assessment (PA). The environmental chemistry of the major actinides disposed at the WIPP continues to be investigated as partmore » of the ongoing recertification efforts of the WIPP project. This presentation provides an overview of the actinide chemistry for the WIPP repository conditions. The WIPP is a salt-based repository; therefore, the inflow of brine into the repository is minimized, due to the natural tendency of excavated salt to re-seal. Reducing anoxic conditions are expected in WIPP because of microbial activity and metal corrosion processes that consume the oxygen initially present. Should brine be introduced through an intrusion scenario, these same processes will re-establish reducing conditions. In the case of an intrusion scenario involving brine, the solubilization of actinides in brine is considered as a potential source of release to the accessible environment. The following key factors establish the concentrations of dissolved actinides under subsurface conditions: (1) Redox chemistry - The solubility of reduced actinides (III and IV oxidation states) is known to be significantly lower than the oxidized forms (V and/or VI oxidation states). In this context, the reducing conditions in the WIPP and the strong coupling of the chemistry for reduced metals and microbiological processes with actinides are important. (2) Complexation - For the anoxic, reducing and mildly basic brine systems in the WIPP, the most important inorganic complexants are expected to be carbonate/bicarbonate and hydroxide. There are also organic complexants in TRU waste with the potential to strongly influence actinide solubility. (3) Intrinsic and pseudo-actinide colloid formation - Many actinide species in their expected oxidation states tend to form colloids or strongly associate with non actinide colloids present (e.g., microbial, humic and organic). In this context, the relative importance of actinides, based on the TRU waste inventory, with respect to the potential release of actinides from the WIPP, is greater for plutonium and americium, and to less extent for uranium and thorium. The most important oxidation states for WIPP-relevant conditions are III and IV. We will present an update of the literature on WIPP-specific data, and a summary of the ongoing research related to actinide chemistry in the WIPP performed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Actinide Chemistry and Repository Science (ACRSP) team located in Carlsbad, NM [Reed 2007, Lucchini 2007, and Reed 2006].« less

SINGLE HEATER TEST FINAL REPORT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

J.B. Cho

The Single Heater Test is the first of the in-situ thermal tests conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of its program of characterizing Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the potential site for a proposed deep geologic repository for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste. The Site Characterization Plan (DOE 1988) contained an extensive plan of in-situ thermal tests aimed at understanding specific aspects of the response of the local rock-mass around the potential repository to the heat from the radioactive decay of the emplaced waste. With the refocusing of the Site Characterization Planmore » by the ''Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program Plan'' (DOE 1994), a consolidated thermal testing program emerged by 1995 as documented in the reports ''In-Situ Thermal Testing Program Strategy'' (DOE 1995) and ''Updated In-Situ Thermal Testing Program Strategy'' (CRWMS M&O 1997a). The concept of the Single Heater Test took shape in the summer of 1995 and detailed planning and design of the test started with the beginning fiscal year 1996. The overall objective of the Single Heater Test was to gain an understanding of the coupled thermal, mechanical, hydrological, and chemical processes that are anticipated to occur in the local rock-mass in the potential repository as a result of heat from radioactive decay of the emplaced waste. This included making a priori predictions of the test results using existing models and subsequently refining or modifying the models, on the basis of comparative and interpretive analyses of the measurements and predictions. A second, no less important, objective was to try out, in a full-scale field setting, the various instruments and equipment to be employed in the future on a much larger, more complex, thermal test of longer duration, such as the Drift Scale Test. This ''shake down'' or trial aspect of the Single Heater Test applied not just to the hardware, but also to the teamwork and cooperation between multiple organizations performing their part in the test.« less

AN OPEN-SOURCE COMMUNITY WEB SITE TO SUPPORT GROUND-WATER MODEL TESTING

EPA Science Inventory

A community wiki wiki web site has been created as a resource to support ground-water model development and testing. The Groundwater Gourmet wiki is a repository for user supplied analytical and numerical recipes, how-to's, and examples. Members are encouraged to submit analyti...

Characterization of Discharge Areas of Radionuclides Originating From Nuclear Waste Repositories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marklund, L.; Xu, S.; Worman, A.

2009-05-01

If leakages in nuclear waste repositories located in crystalline bedrock arise, radionuclides will reach the biosphere and cause a risk of radiological impact. The extent of the radiological impact depends on in which landscape elements the radionuclides emerge. In this study, we investigate if there are certain landscape elements that generally will act as discharge areas for radionuclides leaking from subsurface deposits. We also characterize the typical properties that distinguish these areas from others. In humid regions, landscape topography is the most important driving force for groundwater flow. Because groundwater is the main transporting agent for migrating radionuclides, the topography will determine the flowpaths of leaking radionuclides. How topography and heterogeneities in the subsurface affect the discharge distribution of the radionuclides is therefore an important scope of this study. To address these issues, we developed a 3-D transport model. Our analyses are based on site-specific data from two different areas in Sweden, Forsmark, Uppland, and Oskarshamn, Småland. The Swedish Nuclear Waste Management Company (SKB) has selected these two areas as candidate areas for a deep repository of nuclear waste and the areas are currently subject to site investigations. Our results suggest that there are hot-spots in the landscape i.e. areas with high probability of receiving large amounts of radionuclides from a leaking repository of nuclear waste. The hot-spots concentrate in the sea, streams, lakes and wetlands. All these elements are found at lower elevations in the landscape. This pattern is mostly determined by the landscape topography and the locations of fracture zones. There is a relationship between fracture zones and topography, and therefore the importance of the topography for the discharge area distribution is not contradicted by the heterogeneity in the bedrock. The varieties of landscape elements which have potential for receiving significant amounts of radionuclides are limited. To limit the radiological dose assessment, analyses should be focused to and more detailed in such landscape areas in which doses are expected to be high. Due to the similarities among deep groundwater discharge areas, one can make site-specific analyses of those areas, which have a broad applicability for migration of radionuclides originating from a nuclear waste repository.

The ANSS Station Information System: A Centralized Station Metadata Repository for Populating, Managing and Distributing Seismic Station Metadata

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, V. I.; Yu, E.; Acharya, P.; Jaramillo, J.; Chowdhury, F.

2015-12-01

Maintaining and archiving accurate site metadata is critical for seismic network operations. The Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) Station Information System (SIS) is a repository of seismic network field equipment, equipment response, and other site information. Currently, there are 187 different sensor models and 114 data-logger models in SIS. SIS has a web-based user interface that allows network operators to enter information about seismic equipment and assign response parameters to it. It allows users to log entries for sites, equipment, and data streams. Users can also track when equipment is installed, updated, and/or removed from sites. When seismic equipment configurations change for a site, SIS computes the overall gain of a data channel by combining the response parameters of the underlying hardware components. Users can then distribute this metadata in standardized formats such as FDSN StationXML or dataless SEED. One powerful advantage of SIS is that existing data in the repository can be leveraged: e.g., new instruments can be assigned response parameters from the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Nominal Response Library (NRL), or from a similar instrument already in the inventory, thereby reducing the amount of time needed to determine parameters when new equipment (or models) are introduced into a network. SIS is also useful for managing field equipment that does not produce seismic data (eg power systems, telemetry devices or GPS receivers) and gives the network operator a comprehensive view of site field work. SIS allows users to generate field logs to document activities and inventory at sites. Thus, operators can also use SIS reporting capabilities to improve planning and maintenance of the network. Queries such as how many sensors of a certain model are installed or what pieces of equipment have active problem reports are just a few examples of the type of information that is available to SIS users.

Metamodeling-based approach for risk assessment and cost estimation: Application to geological carbon sequestration planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Alexander Y.; Jeong, Hoonyoung; González-Nicolás, Ana; Templeton, Thomas C.

2018-04-01

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is being evaluated globally as a geoengineering measure for significantly reducing greenhouse emission. However, long-term liability associated with potential leakage from these geologic repositories is perceived as a main barrier of entry to site operators. Risk quantification and impact assessment help CCS operators to screen candidate sites for suitability of CO2 storage. Leakage risks are highly site dependent, and a quantitative understanding and categorization of these risks can only be made possible through broad participation and deliberation of stakeholders, with the use of site-specific, process-based models as the decision basis. Online decision making, however, requires that scenarios be run in real time. In this work, a Python based, Leakage Assessment and Cost Estimation (PyLACE) web application was developed for quantifying financial risks associated with potential leakage from geologic carbon sequestration sites. PyLACE aims to assist a collaborative, analytic-deliberative decision making processes by automating metamodel creation, knowledge sharing, and online collaboration. In PyLACE, metamodeling, which is a process of developing faster-to-run surrogates of process-level models, is enabled using a special stochastic response surface method and the Gaussian process regression. Both methods allow consideration of model parameter uncertainties and the use of that information to generate confidence intervals on model outputs. Training of the metamodels is delegated to a high performance computing cluster and is orchestrated by a set of asynchronous job scheduling tools for job submission and result retrieval. As a case study, workflow and main features of PyLACE are demonstrated using a multilayer, carbon storage model.

Accelerating research through reagent repositories: the genome editing example.

PubMed

Joung, J Keith; Voytas, Daniel F; Kamens, Joanne

2015-11-20

Keith Joung, Dan Voytas and Joanne Kamens share insights into how the genome editing field was advanced by early access to biological resources and the role in this process that plasmid repositories play.

The National United States Center Data Repository: Core essential interprofessional practice & education data enabling triple aim analytics.

PubMed

Pechacek, Judith; Shanedling, Janet; Lutfiyya, May Nawal; Brandt, Barbara F; Cerra, Frank B; Delaney, Connie White

2015-01-01

Understanding the impact that interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP) might have on triple aim patient outcomes is of high interest to health care providers, educators, administrators, and policy makers. Before the work undertaken by the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education at the University of Minnesota, no standard mechanism to acquire and report outcome data related to interprofessional education and collaborative practice and its effect on triple aim outcomes existed. This article describes the development and adoption of the National Center Data Repository (NCDR) designed to capture data related to IPECP processes and outcomes to support analyses of the relationship of IPECP on the Triple Aim. The data collection methods, web-based survey design and implementation process are discussed. The implications of this informatics work to the field of IPECP and health care quality and safety include creating standardized capacity to describe interprofessional practice and measure outcomes connecting interprofessional education and collaborative practice to the triple aim within and across sites/settings, leveraging an accessible data collection process using user friendly web-based survey design to support large data scholarship and instrument testing, and establishing standardized data elements and variables that can potentially lead to enhancements to national/international information system and academic accreditation standards to further team-based, interprofessional, collaborative research in the field.

The National United States Center Data Repository: Core essential interprofessional practice & education data enabling triple aim analytics

PubMed Central

Pechacek, Judith; Shanedling, Janet; Lutfiyya, May Nawal; Brandt, Barbara F.; Cerra, Frank B.; Delaney, Connie White

2015-01-01

Abstract Understanding the impact that interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP) might have on triple aim patient outcomes is of high interest to health care providers, educators, administrators, and policy makers. Before the work undertaken by the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education at the University of Minnesota, no standard mechanism to acquire and report outcome data related to interprofessional education and collaborative practice and its effect on triple aim outcomes existed. This article describes the development and adoption of the National Center Data Repository (NCDR) designed to capture data related to IPECP processes and outcomes to support analyses of the relationship of IPECP on the Triple Aim. The data collection methods, web-based survey design and implementation process are discussed. The implications of this informatics work to the field of IPECP and health care quality and safety include creating standardized capacity to describe interprofessional practice and measure outcomes connecting interprofessional education and collaborative practice to the triple aim within and across sites/settings, leveraging an accessible data collection process using user friendly web-based survey design to support large data scholarship and instrument testing, and establishing standardized data elements and variables that can potentially lead to enhancements to national/international information system and academic accreditation standards to further team-based, interprofessional, collaborative research in the field. PMID:26652631

Dike/Drift Interactions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

E. Gaffiney

2004-11-23

This report presents and documents the model components and analyses that represent potential processes associated with propagation of a magma-filled crack (dike) migrating upward toward the surface, intersection of the dike with repository drifts, flow of magma in the drifts, and post-magma emplacement effects on repository performance. The processes that describe upward migration of a dike and magma flow down the drift are referred to as the dike intrusion submodel. The post-magma emplacement processes are referred to as the post-intrusion submodel. Collectively, these submodels are referred to as a conceptual model for dike/drift interaction. The model components and analyses ofmore » the dike/drift interaction conceptual model provide the technical basis for assessing the potential impacts of an igneous intrusion on repository performance, including those features, events, and processes (FEPs) related to dike/drift interaction (Section 6.1).« less

Audit and Certification Process for Science Data Digital Repositories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hughes, J. S.; Giaretta, D.; Ambacher, B.; Ashley, K.; Conrad, M.; Downs, R. R.; Garrett, J.; Guercio, M.; Lambert, S.; Longstreth, T.; Sawyer, D. M.; Sierman, B.; Tibbo, H.; Waltz, M.

2011-12-01

Science data digital repositories are entrusted to ensure that a science community's data are available and useful to users both today and in the future. Part of the challenge in meeting this responsibility is identifying the standards, policies and procedures required to accomplish effective data preservation. Subsequently a repository should be evaluated on whether or not they are effective in their data preservation efforts. This poster will outline the process by which digital repositories are being formally evaluated in terms of their ability to preserve the digitally encoded information with which they have been entrusted. The ISO standards on which this is based will be identified and the relationship of these standards to the Open Archive Information System (OAIS) reference model will be shown. Six test audits have been conducted with three repositories in Europe and three in the USA. Some of the major lessons learned from these test audits will be briefly described. An assessment of the possible impact of this type of audit and certification on the practice of preserving digital information will also be provided.

WASTE TREATMENT BUILDING SYSTEM DESCRIPTION DOCUMENT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

F. Habashi

2000-06-22

The Waste Treatment Building System provides the space, layout, structures, and embedded subsystems that support the processing of low-level liquid and solid radioactive waste generated within the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR). The activities conducted in the Waste Treatment Building include sorting, volume reduction, and packaging of dry waste, and collecting, processing, solidification, and packaging of liquid waste. The Waste Treatment Building System is located on the surface within the protected area of the MGR. The Waste Treatment Building System helps maintain a suitable environment for the waste processing and protects the systems within the Waste Treatment Building (WTB) from mostmore » of the natural and induced environments. The WTB also confines contaminants and provides radiological protection to personnel. In addition to the waste processing operations, the Waste Treatment Building System provides space and layout for staging of packaged waste for shipment, industrial and radiological safety systems, control and monitoring of operations, safeguards and security systems, and fire protection, ventilation and utilities systems. The Waste Treatment Building System also provides the required space and layout for maintenance activities, tool storage, and administrative facilities. The Waste Treatment Building System integrates waste processing systems within its protective structure to support the throughput rates established for the MGR. The Waste Treatment Building System also provides shielding, layout, and other design features to help limit personnel radiation exposures to levels which are as low as is reasonably achievable (ALARA). The Waste Treatment Building System interfaces with the Site Generated Radiological Waste Handling System, and with other MGR systems that support the waste processing operations. The Waste Treatment Building System interfaces with the General Site Transportation System, Site Communications System, Site Water System, MGR Site Layout, Safeguards and Security System, Site Radiological Monitoring System, Site Electrical Power System, Site Compressed Air System, and Waste Treatment Building Ventilation System.« less

Creation of Data Repositories to Advance Nursing Science.

PubMed

Perazzo, Joseph; Rodriguez, Margaret; Currie, Jackson; Salata, Robert; Webel, Allison R

2017-12-01

Data repositories are a strategy in line with precision medicine and big data initiatives, and are an efficient way to maximize data utility and form collaborative research relationships. Nurse researchers are uniquely positioned to make a valuable contribution using this strategy. The purpose of this article is to present a review of the benefits and challenges associated with developing data repositories, and to describe the process we used to develop and maintain a data repository in HIV research. Systematic planning, data collection, synthesis, and data sharing have enabled us to conduct robust cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses with more than 200 people living with HIV. Our repository building has also led to collaboration and training, both in and out of our organization. We present a pragmatic and affordable way that nurse scientists can build and maintain a data repository, helping us continue to make to our understanding of health phenomena.

Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) Application Repository Design and Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Handler, Louis M.

2013-01-01

The Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) Application Repository Design and Analysis document describes the STRS application repository for software-defined radio (SDR) applications intended to be compliant to the STRS Architecture Standard. The document provides information about the submission of artifacts to the STRS application repository, to provide information to the potential users of that information, and for the systems engineer to understand the requirements, concepts, and approach to the STRS application repository. The STRS application repository is intended to capture knowledge, documents, and other artifacts for each waveform application or other application outside of its project so that when the project ends, the knowledge is retained. The document describes the transmission of technology from mission to mission capturing lessons learned that are used for continuous improvement across projects and supporting NASA Procedural Requirements (NPRs) for performing software engineering projects and NASAs release process.

Big data sharing and analysis to advance research in post-traumatic epilepsy.

PubMed

Duncan, Dominique; Vespa, Paul; Pitkanen, Asla; Braimah, Adebayo; Lapinlampi, Nina; Toga, Arthur W

2018-06-01

We describe the infrastructure and functionality for a centralized preclinical and clinical data repository and analytic platform to support importing heterogeneous multi-modal data, automatically and manually linking data across modalities and sites, and searching content. We have developed and applied innovative image and electrophysiology processing methods to identify candidate biomarkers from MRI, EEG, and multi-modal data. Based on heterogeneous biomarkers, we present novel analytic tools designed to study epileptogenesis in animal model and human with the goal of tracking the probability of developing epilepsy over time. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Molecular signatures database (MSigDB) 3.0.

PubMed

Liberzon, Arthur; Subramanian, Aravind; Pinchback, Reid; Thorvaldsdóttir, Helga; Tamayo, Pablo; Mesirov, Jill P

2011-06-15

Well-annotated gene sets representing the universe of the biological processes are critical for meaningful and insightful interpretation of large-scale genomic data. The Molecular Signatures Database (MSigDB) is one of the most widely used repositories of such sets. We report the availability of a new version of the database, MSigDB 3.0, with over 6700 gene sets, a complete revision of the collection of canonical pathways and experimental signatures from publications, enhanced annotations and upgrades to the web site. MSigDB is freely available for non-commercial use at http://www.broadinstitute.org/msigdb.

Computational knowledge integration in biopharmaceutical research.

PubMed

Ficenec, David; Osborne, Mark; Pradines, Joel; Richards, Dan; Felciano, Ramon; Cho, Raymond J; Chen, Richard O; Liefeld, Ted; Owen, James; Ruttenberg, Alan; Reich, Christian; Horvath, Joseph; Clark, Tim

2003-09-01

An initiative to increase biopharmaceutical research productivity by capturing, sharing and computationally integrating proprietary scientific discoveries with public knowledge is described. This initiative involves both organisational process change and multiple interoperating software systems. The software components rely on mutually supporting integration techniques. These include a richly structured ontology, statistical analysis of experimental data against stored conclusions, natural language processing of public literature, secure document repositories with lightweight metadata, web services integration, enterprise web portals and relational databases. This approach has already begun to increase scientific productivity in our enterprise by creating an organisational memory (OM) of internal research findings, accessible on the web. Through bringing together these components it has also been possible to construct a very large and expanding repository of biological pathway information linked to this repository of findings which is extremely useful in analysis of DNA microarray data. This repository, in turn, enables our research paradigm to be shifted towards more comprehensive systems-based understandings of drug action.

Open Science CBS Neuroimaging Repository: Sharing ultra-high-field MR images of the brain.

PubMed

Tardif, Christine Lucas; Schäfer, Andreas; Trampel, Robert; Villringer, Arno; Turner, Robert; Bazin, Pierre-Louis

2016-01-01

Magnetic resonance imaging at ultra high field opens the door to quantitative brain imaging at sub-millimeter isotropic resolutions. However, novel image processing tools to analyze these new rich datasets are lacking. In this article, we introduce the Open Science CBS Neuroimaging Repository: a unique repository of high-resolution and quantitative images acquired at 7 T. The motivation for this project is to increase interest for high-resolution and quantitative imaging and stimulate the development of image processing tools developed specifically for high-field data. Our growing repository currently includes datasets from MP2RAGE and multi-echo FLASH sequences from 28 and 20 healthy subjects respectively. These datasets represent the current state-of-the-art in in-vivo relaxometry at 7 T, and are now fully available to the entire neuroimaging community. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Geodetic Seamless Archive Centers Service Layer: A System Architecture for Federating Geodesy Data Repositories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McWhirter, J.; Boler, F. M.; Bock, Y.; Jamason, P.; Squibb, M. B.; Noll, C. E.; Blewitt, G.; Kreemer, C. W.

2010-12-01

Three geodesy Archive Centers, Scripps Orbit and Permanent Array Center (SOPAC), NASA's Crustal Dynamics Data Information System (CDDIS) and UNAVCO are engaged in a joint effort to define and develop a common Web Service Application Programming Interface (API) for accessing geodetic data holdings. This effort is funded by the NASA ROSES ACCESS Program to modernize the original GPS Seamless Archive Centers (GSAC) technology which was developed in the 1990s. A new web service interface, the GSAC-WS, is being developed to provide uniform and expanded mechanisms through which users can access our data repositories. In total, our respective archives hold tens of millions of files and contain a rich collection of site/station metadata. Though we serve similar user communities, we currently provide a range of different access methods, query services and metadata formats. This leads to a lack of consistency in the userís experience and a duplication of engineering efforts. The GSAC-WS API and its reference implementation in an underlying Java-based GSAC Service Layer (GSL) supports metadata and data queries into site/station oriented data archives. The general nature of this API makes it applicable to a broad range of data systems. The overall goals of this project include providing consistent and rich query interfaces for end users and client programs, the development of enabling technology to facilitate third party repositories in developing these web service capabilities and to enable the ability to perform data queries across a collection of federated GSAC-WS enabled repositories. A fundamental challenge faced in this project is to provide a common suite of query services across a heterogeneous collection of data yet enabling each repository to expose their specific metadata holdings. To address this challenge we are developing a "capabilities" based service where a repository can describe its specific query and metadata capabilities. Furthermore, the architecture of the GSL is based on a model-view paradigm that decouples the underlying data model semantics from particular representations of the data model. This will allow for the GSAC-WS enabled repositories to evolve their service offerings to incorporate new metadata definition formats (e.g., ISO-19115, FGDC, JSON, etc.) and new techniques for accessing their holdings. Building on the core GSAC-WS implementations the project is also developing a federated/distributed query service. This service will seamlessly integrate with the GSAC Service Layer and will support data and metadata queries across a collection of federated GSAC repositories.

End of FY10 report - used fuel disposition technical bases and lessons learned : legal and regulatory framework for high-level waste disposition in the United States.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weiner, Ruth F.; Blink, James A.; Rechard, Robert Paul

This report examines the current policy, legal, and regulatory framework pertaining to used nuclear fuel and high level waste management in the United States. The goal is to identify potential changes that if made could add flexibility and possibly improve the chances of successfully implementing technical aspects of a nuclear waste policy. Experience suggests that the regulatory framework should be established prior to initiating future repository development. Concerning specifics of the regulatory framework, reasonable expectation as the standard of proof was successfully implemented and could be retained in the future; yet, the current classification system for radioactive waste, including hazardousmore » constituents, warrants reexamination. Whether or not consideration of multiple sites are considered simultaneously in the future, inclusion of mechanisms such as deliberate use of performance assessment to manage site characterization would be wise. Because of experience gained here and abroad, diversity of geologic media is not particularly necessary as a criterion in site selection guidelines for multiple sites. Stepwise development of the repository program that includes flexibility also warrants serious consideration. Furthermore, integration of the waste management system from storage, transportation, and disposition, should be examined and would be facilitated by integration of the legal and regulatory framework. Finally, in order to enhance acceptability of future repository development, the national policy should be cognizant of those policy and technical attributes that enhance initial acceptance, and those policy and technical attributes that maintain and broaden credibility.« less

Construction of quality-assured infant feeding process of care data repositories: definition and design (Part 1).

PubMed

Garcí A-de-León-Chocano, Ricardo; Sáez, Carlos; Muñoz-Soler, Verónica; Garcí A-de-León-González, Ricardo; García-Gómez, Juan M

2015-12-01

This is the first paper of a series of two regarding the construction of data quality (DQ) assured repositories for the reuse of information on infant feeding from birth until two years old. This first paper justifies the need for such repositories and describes the design of a process to construct them from Electronic Health Records (EHR). As a result, Part 1 proposes a computational process to obtain quality-assured datasets represented by a canonical structure extracted from raw data from multiple EHR. For this, 13 steps were defined to ensure the harmonization, standardization, completion, de-duplication, and consistency of the dataset content. Moreover, the quality of the input and output data for each of these steps is controlled according to eight DQ dimensions: predictive value, correctness, duplication, consistency, completeness, contextualization, temporal-stability and spatial-stability. The second paper of the series will describe the application of this computational process to construct the first quality-assured repository for the reuse of information on infant feeding in the perinatal period aimed at the monitoring of clinical activities and research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds as Indicators of Change in a Deep Arid Unsaturated Zone, Amargosa Desert, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, C. T.; Baker, R. J.; Luo, W.; Andraski, B. J.; Haase, K.; Stonestrom, D. A.

2016-12-01

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (bVOCs) are important agents in atmospheric chemistry, climatic forcing, plant physiology, and ecologic signaling. Despite a marked increase in scientific attention to bVOCs since the 1990s, relatively little is known about bVOC dynamics in soils and virtually nothing is known about bVOCs in deep unsaturated zones. The goal of this study was to systematically explore subsurface bVOCs through characterization and analysis of deep unsaturated zone VOCs in an arid setting. A wide range of VOCs have been sampled from the unsaturated zone at the Amargosa Desert Research Site (ADRS) at least annually for over a decade in the vicinity of a hazardous waste repository in southwestern Nevada. Grid- and transect-based soil gas samples were collected at shallow (0.5-m and 1.5-m) depths, and vertical arrays of samples were collected from three unsaturated zone boreholes ( 10m intervals from 0 to 110 m below ground surface), one of which is in an undisturbed area 3000 m from the waste repository. The VOC data were analyzed to identify bVOCs and processes related to bVOC transport in the deep unsaturated zone. Locally generated bVOCs were identified on the basis of (1) frequency of detections at the remote borehole location, (2) patterns of distribution in shallow unsaturated zone samples around the waste repository, (3) comparisons with atmospheric concentrations, and (4) comparisons with travel blank samples. Several dozen compounds met the criteria to be characterized as bVOCs. The relatively abundant compound m,p-xylene was selected as a tracer for subsequent modeling analysis of vertical and horizontal transport processes in the unsaturated zone. Targeted processes comprised (1) changes in vertical bVOC profiles as a result of ecological shifts, and (2) predominantly horizontal transport of unsaturated-zone gases following installation of the low level nuclear waste repository at the ADRS. To the best of our knowledge the results document, for the first time, the presence of a substantial reservoir of bVOCs in the deep unsaturated zone of a desert ecosystem and demonstrate that such reservoirs can serve as potential windows into past ecological changes and unsaturated zone disturbances.

Coupling Effects of Heat and Moisture on the Saturation Processes of Buffer Material in a Deep Geological Repository

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Wei-Hsing

2017-04-01

Clay barrier plays a major role for the isolation of radioactive wastes in a underground repository. This paper investigates the resaturation behavior of clay barrier, with emphasis on the coupling effects of heat and moisture of buffer material in the near-field of a repository during groundwater intrusion processes. A locally available clay named "Zhisin clay" and a standard bentotine material were adopted in the laboratory program. Water uptake tests were conducted on clay specimens compacted at various densities to simulate the intrusion of groundwater into the buffer material. Soil suction of clay specimens was measured by psychrometers embedded in clay specimens and by vapor equilibrium technique conducted at varying temperatures. Using the soil water characteristic curve, an integration scheme was introduced to estimate the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated clay. The finite element program ABAQUS was then employed to carry out the numerical simulation of the saturation process in the near field of a repository. Results of the numerical simulation were validated using the degree of saturation profile obtained from the water uptake tests on Zhisin clay. The numerical scheme was then extended to establish a model simulating the resaturation process after the closure of a repository. It was found that, due to the variation in suction and thermal conductivity with temperature of clay barrier material, the calculated temperature field shows a reduction as a result of incorporating the hydro-properties in the calculations.

High Integrity Can Design Interfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shaber, E.L.

1998-08-01

The National Spent Nuclear Fuel Program is chartered with facilitating the disposition of DOE-owned spent nuclear fuel to allow disposal at a geologic repository. This is done through coordination with the repository program and by assisting DOE Site owners of SNF with needed information, standardized requirements, packaging approaches, etc. The High Integrity Can (HIC) will be manufactured to provide a substitute or barrier enhancement for normal fuel geometry and cladding. The can would be nested inside the DOE standardized canister which is designed to interface with the repository waste package. The HIC approach may provide the following benefits over typicalmore » canning approaches for DOE SNF. (a) It allows ready calculation and management of criticality issues for miscellaneous. (b) It segments and further isolates damaged or otherwise problem materials from normal SNF in the repository package. (c) It provides a very long term corrosion barrier. (d) It provides an extra internal pressure barrier for particulates, gaseous fission products, hydrogen, and water vapor. (e) It delays any potential release of fission products to the repository environment. (f) It maintains an additional level of fuel geometry control during design basis accidents, rock-fall, and seismic events. (g) When seal welded, it could provide the additional containment required for shipments involving plutonium content in excess of 20 Ci. (10 CFR 71.63.b) if integrated with an appropriate cask design. Long term corrosion protection is central to the HIC concept. The material selected for the HIC (Hastelloy C-22) has undergone extensive testing for repository service. The most severe theoretical interactions between iron, repository water containing chlorides and other repository construction materials have been tested. These expected chemical species have not been shown capable of corroding the selected HIC material. Therefore, the HIC should provide a significant barrier to DOE SNF dispersal long after most commercial SNF has degraded and begun moving into the repository environment.« less

Illitization within bentonite engineered barrier system in clay repositories for nuclear waste and its effect on the swelling stress: a coupled THMC modeling study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, L.; Rutqvist, J.; Birkholzer, J. T.; Liu, H. H.

2014-12-01

Geological repositories for disposal of high-level nuclear waste generally rely on a multi-barrier system to isolate radioactive waste from the biosphere. An engineered barrier system (EBS), which comprises in many design concepts a bentonite backfill, is widely used. Clay formations have been considered as a host rock throughout the world. Illitization, the transformation of smectite to illite, could compromise some beneficiary features of EBS bentonite and clay host rock such as sorption and swelling capacity. It is the major determining factor to establish the maximum design temperature of the repositories because it is believed that illitization could be greatly enhanced at temperatures higher than 100 oC. However, existing experimental and modeling studies on the occurrence of illitization and related performance impacts are not conclusive, in part because the relevant couplings between the thermal, hydrological, chemical, and mechanical (THMC) processes have not been fully represented in the models. Here we present a fully coupled THMC simulation study of a generic nuclear waste repository in a clay formation with a bentonite-backfilled EBS. Two scenarios were simulated for comparison: a case in which the temperature in the bentonite near the waste canister can reach about 200 oC and a case in which the temperature in the bentonite near the waste canister peaks at about 100 oC. The model simulations demonstrate that illitization is in general more significant under higher temperature. However, the quantity of illitization is affected by many chemical factors and therefore varies a great deal. The most important chemical factors are the concentration of K in the pore water as well as the abundance and dissolution rate of K-feldspar. For the particular case and bentonite properties studied, the reduction in swelling stress as a result of chemical changes vary from 2% up to 70% depending on chemical and temperature conditions, and key mechanical parameters. The modeling work is illustrative in light of the relative importance of different processes occurring in EBS bentonite and clay host rock at higher than 100 oC conditions, and could be of greater use when site specific data are available.

Scaling an expert system data mart: more facilities in real-time.

PubMed

McNamee, L A; Launsby, B D; Frisse, M E; Lehmann, R; Ebker, K

1998-01-01

Clinical Data Repositories are being rapidly adopted by large healthcare organizations as a method of centralizing and unifying clinical data currently stored in diverse and isolated information systems. Once stored in a clinical data repository, healthcare organizations seek to use this centralized data to store, analyze, interpret, and influence clinical care, quality and outcomes. A recent trend in the repository field has been the adoption of data marts--specialized subsets of enterprise-wide data taken from a larger repository designed specifically to answer highly focused questions. A data mart exploits the data stored in the repository, but can use unique structures or summary statistics generated specifically for an area of study. Thus, data marts benefit from the existence of a repository, are less general than a repository, but provide more effective and efficient support for an enterprise-wide data analysis task. In previous work, we described the use of batch processing for populating data marts directly from legacy systems. In this paper, we describe an architecture that uses both primary data sources and an evolving enterprise-wide clinical data repository to create real-time data sources for a clinical data mart to support highly specialized clinical expert systems.

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-1 - Evaluation of all potentially acceptable sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...-1 Section 960.3-2-2-1 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-1 Evaluation... technical guidelines of subparts C and D, in accordance with the application requirements set forth in...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-1 - Evaluation of all potentially acceptable sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...-1 Section 960.3-2-2-1 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-1 Evaluation... technical guidelines of subparts C and D, in accordance with the application requirements set forth in...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-1 - Evaluation of all potentially acceptable sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...-1 Section 960.3-2-2-1 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-1 Evaluation... technical guidelines of subparts C and D, in accordance with the application requirements set forth in...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2-1 - Evaluation of all potentially acceptable sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...-1 Section 960.3-2-2-1 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2-1 Evaluation... technical guidelines of subparts C and D, in accordance with the application requirements set forth in...

10 CFR 960.4-2-8 - Human interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Human interference. 960.4-2-8 Section 960.4-2-8 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Postclosure Guidelines § 960.4-2-8 Human interference. The site shall be located such that...

10 CFR 960.4-2-8 - Human interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Human interference. 960.4-2-8 Section 960.4-2-8 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Postclosure Guidelines § 960.4-2-8 Human interference. The site shall be located such that...

10 CFR 960.4-2-4 - Climatic changes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Climatic changes. 960.4-2-4 Section 960.4-2-4 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Postclosure Guidelines § 960.4-2-4 Climatic changes. (a) Qualifying condition. The site shall be...

10 CFR 960.4-2-6 - Dissolution.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Dissolution. 960.4-2-6 Section 960.4-2-6 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Postclosure Guidelines § 960.4-2-6 Dissolution. (a) Qualifying condition. The site shall be...

10 CFR 960.4-2-7 - Tectonics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Tectonics. 960.4-2-7 Section 960.4-2-7 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Postclosure Guidelines § 960.4-2-7 Tectonics. (a) Qualifying condition. The site shall be located...

10 CFR 960.4-2-8 - Human interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Human interference. 960.4-2-8 Section 960.4-2-8 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Postclosure Guidelines § 960.4-2-8 Human interference. The site shall be located such that...

10 CFR 960.4-2-8 - Human interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Human interference. 960.4-2-8 Section 960.4-2-8 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Postclosure Guidelines § 960.4-2-8 Human interference. The site shall be located such that...

10 CFR 960.4-2-8 - Human interference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Human interference. 960.4-2-8 Section 960.4-2-8 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Postclosure Guidelines § 960.4-2-8 Human interference. The site shall be located such that...

Web life: ComplexityBlog.com

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2010-02-01

The site's homepage calls it "a repository of ideas and perspectives regarding the science, engineering and philosophy of complexity", and it pretty much does what it says on the tin. Part blog, part links archive, part library of modelling tips and tricks, the site is chock full of information that comes under the general heading of "complexity".

The NIH BD2K center for big data in translational genomics.

PubMed

Paten, Benedict; Diekhans, Mark; Druker, Brian J; Friend, Stephen; Guinney, Justin; Gassner, Nadine; Guttman, Mitchell; Kent, W James; Mantey, Patrick; Margolin, Adam A; Massie, Matt; Novak, Adam M; Nothaft, Frank; Pachter, Lior; Patterson, David; Smuga-Otto, Maciej; Stuart, Joshua M; Van't Veer, Laura; Wold, Barbara; Haussler, David

2015-11-01

The world's genomics data will never be stored in a single repository - rather, it will be distributed among many sites in many countries. No one site will have enough data to explain genotype to phenotype relationships in rare diseases; therefore, sites must share data. To accomplish this, the genetics community must forge common standards and protocols to make sharing and computing data among many sites a seamless activity. Through the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health, we are pioneering the development of shared application programming interfaces (APIs) to connect the world's genome repositories. In parallel, we are developing an open source software stack (ADAM) that uses these APIs. This combination will create a cohesive genome informatics ecosystem. Using containers, we are facilitating the deployment of this software in a diverse array of environments. Through benchmarking efforts and big data driver projects, we are ensuring ADAM's performance and utility. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Introduction to the hydrogeochemical investigations within the International Stripa Project

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nordstrom, D. Kirk; Olsson, T.; Carlsson, L.; Fritz, P.

1989-01-01

The International Stripa Project (1980-1990) has sponsored hydrogeochemical investigations at several subsurface drillholes in the granitic portion of an abandoned iron ore mine, central Sweden. The purpose has been to advance our understanding of geochemical processes in crystalline bedrock that may affect the safety assessment of high-level radioactive waste repositories. More than a dozen investigators have collected close to a thousand water and gas samples for chemical and isotopic analyses to develop concepts for the behavior of solutes in a granitic repository environment. The Stripa granite is highly radioactive and has provided an exceptional opportunity to study the behavior of natural radionuclides, especially subsurface production. Extensive microfracturing, low permeability with isolated fracture zones of high permeability, unusual water chemistry, and a typical granitic mineral assemblage with thin veins and fracture coatings of calcite, chlorite, seriate, epidote and quartz characterize the site. Preliminary groundwater flow modeling indicates that the mine has perturbed the flow environment to a depth of about 3 km and may have induced deep groundwaters to flow into the mine. ?? 1989.

Safe disposal of radionuclides in low-level radioactive-waste repository sites; Low-level radioactive-waste disposal workshop, U.S. Geological Survey, July 11-16, 1987, Big Bear Lake, Calif., Proceedings

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bedinger, Marion S.; Stevens, Peter R.

1990-01-01

In the United States, low-level radioactive waste is disposed by shallow-land burial. Low-level radioactive waste generated by non-Federal facilities has been buried at six commercially operated sites; low-level radioactive waste generated by Federal facilities has been buried at eight major and several minor Federally operated sites (fig. 1). Generally, low-level radioactive waste is somewhat imprecisely defined as waste that does not fit the definition of high-level radioactive waste and does not exceed 100 nCi/g in the concentration of transuranic elements. Most low-level radioactive waste generated by non-Federal facilities is generated at nuclear powerplants; the remainder is generated primarily at research laboratories, hospitals, industrial facilities, and universities. On the basis of half lives and concentrations of radionuclides in low-level radioactive waste, the hazard associated with burial of such waste generally lasts for about 500 years. Studies made at several of the commercially and Federally operated low-level radioactive-waste repository sites indicate that some of these sites have not provided containment of waste nor the expected protection of the environment.

Development of a Korean reference HLW disposal system under the Korean representative geologic conditions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Choi, Heui-Joo; Lee, Jong Youl; Choi, Jongwon

2007-07-01

The development of a Korean Reference disposal System for the spent fuels from PWR and CANDU reactors is outlined in this paper. Around 36,000 tU of spent fuels are being projected based on the lifetimes of 28 nuclear power reactors in Korea. Since the site for the geological disposal has not yet been decided, a hypothetical site with representative Korean geologic conditions is proposed for the conceptual design of the repository. The disposal rates of the spent fuels are determined according to the total operation time of 55 years. The canisters are optimized by considering natural Korean conditions, and themore » buffer is designed with domestic Ca-bentonite. The depth of the repository is determined to be 500 m below the ground's surface. The canister separation distances are determined through a thermal analysis. The main features of the repository are presented from the layout to the closure. A computer program has been developed to calculate and analyze the volume and the area of the disposal system to help in the cost analysis. The final output of the design is presented as a unit disposal cost, US $315 /kgU. (authors)« less

Current Status of the Nuclear Waste Management Programme in Finland - 13441

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lehto, Kimmo; Vuorio, Petteri

2013-07-01

Pursuant to the Decision-in-Principle of 2001 the Finnish programme for geologic disposal of spent fuel has now moved to the phase of applying for construction licence to build up the encapsulation plant and underground repository. The main objective of former programme phase, underground characterisation phase, was to confirm - or refute - the suitability of the Olkiluoto site by investigations conducted underground at the actual depth of the repository. The construction work of the access tunnel to the rock characterisation facility (ONKALO) started in the late summer of 2004. The site research and investigations work aimed at the maturity neededmore » for submission of the application for construction license of the actual repository in end of 2012. This requires, however, that also the technology has reached the maturity needed. The design and technical plans form the necessary platform for the development of the safety case for spent fuel disposal. A plan, 'road map', has been produced for the portfolio of reports that demonstrates the safety of disposal as required by the criteria set by the government and further detailed by the safety authority, STUK. (authors)« less

Stakeholder opinions on the use of the added value approach in siting radioactive waste management facilities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kojo, Matti; Richardson, Phil

In some countries nuclear waste facility siting programs include social and economic benefits, compensation, local empowerment and motivation measures and other incentives for the potential host community. This can generally be referred to as an 'added value approach'. Demonstration of the safety of a repository is seen as a precondition of an added value approach. Recently much focus has been placed on studying and developing public participation approaches but less on the use of such incentive and community benefit packages, although they are becoming a more common element in many site selection strategies for nuclear waste management facilities. The primarymore » objective of this paper is to report on an ongoing study of stakeholders' opinions of the use of an added value approach in siting a radioactive waste facility in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia. The paper argues that an added value approach should adapt to the interests and needs of stakeholders during different stages of a siting process. The main question posed in the study is as follows: What are the measures which should be included in 'added value approach' according to the stakeholders? The research data consists of stakeholders' responses to a survey focusing on the use of added value (community benefits) and incentives in siting nuclear waste management facilities. The survey involved use of a questionnaire developed as part of the EU-funded IPPA* project in three countries: the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia. (* Implementing Public Participation Approaches in Radioactive Waste Disposal, FP7 Contract Number: 269849). The target audiences for the questionnaires were the stakeholders represented in the national stakeholder groups established to discuss site selection for a nuclear waste repository in their country. A total of 105 questionnaires were sent to the stakeholders between November 2011 and January 2012. 44 questionnaires were returned, resulting in a total response rate of 41% (10/29 in the Czech Republic, 11/14 in Poland and in 23/64 in Slovenia). (authors)« less

Consolidated Storage Facilities: Camel's Nose or Shared Burden? - 13112

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Williams, James M.

2013-07-01

The Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) made a strong argument why the reformulated nuclear waste program should make prompt efforts to develop one or more consolidated storage facilities (CSFs), and recommended the amendment of NWPA Section 145(b) 2 (linking 'monitored retrievable storage' to repository development) as an essential means to that end. However, other than recommending that the siting of CSFs should be 'consent-based' and that spent nuclear fuel (SNF) at stranded sites should be first-in-line for removal, the Commission made few recommendations regarding how CSF development should proceed. Working with three other key Senators, Jeff Bingaman attempted in the 112.more » Congress to craft legislation (S. 3469) to put the BRC recommendations into legislative language. The key reason why the Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2012 did not proceed was the inability of the four senators to agree on whether and how to amend NWPA Section 145(b). A brief review of efforts to site consolidated storage since the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987 suggests a strong and consistent motivation to shift the burden to someone (anyone) else. This paper argues that modification of NWPA Section 145(b) should be accompanied by guidelines for regional development and operation of CSFs. After review of the BRC recommendations regarding CSFs, and the 'camel's nose' prospects if implementation is not accompanied by further guidelines, the paper outlines a proposal for implementation of CSFs on a regional basis, including priorities for removal from reactor sites and subsequently from CSFs to repositories. Rather than allowing repository siting to be prejudiced by the location of a single remote CSF, the regional approach limits transport for off-site acceptance and storage, increases the efficiency of removal operations, provides a useful basis for compensation to states and communities that accept CSFs, and gives states with shared circumstances a shared stake in storage and disposal in an integrated national program. (authors)« less

NaturAnalogs for the Unsaturated Zone

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

A. Simmons; A. Unger; M. Murrell

2000-03-08

The purpose of this Analysis/Model Report (AMR) is to document natural and anthropogenic (human-induced) analog sites and processes that are applicable to flow and transport processes expected to occur at the potential Yucca Mountain repository in order to build increased confidence in modeling processes of Unsaturated Zone (UZ) flow and transport. This AMR was prepared in accordance with ''AMR Development Plan for U0135, Natural Analogs for the UZ'' (CRWMS 1999a). Knowledge from analog sites and processes is used as corroborating information to test and build confidence in flow and transport models of Yucca Mountain, Nevada. This AMR supports the Unsaturatedmore » Zone (UZ) Flow and Transport Process Model Report (PMR) and the Yucca Mountain Site Description. The objectives of this AMR are to test and build confidence in the representation of UZ processes in numerical models utilized in the UZ Flow and Transport Model. This is accomplished by: (1) applying data from Boxy Canyon, Idaho in simulations of UZ flow using the same methodologies incorporated in the Yucca Mountain UZ Flow and Transport Model to assess the fracture-matrix interaction conceptual model; (2) Providing a preliminary basis for analysis of radionuclide transport at Pena Blanca, Mexico as an analog of radionuclide transport at Yucca Mountain; and (3) Synthesizing existing information from natural analog studies to provide corroborating evidence for representation of ambient and thermally coupled UZ flow and transport processes in the UZ Model.« less

Multisite Semiautomated Clinical Data Repository for Duplication 15q Syndrome: Study Protocol and Early Uses.

PubMed

Ajayi, Oluwaseun Jessica; Smith, Ebony Jeannae; Viangteeravat, Teeradache; Huang, Eunice Y; Nagisetty, Naga Satya V Rao; Urraca, Nora; Lusk, Laina; Finucane, Brenda; Arkilo, Dimitrios; Young, Jennifer; Jeste, Shafali; Thibert, Ronald; Reiter, Lawrence T

2017-10-18

Chromosome 15q11.2-q13.1 duplication syndrome (Dup15q syndrome) is a rare disorder caused by duplications of chromosome 15q11.2-q13.1, resulting in a wide range of developmental disabilities in affected individuals. The Dup15q Alliance is an organization that provides family support and promotes research to improve the quality of life of patients living with Dup15q syndrome. Because of the low prevalence of this condition, the establishment of a single research repository would have been difficult and more time consuming without collaboration across multiple institutions. The goal of this project is to establish a national deidentified database with clinical and survey information on individuals diagnosed with Dup15q syndrome. The development of a multiclinic site repository for clinical and survey data on individuals with Dup15q syndrome was initiated and supported by the Dup15q Alliance. Using collaborative workflows, communication protocols, and stakeholder engagement tools, a comprehensive database of patient-centered information was built. We successfully established a self-report populating, centralized repository for Dup15q syndrome research. This repository also resulted in the development of standardized instruments that can be used for other studies relating to developmental disorders. By standardizing the data collection instruments, it allows us integrate our data with other national databases, such as the National Database for Autism Research. A substantial portion of the data collected from the questionnaires was facilitated through direct engagement of participants and their families. This allowed for a more complete set of information to be collected with a minimal turnaround time. We developed a repository that can efficiently be mined for shared clinical phenotypes observed at multiple clinic sites and used as a springboard for future clinical and basic research studies. ©Oluwaseun Jessica Ajayi, Ebony Jeannae Smith, Teeradache Viangteeravat, Eunice Y Huang, Naga Satya V Rao Nagisetty, Nora Urraca, Laina Lusk, Brenda Finucane, Dimitrios Arkilo, Jennifer Young, Shafali Jeste, Ronald Thibert, The Dup15q Alliance, Lawrence T Reiter. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 18.10.2017.

Relative Abundances of Calcite and Silica in Fracture Coatings as a Possible Indicator of Evaporation in a Thick Unsaturated Zone, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, B. D.; Moscati, R. J.

2005-12-01

Yucca Mountain, a ridge of shallowly dipping, Miocene-age volcanic rocks in southwest Nevada, is the proposed site for a nuclear waste repository to be constructed in the 500- to 700-m-thick unsaturated zone (UZ). At the proposed repository, the 300-m-thick Topopah Spring Tuff welded unit (TSw) is overlain by approximately 30 m of nonwelded tuffs (PTn); the Tiva Canyon Tuff welded unit (TCw) overlies the PTn with a range in thickness from 0 to approximately 130 m at the site. The amount of water percolation through the UZ is low and difficult to measure directly, but local seepage into mined tunnels has been observed in the TCw. Past water seepage in the welded tuffs is recorded by widespread, thin (0.3 cm) coatings of calcite and silica on fracture surfaces and within cavities. Abundances of calcite and silica in the coatings were determined by X-ray microfluorescence mapping and subsequent multispectral image analysis of over 200 samples. The images were classified into constituent phases including opal-chalcedony-quartz (secondary silica) and calcite. In the TCw samples, the median calcite/silica ratio is 8; in the TSw samples within 35 m below the PTn, median calcite/silica falls to 2, perhaps reflecting an increase in soluble silica from the presence of glass in the nonwelded tuffs. In the deeper parts of the TSw, median calcite/silica reaches 100 and many samples contain no detectable secondary silica phase. Evaporation and changing pCO2 control precipitation of calcite from water percolating downward in the UZ, but precipitation of opal requires only evaporation. Calcite/silica ratios, therefore, can constrain the relative importance of evaporation in the UZ. Although calcite/silica values scatter widely within the TSw, reflecting the spatial variability of gas and water flow, average calcite/silica ratios increase with stratigraphic depth, indicating less evaporation at the deeper levels of the UZ. Coupled with the much smaller calcite/silica ratios observed in coatings from the TCw, these data indicate that evaporation decreases with depth in the UZ. Evaporation at the repository horizon and in the overlying units is an important process that reduces the amount of seepage at the repository horizon.

Submarine canyons along the upper Sardinian slope (Central Western Mediterranean) as repositories for derelict fishing gears.

PubMed

Cau, Alessandro; Alvito, Andrea; Moccia, Davide; Canese, Simonepietro; Pusceddu, Antonio; Rita, Cannas; Angiolillo, Michela; Follesa, Maria C

2017-10-15

By means of ROV surveys, we assessed the quantity, composition and bathymetric distribution of marine litter in 17 sites along the Sardinian continental margin (Central Western Mediterranean) at depths ranging from 100 to 480m. None of the investigated sites was litter free, but the mean density of litter (0.0175±0.0022itemsm -2 ) was lower than that reported from other Tyrrhenian regions. The difference in the total litter density among sites was negligible, but the density of derelict fishing gear (DFG) items (most of which ascribable to small scale fishery) in submarine canyons was higher in submarine canyons than in other habitats. Our result suggest that submarine canyons (known to be highly vulnerable ecosystems) act as major repositories of DFGs, and, therefore, we anticipate the need of specific measures aimed at minimizing the loss and abandonment of DFGs in submarine canyons. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermal properties of the Cobourg Limestone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pitts, Michelle

The underground storage of used nuclear fuel in Deep Geologic Repositories (DGRs) has been a subject of research in Canada for decades. One important technical aspect of repository design is the accommodation of the mechanical impacts of thermal inputs (heating) from the fuel as it goes through the remainder of its life cycle. Placement room spacing, a major factor in project cost, will be determined by the ability of the host rock to dissipate heat. The thermal conductivity and linear thermal expansion will determine the evolution of the temperature and thermally-induced stress fields. Thermal processes must be well understood to design a successful DGR. This thesis examines the thermal properties of rocks, how they are influenced by factors such as temperature, pressure, mineralogy, porosity, and saturation; and common methods for calculating and/or measuring these properties. A brief overview of thermal and thermally-coupled processes in the context of DGRs demonstrates the degree to which they would impact design, construction, and operation of these critical structures. Several case histories of major in situ heating experiments are reviewed to determine how the lessons learned could be applied to a Canadian Underground Demonstration Facility (UDF). A mineralogy investigation using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) examines samples of the Cobourg Limestone from the Bowmanville and Bruce sites, and demonstrates geographical variability within the Cobourg Formation. The thermal properties of samples from the Bowmanville site are determined. A divided bar apparatus was constructed and used to measure thermal conductivity. The temperature measurement component of the divided bar apparatus was used to measure linear thermal expansion. Finally, the past investigations into the thermal impact of a DGR are reviewed, and the implications of the laboratory testing results on similar analyses are discussed.

Voluntarism, public engagement and the role of geoscience in radioactive waste management policy-making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilham, Nic

2014-05-01

In the UK, as elsewhere in Europe, there has been a move away from previous 'technocratic' approaches to radioactive waste management (RWM). Policy-makers have recognised that for any RWM programme to succeed, sustained engagement with stakeholders and the public is necessary, and any geological repository must be constructed and operated with the willing support of the community which hosts it. This has opened up RWM policy-making and implementation to a wider range of (often contested) expert inputs, ranging across natural and social sciences, engineering and even ethics. Geoscientists and other technical specialists have found themselves drawn into debates about how various types of expertise should be prioritised, and how they should be integrated with diverse public and stakeholder perspectives. They also have a vital role to play in communicating to the public the need for geological disposal of radioactive waste, and the various aspects of geoscience which will inform the process of implementing this, from identifying potential volunteer host communities, to finding a suitable site, developing the safety case, construction of a repository, emplacement of waste, closure and subsequent monitoring. High-quality geoscience, effectively communicated, will be essential to building and maintaining public confidence throughout the many decades such projects will take. Failure to communicate effectively the relevant geoscience and its central role in the UK's radioactive waste management programme arguably contributed to West Cumbria's January 2013 decision to withdraw from the site selection process, and may discourage other communities from coming forward in future. Across countries needing to deal with their radioactive waste, this unique challenge gives an unprecedented urgency to finding ways to engage and communicate effectively with the public about geoscience.

Status of Progress Made Toward Safety Analysis and Technical Site Evaluations for DOE Managed HLW and SNF.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sevougian, S. David; Stein, Emily; Gross, Michael B

The Spent Fuel and Waste Science and Technology (SFWST) Campaign of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) is conducting research and development (R&D) on generic deep geologic disposal systems (i.e., repositories). This report describes specific activities in FY 2016 associated with the development of a Defense Waste Repository (DWR)a for the permanent disposal of a portion of the HLW and SNF derived from national defense and research and development (R&D) activities of the DOE.

A metadata-driven approach to data repository design.

PubMed

Harvey, Matthew J; McLean, Andrew; Rzepa, Henry S

2017-01-01

The design and use of a metadata-driven data repository for research data management is described. Metadata is collected automatically during the submission process whenever possible and is registered with DataCite in accordance with their current metadata schema, in exchange for a persistent digital object identifier. Two examples of data preview are illustrated, including the demonstration of a method for integration with commercial software that confers rich domain-specific data analytics without introducing customisation into the repository itself.

Construction of quality-assured infant feeding process of care data repositories: Construction of the perinatal repository (Part 2).

PubMed

García-de-León-Chocano, Ricardo; Muñoz-Soler, Verónica; Sáez, Carlos; García-de-León-González, Ricardo; García-Gómez, Juan M

2016-04-01

This is the second in a series of two papers regarding the construction of data quality (DQ) assured repositories, based on population data from Electronic Health Records (EHR), for the reuse of information on infant feeding from birth until the age of two. This second paper describes the application of the computational process of constructing the first quality-assured repository for the reuse of information on infant feeding in the perinatal period, with the aim of studying relevant questions from the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) and monitoring its deployment in our hospital. The construction of the repository was carried out using 13 semi-automated procedures to assess, recover or discard clinical data. The initial information consisted of perinatal forms from EHR related to 2048 births (Facts of Study, FoS) between 2009 and 2011, with a total of 433,308 observations of 223 variables. DQ was measured before and after the procedures using metrics related to eight quality dimensions: predictive value, correctness, duplication, consistency, completeness, contextualization, temporal-stability, and spatial-stability. Once the predictive variables were selected and DQ was assured, the final repository consisted of 1925 births, 107,529 observations and 73 quality-assured variables. The amount of discarded observations mainly corresponds to observations of non-predictive variables (52.90%) and the impact of the de-duplication process (20.58%) with respect to the total input data. Seven out of thirteen procedures achieved 100% of valid births, observations and variables. Moreover, 89% of births and ~98% of observations were consistent according to the experts׳ criteria. A multidisciplinary approach along with the quantification of DQ has allowed us to construct the first repository about infant feeding in the perinatal period based on EHR population data. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Biological Specimen Repository

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McMonigal, Kathleen A.; Pietrzyk, Robert a.; Johnson, Mary Anne

2008-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Biological Specimen Repository (Repository) is a storage bank that is used to maintain biological specimens over extended periods of time and under well-controlled conditions. Samples from the International Space Station (ISS), including blood and urine, will be collected, processed and archived during the preflight, inflight and postflight phases of ISS missions. This investigation has been developed to archive biosamples for use as a resource for future space flight related research. The International Space Station (ISS) provides a platform to investigate the effects of microgravity on human physiology prior to lunar and exploration class missions. The storage of crewmember samples from many different ISS flights in a single repository will be a valuable resource with which researchers can study space flight related changes and investigate physiological markers. The development of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Biological Specimen Repository will allow for the collection, processing, storage, maintenance, and ethical distribution of biosamples to meet goals of scientific and programmatic relevance to the space program. Archiving of the biosamples will provide future research opportunities including investigating patterns of physiological changes, analysis of components unknown at this time or analyses performed by new methodologies.

A Semantically Enabled Metadata Repository for Solar Irradiance Data Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, A.; Cox, M.; Lindholm, D. M.; Nadiadi, I.; Traver, T.

2014-12-01

The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, LASP, has been conducting research in Atmospheric and Space science for over 60 years, and providing the associated data products to the public. LASP has a long history, in particular, of making space-based measurements of the solar irradiance, which serves as crucial input to several areas of scientific research, including solar-terrestrial interactions, atmospheric, and climate. LISIRD, the LASP Interactive Solar Irradiance Data Center, serves these datasets to the public, including solar spectral irradiance (SSI) and total solar irradiance (TSI) data. The LASP extended metadata repository, LEMR, is a database of information about the datasets served by LASP, such as parameters, uncertainties, temporal and spectral ranges, current version, alerts, etc. It serves as the definitive, single source of truth for that information. The database is populated with information garnered via web forms and automated processes. Dataset owners keep the information current and verified for datasets under their purview. This information can be pulled dynamically for many purposes. Web sites such as LISIRD can include this information in web page content as it is rendered, ensuring users get current, accurate information. It can also be pulled to create metadata records in various metadata formats, such as SPASE (for heliophysics) and ISO 19115. Once these records are be made available to the appropriate registries, our data will be discoverable by users coming in via those organizations. The database is implemented as a RDF triplestore, a collection of instances of subject-object-predicate data entities identifiable with a URI. This capability coupled with SPARQL over HTTP read access enables semantic queries over the repository contents. To create the repository we leveraged VIVO, an open source semantic web application, to manage and create new ontologies and populate repository content. A variety of ontologies were used in creating the triplestore, including ontologies that came with VIVO such as FOAF. Also, the W3C DCAT ontology was integrated and extended to describe properties of our data products that we needed to capture, such as spectral range. The presentation will describe the architecture, ontology issues, and tools used to create LEMR and plans for its evolution.

SeisCode: A seismological software repository for discovery and collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trabant, C.; Reyes, C. G.; Clark, A.; Karstens, R.

2012-12-01

SeisCode is a community repository for software used in seismological and related fields. The repository is intended to increase discoverability of such software and to provide a long-term home for software projects. Other places exist where seismological software may be found, but none meet the requirements necessary for an always current, easy to search, well documented, and citable resource for projects. Organizations such as IRIS, ORFEUS, and the USGS have websites with lists of available or contributed seismological software. Since the authors themselves do often not maintain these lists, the documentation often consists of a sentence or paragraph, and the available software may be outdated. Repositories such as GoogleCode and SourceForge, which are directly maintained by the authors, provide version control and issue tracking but do not provide a unified way of locating geophysical software scattered in and among countless unrelated projects. Additionally, projects are hosted at language-specific sites such as Mathworks and PyPI, in FTP directories, and in websites strewn across the Web. Search engines are only partially effective discovery tools, as the desired software is often hidden deep within the results. SeisCode provides software authors a place to present their software, codes, scripts, tutorials, and examples to the seismological community. Authors can choose their own level of involvement. At one end of the spectrum, the author might simply create a web page that points to an existing site. At the other extreme, an author may choose to leverage the many tools provided by SeisCode, such as a source code management tool with integrated issue tracking, forums, news feeds, downloads, wikis, and more. For software development projects with multiple authors, SeisCode can also be used as a central site for collaboration. SeisCode provides the community with an easy way to discover software, while providing authors a way to build a community around their software packages. IRIS invites the seismological community to browse and to submit projects to https://seiscode.iris.washington.edu/

10 CFR 960.3-2-2 - Nomination of sites as suitable for characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

....3-2-2 Section 960.3-2-2 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2 Nomination of... shall be based on evaluations in accordance with the guidelines of this part, and the bases and relevant...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2 - Nomination of sites as suitable for characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

....3-2-2 Section 960.3-2-2 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2 Nomination of... shall be based on evaluations in accordance with the guidelines of this part, and the bases and relevant...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2 - Nomination of sites as suitable for characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

....3-2-2 Section 960.3-2-2 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2 Nomination of... shall be based on evaluations in accordance with the guidelines of this part, and the bases and relevant...

10 CFR 960.3-2-2 - Nomination of sites as suitable for characterization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

....3-2-2 Section 960.3-2-2 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3-2-2 Nomination of... shall be based on evaluations in accordance with the guidelines of this part, and the bases and relevant...

Envoicing Silent Objects: Art and Literature at the Site of the Canadian Landscape

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brock, Richard

2008-01-01

In this article, the author examines some of the ways in which art and literature converge upon the site of the Canadian landscape, generating an "ekphrastic" conception of place which reminds everyone constantly that every framed, static view of a landscape represents a story house, a repository of narratives concerning all those…

Heterogeneous redox conditions, arsenic mobility, and groundwater flow in a fractured-rock aquifer near a waste repository site in New Hampshire, USA

EPA Science Inventory

Anthropogenic sources of carbon from landfill or waste leachate can promote reductive dissolution of in situ arsenic (As) and enhance the mobility of As in groundwater. Groundwater from residential-supply wells in a fractured crystalline-rock aquifer adjacent to a Superfund site ...

Geologic and geophysical characterization studies of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, a potential high-level radioactive-waste repository

USGS Publications Warehouse

Whitney, J.W.; Keefer, W.R.

2000-01-01

In recognition of a critical national need for permanent radioactive-waste storage, Yucca Mountain in southwestern Nevada has been investigated by Federal agencies since the 1970's, as a potential geologic disposal site. In 1987, Congress selected Yucca Mountain for an expanded and more detailed site characterization effort. As an integral part of this program, the U.S. Geological Survey began a series of detailed geologic, geophysical, and related investigations designed to characterize the tectonic setting, fault behavior, and seismicity of the Yucca Mountain area. This document presents the results of 13 studies of the tectonic environment of Yucca Mountain, in support of a broad goal to assess the effects of future seismic and fault activity in the area on design, long-term performance, and safe operation of the potential surface and subsurface repository facilities.

New developments in measurements technology relevant to the studies of deep geological repositories in bedded salt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, N. H.; Ramirez, A. L.

1980-10-01

Developments in measurement technology are presented which are relevant to the studies of deep geological repositories for nuclear waste disposal during all phases of development, i.e., site selection, site characterization, construction, operation, and decommission. Emphasis was placed on geophysics and geotechnics with special attention to those techniques applicable to bedded salt. The techniques are grouped into sections as follows: tectonic environment, state of stress, subsurface structures, fractures, stress changes, deformation, thermal properties, fluid transport properties, and other approaches. Several areas that merit further research and developments are identified. These areas are: in situ thermal measurement techniques, fracture detection and characterization, in situ stress measurements, and creep behavior. The available instrumentations should generally be improved to have better resolution and accuracy, enhanced instrument survivability, and reliability for extended time periods in a hostile environment.

Developing the Tools for Geologic Repository Monitoring - Andra's Monitoring R and D Program - 12045

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Buschaert, S.; Lesoille, S.; Bertrand, J.

2012-07-01

The French Safety Guide recommends that Andra develop a monitoring program to be implemented during repository construction and conducted until (and possibly after) closure, in order to confirm expected behavior and enhance knowledge of relevant processes. To achieve this, Andra has developed an overall monitoring strategy and identified specific technical objectives to inform disposal process management on evolutions relevant to both the long term safety and reversible, pre-closure management of the repository. Andra has launched an ambitious R and D program to ensure that reliable, durable, metrologically qualified and tested monitoring systems will be available at the time of repositorymore » construction in order to respond to monitoring objectives. After four years of a specific R and D program, first observations are described and recommendations are proposed. The results derived from 4 years of Andra's R and D program allow three main observations to be shared. First, while other industries also invest in monitoring equipment, their obvious emphasis will always be on their specific requirements and needs, thus often only providing a partial match with repository requirements. Examples can be found for all available sensors, which are generally not resistant to radiation. Second, the very close scrutiny anticipated for the geologic disposal process is likely to place an unprecedented emphasis on the quality of monitoring results. It therefore seems important to emphasize specific developments with an aim at providing metrologically qualified systems. Third, adapting existing technology to specific repository needs, and providing adequate proof of their worth, is a lengthy process. In conclusion, it therefore seems prudent to plan ahead and to invest wisely in the adequate development of those monitoring tools that will likely be needed in the repository to respond to the implementers' and regulators' requirements, including those agreed and developed to respond to potential stakeholder expectations. (authors)« less

eNOSHA, a Free, Open and Flexible Learning Object Repository--An Iterative Development Process for Global User-Friendliness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mozelius, Peter; Hettiarachchi, Enosha

2012-01-01

This paper describes the iterative development process of a Learning Object Repository (LOR), named eNOSHA. Discussions on a project for a LOR started at the e-Learning Centre (eLC) at The University of Colombo, School of Computing (UCSC) in 2007. The eLC has during the last decade been developing learning content for a nationwide e-learning…

Modelling geochemical and microbial consumption of dissolved oxygen after backfilling a high level radiactive waste repository.

PubMed

Yang, Changbing; Samper, Javier; Molinero, Jorge; Bonilla, Mercedes

2007-08-15

Dissolved oxygen (DO) left in the voids of buffer and backfill materials of a deep geological high level radioactive waste (HLW) repository could cause canister corrosion. Available data from laboratory and in situ experiments indicate that microbes play a substantial role in controlling redox conditions near a HLW repository. This paper presents the application of a coupled hydro-bio-geochemical model to evaluate geochemical and microbial consumption of DO in bentonite porewater after backfilling of a HLW repository designed according to the Swedish reference concept. In addition to geochemical reactions, the model accounts for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) respiration and methane oxidation. Parameters for microbial processes were derived from calibration of the REX in situ experiment carried out at the Aspö underground laboratory. The role of geochemical and microbial processes in consuming DO is evaluated for several scenarios. Numerical results show that both geochemical and microbial processes are relevant for DO consumption. However, the time needed to consume the DO trapped in the bentonite buffer decreases dramatically from several hundreds of years when only geochemical processes are considered to a few weeks when both geochemical reactions and microbially-mediated DOC respiration and methane oxidation are taken into account simultaneously.

Final base case community analysis: Indian Springs, Nevada for the Clark County socioeconomic impact assessment of the proposed high- level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1992-06-18

This document provides a base case description of the rural Clark County community of Indian Springs in anticipation of change associated with the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. As the community closest to the proposed site, Indian Springs may be seen by site characterization workers, as well as workers associated with later repository phases, as a logical place to live. This report develops and updates information relating to a broad spectrum of socioeconomic variables, thereby providing a `snapshot` or `base case` look at Indian Springs in early 1992. With this as a background, future repository-related developments maymore » be analytically separated from changes brought about by other factors, thus allowing for the assessment of the magnitude of local changes associated with the proposed repository. Given the size of the community, changes that may be considered small in an absolute sense may have relatively large impacts at the local level. Indian Springs is, in many respects, a unique community and a community of contrasts. An unincorporated town, it is a small yet important enclave of workers on large federal projects and home to employees of small- scale businesses and services. It is a rural community, but it is also close to the urbanized Las Vega Valley. It is a desert community, but has good water resources. It is on flat terrain, but it is located within 20 miles of the tallest mountains in Nevada. It is a town in which various interest groups diverge on issues of local importance, but in a sense of community remains an important feature of life. Finally, it has a sociodemographic history of both surface transience and underlying stability. If local land becomes available, Indian Springs has some room for growth but must first consider the historical effects of growth on the town and its desired direction for the future.« less

Development of a sorption data base for the cementitious near-field of a repository for radioactive waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wieland, E.; Bradbury, M. H.; van Loon, L.

2003-01-01

The migration of radionuclides within a repository for radioactive waste is retarded due to interaction with the engineered barrier system. Sorption processes play a decisive role in the retardation of radionuclides in the repository environment, and thus, the development of sorption data bases (SDBs) is an important task and an integral part of performance assessment. The methodology applied in the development of a SDB for the cementitious near-field of a repository for long-lived intermediate-level waste is presented in this study. The development of such a SDB requires knowledge of the chemical conditions of the near-field and information on the uptake process of radionuclides by hardened cement paste. The principles upon which the selection of the “best available” laboratory sorption values is based are outlined. The influence of cellulose degradation products, cement additives and cement-derived colloids on the sorption behaviour of radionuclides is addressed in conjunction with the development of the SDB.

Monticello Mill Tailings Site, Operable Unit lll, Annual Groundwater Report, May 2015 Through April 2016

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nguyen, Jason; Smith, Fred

This report provides the annual analysis of water quality restoration progress, cumulative through April 2016, for Operable Unit (OU) III, surface water and groundwater, of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) Monticello Mill Tailings Site (MMTS). The MMTS is a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act National Priorities List site located in and near the city of Monticello, San Juan County, Utah. MMTS comprises the 110-acre site of a former uranium- and vanadium-ore-processing mill (mill site) and 1700 acres of surrounding private and municipal property. Milling operations generated 2.5 million cubic yards of wastemore » (tailings) from 1942 to 1960. The tailings were impounded at four locations on the mill site. Inorganic constituents in the tailings drained from the impoundments to contaminate local surface water (Montezuma Creek) and groundwater in the underlying alluvial aquifer. Mill tailings dispersed by wind and water also contaminated properties surrounding and downstream of the mill site. Remedial actions to remove and isolate radiologically contaminated soil, sediment, and debris from the former mill site, Operable Unit I (OU I), and surrounding properties (OU II) were completed in 1999 with the encapsulation of the wastes in an engineered repository located on DOE property 1 mile south of the former mill site. This effectively removed the primary source of groundwater contamination; however, contamination of groundwater and surface water remains within OU III at levels that exceed water quality protection standards. Uranium is the primary contaminant of concern (COC). LM implemented monitored natural attenuation with institutional controls as the OU III remedy in 2004. Because groundwater restoration proceeded more slowly than expected and did not meet performance criteria established in the OU III Record of Decision (June 2004), LM implemented a contingency action in 2009 by an Explanation of Significant Difference to include a pump-and­ treat system using a single extraction well and treatment by zero-valent iron (ex situ treatment system). The contingency action was optimized in 2015 with the installation of8 extraction wells and 16 monitoring wells in a focused area of the aquifer, the area of attainment (AOA). Contaminated water is treated by solar evaporation at an existing facility at the LM repository.« less

SYSTHESIS OF VOLCANISM STUDIES FOR THE YUCCA MOUNTAIN SITE CHARACTERIZATION PROJECT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Perry, F. V.; Crowe, G. A.; Valentine, G. A.

1997-09-23

This report synthesizes the results of volcanism studies conducted by scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and collaborating institutions on behalf of the Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Project. Chapter 1 introduces the volcanism issue for the Yucca Mountain site and provides the reader with an overview of the organization, content, and significant conclusions of this report. The hazard of future basaltic volcanism is the primary topic of concern including both events that intersect a potential repository and events that occur near or within the waste isolation system of a repository. Future volcanic events cannot be predicted with certaintymore » but instead are estimated using formal methods of probabilistic volcanic hazard assessment (PVHA). Chapter 2 describes the volcanic history of the Yucca Mountain region (YMR) and emphasizes the Pliocene and Quaternary volcanic record, the interval of primary concern for volcanic risk assessment. The distribution, eruptive history, and geochronology of Plio-Quaternary basalt centers are described by individual center emphasizing the younger postcaldera basalt (<5 Ma). The Lathrop Wells volcanic center is described in detail because it is the youngest basalt center in the YMR. The age of the Lathrop Wells center is now confidently determined to be about 75 thousand years old. Chapter 3 describes the tectonic setting of the YMR and presents and assesses the significance of multiple alternative tectonic models. The distribution of Pliocene and Quaternary basaltic volcanic centers is evaluated with respect to tectonic models for detachment, caldera, regional and local rifting, and the Walker Lane structural zone. Geophysical data are described for the YMR and are used as an aid to understand the distribution of past basaltic volcanic centers and possible future magmatic processes. Chapter 4 discusses the petrologic and geochemical features of basaltic volcanism in the YMR, the southern Great Basin and the Basin and Range province. Geochemical and isotopic data are presented for post-Miocene basalts of the Yucca Mountain region. Alternative petrogenetic models are assessed for the formation of the Lathrop Wells volcanic center. Based on geochemical data, basaltic ash in fault trenches near Yucca Mountain is shown to have originated from the Lathrop Wells center. Chapter 5 synthesizes eruptive and subsurface effects of basaltic volcanism on a potential repository and summarizes current concepts of the segregation, ascent, and eruption of basalt magma. Chapter 6 synthesizes current knowledge of the probability of disruption of a potential repository at Yucca Mountain. In 1996, an Expert Elicitation panel was convened by DOE that independently conducted PVHA for the Yucca Mountain site. Chapter 6 does not attempt to revise this PVHA; instead, it further examines the sensitivity of variables in PVHA. The approaches and results of PVHA by the expert judgment panel are evaluated and incorporated throughout this chapter. The disruption ratio (E2) is completely re-evaluated using simulation modeling that describes volcanic events based on the geometry of basaltic feeder dikes. New estimates of probability bounds are developed. These comparisons show that it is physically implausible for the probability of magmatic disruption of the Yucca Mountain site to be greater than 10{sup -7} events per year. Bounding probability estimates are used to assess possible implications of not drilling aeromagnetic anomalies in the Arnargosa Valley and Crater Flat. The results of simulation modeling are used to assess the sensitivity of the disruption probability for the location of northeast boundaries of volcanic zones near the Yucca Mountain site. A new section on modeling of radiological releases associated with surface and subsurface magmatic activity has been added to chapter 6. The modeling results are consistent with past total system performance assessments that show future volcanic and magmatic events are not significant components of repository performance and volcanism is not a priority issue for performance assessment studies.« less

The used nuclear fuel problem - can reprocessing and consolidated storage be complementary?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Phillips, C.; Thomas, I.

2013-07-01

This paper describes our CISF (Consolidated Interim Storage Facilities) and Reprocessing Facility concepts and show how they can be combined with a geologic repository to provide a comprehensive system for dealing with spent fuels in the USA. The performance of the CISF was logistically analyzed under six operational scenarios. A 3-stage plan has been developed to establish the CISF. Stage 1: the construction at the CISF site of only a rail receipt interface and storage pad large enough for the number of casks that will be received. The construction of the CISF Canister Handling Facility, the Storage Cask Fabrication Facility,more » the Cask Maintenance Facility and supporting infrastructure are performed during stage 2. The construction and placement into operation of a water-filled pool repackaging facility is completed for Stage 3. By using this staged approach, the capital cost of the CISF is spread over a number of years. It also allows more time for a final decision on the geologic repository to be made. A recycling facility will be built, this facility will used the NUEX recycling process that is based on the aqueous-based PUREX solvent extraction process, using a solvent of tri-N-butyl phosphate in a kerosene diluent. It is capable of processing spent fuels at a rate of 5 MT per day, at burn-ups up to 50 GWD per ton of spent fuels and a minimum of 5 years out-of-reactor cooling.« less

Site Selection for the Disposal of LLW in Taiwan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chuang, W.S.; Chi, L.M.; Tien, N.C.

2006-07-01

This paper presents the implementation status of the low-level radioactive waste (LLW) disposal program in Taiwan, including the disposal facility regulations, status of waste management, final disposal program, licensing procedures, waste acceptance criteria, site selection criteria and processes and preliminary disposal concepts. The first phase of site selection for low-level radioactive waste final disposal in Taiwan was implemented between 1992 and 2002. The site selection process adopted a Geographic Information System (GIS), Hierarchical Analysis System, Expert Evaluation System, and site reconnaissance. An incentive program for voluntary sites was also initiated. After a series of evaluations and discussion of 30 potentialmore » candidate sites, including 8 recommended sites, 5 qualified voluntary townships, and several remote uninhabited small islets, Hsiao-chiou islet was selected as the first priority candidate site in February 1998. The geological investigation work in Hsiao-chiou was conducted from March 1999 through October 2000. An Environmental Impact Statement Report (EIS) and the Investment Feasibility Study Report (IFS) were submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in November 2000 and to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in June 2001, respectively. Unfortunately, the site investigation was discontinued in 2002 due to political and public acceptance consideration. After years of planning, the second phase of the site selection process was launched in August 2004 and will be conducted through 2008. It is planned that a repository will be constructed in early 2009 and start to operate in 2014. The site selection process for the second phase is based on the earlier work and four potential candidate sites were selected for evaluation until 2005. A near surface disposal concept is proposed for a site located in the Taiwan strait, and cavern disposal concepts are proposed for three other sites located on the main island. This paper presents the implementation status of the LLW disposal program in Taiwan, including the disposal facility regulations, status of waste management, final disposal program, licensing procedures, waste acceptance criteria, site selection criteria and processes, and preliminary disposal concepts 'NIMBY' (Not in my backyard) is a critical problem for implementation of the final disposal project. Resistance from local communities has been continuously received during site characterization. To overcome this, an incentive program to encourage community acceptance has been approved by the Government. Programs for community promotion are being proposed and negotiations are also underway. (authors)« less

Gas transport in unsaturated porous media: the adequacy of Fick's law

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thorstenson, D.C.; Pollock, D.W.

1989-01-01

The increasing use of natural unsaturated zones as repositories for landfills and disposal sites for hazardous wastes (chemical and radioactive) requires a greater understanding of transport processes in the unsaturated zone. For volatile constituents an important potential transport mechanism is gaseous diffusion. Diffusion, however, cannot be treated as an independent isolated transport mechanism. A complete understanding of multicomponent gas transport in porous media (unsaturated zones) requires a knowledge of Knudsen transport, the molecular and nonequimolar components of diffusive flux, and viscous (pressure driven) flux. This review presents a brief discussion of the underlying principles and interrelationships among each of the above flux mechanisms. -from Authors

Siting process for disposal site of low level radiactive waste in Thailand

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yamkate, P.; Sriyotha, P.; Thiengtrongjit, S.

The radioactive waste in Thailand is composed of low level waste from the application of radioisotopes in medical treatment and industry, the operation of the 2 MW TRIGA Mark III Research Reactor and the production of radioisotopes at OAEP. In addition, the high activity of sealed radiation sources i.e. Cs-137 Co-60 and Ra-226 are also accumulated. Since the volume of treated waste has been gradually increased, the general needs for a repository become apparent. The near surface disposal method has been chosen for this aspect. The feasibility study on the underground disposal site has been done since 1982. The sitemore » selection criteria have been established, consisting of the rejection criteria, the technical performance criteria and the economic criteria. About 50 locations have been picked for consideration and 5 candidate sites have been selected and subsequent investigated. After thoroughly investigation, a definite location in Ratchburi Province, about 180 kilometers southwest of Bangkok, has been selected as the most suitable place for the near surface disposal of radioactive waste in Thailand.« less

Selecting a Laboratory Information Management System for Biorepositories in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: The H3Africa Experience and Lessons Learned

PubMed Central

Musinguzi, Henry; Lwanga, Newton; Kezimbira, Dafala; Kigozi, Edgar; Katabazi, Fred Ashaba; Wayengera, Misaki; Joloba, Moses Lutaakome; Abayomi, Emmanuel Akin; Swanepoel, Carmen; Croxton, Talishiea; Ozumba, Petronilla; Thankgod, Anazodo; van Zyl, Lizelle; Mayne, Elizabeth Sarah; Kader, Mukthar; Swartz, Garth

2017-01-01

Biorepositories in Africa need significant infrastructural support to meet International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) Best Practices to support population-based genomics research. ISBER recommends a biorepository information management system which can manage workflows from biospecimen receipt to distribution. The H3Africa Initiative set out to develop regional African biorepositories where Uganda, Nigeria, and South Africa were successfully awarded grants to develop the state-of-the-art biorepositories. The biorepositories carried out an elaborate process to evaluate and choose a laboratory information management system (LIMS) with the aim of integrating the three geographically distinct sites. In this article, we review the processes, African experience, lessons learned, and make recommendations for choosing a biorepository LIMS in the African context.

45 CFR 2540.203 - What search components of the National Service Criminal History Check must I satisfy to determine...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Public Web site (NSOPW), and (2) Either: (i) A name- or fingerprint-based search of the official state...) Submission of fingerprints through a state central record repository for a fingerprint-based Federal Bureau... Department of Justice (DOJ) National Sex Offender Public Web site (NSOPW); (ii) A name- or fingerprint-based...

Geologic evaluation of six nonwelded tuff sites in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain, Nevada for a surface-based test facility for the Yucca Mountain Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Broxton, D.E.; Chipera, S.J.; Byers, F.M. Jr.

1993-10-01

Outcrops of nonwelded tuff at six locations in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, were examined to determine their suitability for hosting a surface-based test facility for the Yucca Mountain Project. Investigators will use this facility to test equipment and procedures for the Exploratory Studies Facility and to conduct site characterization field experiments. The outcrops investigated contain rocks that include or are similar to the tuffaceous beds of Calico Hills, an important geologic and hydrologic barrier between the potential repository and the water table. The tuffaceous beds of Calico Hills at the site of the potential repository consist of bothmore » vitric and zeolitic tuffs, thus three of the outcrops examined are vitric tuffs and three are zeolitic tuffs. New data were collected to determine the lithology, chemistry, mineralogy, and modal petrography of the outcrops. Some preliminary data on hydrologic properties are also presented. Evaluation of suitability of the six sites is based on a comparison of their geologic characteristics to those found in the tuffaceous beds of Calico Hills within the exploration block.« less

Seismic stability of the survey areas of potential sites for the deep geological repository of the spent nuclear fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaláb, Zdeněk; Šílený, Jan; Lednická, Markéta

2017-07-01

This paper deals with the seismic stability of the survey areas of potential sites for the deep geological repository of the spent nuclear fuel in the Czech Republic. The basic source of data for historical earthquakes up to 1990 was the seismic website [1-]. The most intense earthquake described occurred on September 15, 1590 in the Niederroesterreich region (Austria) in the historical period; its reported intensity is Io = 8-9. The source of the contemporary seismic data for the period since 1991 to the end of 2014 was the website [11]. It may be stated based on the databases and literature review that in the period from 1900, no earthquake exceeding magnitude 5.1 originated in the territory of the Czech Republic. In order to evaluate seismicity and to assess the impact of seismic effects at depths of hypothetical deep geological repository for the next time period, the neo-deterministic method was selected as an extension of the probabilistic method. Each one out of the seven survey areas were assessed by the neo-deterministic evaluation of the seismic wave-field excited by selected individual events and determining the maximum loading. Results of seismological databases studies and neo-deterministic analysis of Čihadlo locality are presented.

Utilizing the Antarctic Master Directory to find orphan datasets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonczkowski, J.; Carbotte, S. M.; Arko, R. A.; Grebas, S. K.

2011-12-01

While most Antarctic data are housed at an established disciplinary-specific data repository, there are data types for which no suitable repository exists. In some cases, these "orphan" data, without an appropriate national archive, are served from local servers by the principal investigators who produced the data. There are many pitfalls with data served privately, including the frequent lack of adequate documentation to ensure the data can be understood by others for re-use and the impermanence of personal web sites. For example, if an investigator leaves an institution and the data moves, the link published is no longer accessible. To ensure continued availability of data, submission to long-term national data repositories is needed. As stated in the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs (NSF/OPP) Guidelines and Award Conditions for Scientific Data, investigators are obligated to submit their data for curation and long-term preservation; this includes the registration of a dataset description into the Antarctic Master Directory (AMD), http://gcmd.nasa.gov/Data/portals/amd/. The AMD is a Web-based, searchable directory of thousands of dataset descriptions, known as DIF records, submitted by scientists from over 20 countries. It serves as a node of the International Directory Network/Global Change Master Directory (IDN/GCMD). The US Antarctic Program Data Coordination Center (USAP-DCC), http://www.usap-data.org/, funded through NSF/OPP, was established in 2007 to help streamline the process of data submission and DIF record creation. When data does not quite fit within any existing disciplinary repository, it can be registered within the USAP-DCC as the fallback data repository. Within the scope of the USAP-DCC we undertook the challenge of discovering and "rescuing" orphan datasets currently registered within the AMD. In order to find which DIF records led to data served privately, all records relating to US data within the AMD were parsed. After identifying the records containing a URL leading to a national data center or other disciplinary data repository, the remaining records were individually inspected for data type, format, and quality of metadata and then assessed to determine how best to preserve. Of the records reviewed, those for which appropriate repositories could be identified were submitted. An additional 35 were deemed acceptable in quality of metadata to register in the USAP-DCC. The content of these datasets were varied in nature, ranging from penguin counts to paleo-geologic maps to results of meteorological models all of which are discoverable through our search interface, http://www.usap-data.org/search.php. The remaining 40 records linked to either no data or had inadequate documentation for preservation highlighting the danger of serving datasets on local servers where minimal metadata standards can not be enforced and long-term access can not be ensured.

Assessment of the long-term durability of concrete in radioactive waste repositories

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Atkinson, A.; Goult, D.J.; Hearne, J.A.

1986-01-01

A preliminary assessment of the long-term durability of concrete in a repository sited in clay is presented. The assessment is based on recorded experience of concrete structures and both field and laboratory studies. It is also supported by results of the examination of a concrete sample which had been buried in clay for 43 years. The engineering lifetime of a 1 m thick reinforced concrete slab, with one face in contact with clay, and the way in which pH in the repository as a whole is likely to vary with time have both been estimated from available data. The estimatesmore » indicate that engineering lifetimes of about 10/sup 3/ years are expected (providing that sulfate resisting cement is used) and that pH is likely to remain above 10.5 for about 10/sup 6/ years.« less

Interoperability Across the Stewardship Spectrum in the DataONE Repository Federation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, M. B.; Vieglais, D.; Wilson, B. E.

2016-12-01

Thousands of earth and environmental science repositories serve many researchers and communities, each with their own community and legal mandates, sustainability models, and historical infrastructure. These repositories span the stewardship spectrum from highly curated collections that employ large numbers of staff members to review and improve data, to small, minimal budget repositories that accept data caveat emptor and where all responsibility for quality lies with the submitter. Each repository fills a niche, providing services that meet the stewardship tradeoffs of one or more communities. We have reviewed these stewardship tradeoffs for several DataONE member repositories ranging from minimally (KNB) to highly curated (Arctic Data Center), as well as general purpose (Dryad) to highly discipline or project specific (NEON). The rationale behind different levels of stewardship reflect resolution of these tradeoffs. Some repositories aim to encourage extensive uptake by keeping processes simple and minimizing the amount of information collected, but this limits the long-term utility of the data and the search, discovery, and integration systems that are possible. Other repositories require extensive metadata input, review, and assessment, allowing for excellent preservation, discovery, and integration but at the cost of significant time for submitters and expense for curatorial staff. DataONE recognizes these different levels of curation, and attempts to embrace them to create a federation that is useful across the stewardship spectrum. DataONE provides a tiered model for repositories with growing utility of DataONE services at higher tiers of curation. The lowest tier supports read-only access to data and requires little more than title and contact metadata. Repositories can gradually phase in support for higher levels of metadata and services as needed. These tiered capabilities are possible through flexible support for multiple metadata standards and services, where repositories can incrementally increase their requirements as they want to satisfy more use cases. Within DataONE, metadata search services support minimal metadata models, but significantly expanded precision and recall become possible when repositories provide more extensively curated metadata.

INTERNAL HAZARDS ANALYSIS FOR LICENSE APPLICATION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

R.J. Garrett

2005-02-17

The purpose of this internal hazards analysis is to identify and document the internal hazards and potential initiating events associated with preclosure operations of the repository at Yucca Mountain. Internal hazards are those hazards presented by the operation of the facility and by its associated processes that can potentially lead to a radioactive release or cause a radiological hazard. In contrast to external hazards, internal hazards do not involve natural phenomena and external man-made hazards. This internal hazards analysis was performed in support of the preclosure safety analysis and the License Application for the Yucca Mountain Project. The methodology formore » this analysis provides a systematic means to identify internal hazards and potential initiating events that may result in a radiological hazard or radiological release during the repository preclosure period. These hazards are documented in tables of potential internal hazards and potential initiating events (Section 6.6) for input to the repository event sequence categorization process. The results of this analysis will undergo further screening and analysis based on the criteria that apply to the performance of event sequence analyses for the repository preclosure period. The evolving design of the repository will be re-evaluated periodically to ensure that internal hazards that have not been previously evaluated are identified.« less

Data sharing as a national quality improvement program: reporting on BRCA1 and BRCA2 variant-interpretation comparisons through the Canadian Open Genetics Repository (COGR).

PubMed

Lebo, Matthew S; Zakoor, Kathleen-Rose; Chun, Kathy; Speevak, Marsha D; Waye, John S; McCready, Elizabeth; Parboosingh, Jillian S; Lamont, Ryan E; Feilotter, Harriet; Bosdet, Ian; Tucker, Tracy; Young, Sean; Karsan, Aly; Charames, George S; Agatep, Ronald; Spriggs, Elizabeth L; Chisholm, Caitlin; Vasli, Nasim; Daoud, Hussein; Jarinova, Olga; Tomaszewski, Robert; Hume, Stacey; Taylor, Sherryl; Akbari, Mohammad R; Lerner-Ellis, Jordan

2018-03-01

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to develop a national program for Canadian diagnostic laboratories to compare DNA-variant interpretations and resolve discordant-variant classifications using the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes as a case study.MethodsBRCA1 and BRCA2 variant data were uploaded and shared through the Canadian Open Genetics Repository (COGR; http://www.opengenetics.ca). A total of 5,554 variant observations were submitted; classification differences were identified and comparison reports were sent to participating laboratories. Each site had the opportunity to reclassify variants. The data were analyzed before and after the comparison report process to track concordant- or discordant-variant classifications by three different models.ResultsVariant-discordance rates varied by classification model: 38.9% of variants were discordant when using a five-tier model, 26.7% with a three-tier model, and 5.0% with a two-tier model. After the comparison report process, the proportion of discordant variants dropped to 30.7% with the five-tier model, to 14.2% with the three-tier model, and to 0.9% using the two-tier model.ConclusionWe present a Canadian interinstitutional quality improvement program for DNA-variant interpretations. Sharing of variant knowledge by clinical diagnostic laboratories will allow clinicians and patients to make more informed decisions and lead to better patient outcomes.

A Prototype Performance Assessment Model for Generic Deep Borehole Repository for High-Level Nuclear Waste - 12132

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Joon H.; Arnold, Bill W.; Swift, Peter N.

2012-07-01

A deep borehole repository is one of the four geologic disposal system options currently under study by the U.S. DOE to support the development of a long-term strategy for geologic disposal of commercial used nuclear fuel (UNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). The immediate goal of the generic deep borehole repository study is to develop the necessary modeling tools to evaluate and improve the understanding of the repository system response and processes relevant to long-term disposal of UNF and HLW in a deep borehole. A prototype performance assessment model for a generic deep borehole repository has been developed using themore » approach for a mined geological repository. The preliminary results from the simplified deep borehole generic repository performance assessment indicate that soluble, non-sorbing (or weakly sorbing) fission product radionuclides, such as I-129, Se-79 and Cl-36, are the likely major dose contributors, and that the annual radiation doses to hypothetical future humans associated with those releases may be extremely small. While much work needs to be done to validate the model assumptions and parameters, these preliminary results highlight the importance of a robust seal design in assuring long-term isolation, and suggest that deep boreholes may be a viable alternative to mined repositories for disposal of both HLW and UNF. (authors)« less

10 CFR 60.122 - Siting criteria.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... with low horizontal and vertical permeability; (ii) Downward or dominantly horizontal hydraulic... permeability and low hydraulic gradient between the host rock and the surrounding hydrogeologic units. (3... REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) DISPOSAL OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Posing with the plaque dedicated to Columbia Jan. 29, 2004, is astronaut Pam Melroy. The dedication ceremony included the 40-member preservation team gathered in the “Columbia room,” in the Vehicle Assembly Building. The site is a permanent repository of the debris collected in the aftermath of the tragic accident Feb. 1, 2003, that claimed the orbiter and lives of the seven-member crew. Behind Melroy is a piece of the debris.

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-01-29

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Posing with the plaque dedicated to Columbia Jan. 29, 2004, is astronaut Pam Melroy. The dedication ceremony included the 40-member preservation team gathered in the “Columbia room,” in the Vehicle Assembly Building. The site is a permanent repository of the debris collected in the aftermath of the tragic accident Feb. 1, 2003, that claimed the orbiter and lives of the seven-member crew. Behind Melroy is a piece of the debris.

Data Storing Proposal from Heterogeneous Systems into a Specialized Repository

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Václavová, Andrea; Tanuška, Pavol; Jánošík, Ján

2016-12-01

The aim of this paper is to analyze and to propose an appropriate system for processing and simultaneously storing a vast volume of structured and unstructured data. The paper consists of three parts. The first part addresses the issue of structured and unstructured data. The second part provides the detailed analysis of data repositories and subsequent evaluation indicating which system would be for the given type and volume of data optimal. The third part focuses on the use of gathered information to transfer data to the proposed repository.

Washing and caustic leaching of Hanford tank sludges: results of FY 1996 studies. Revision

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lumetta, G.J.; Rapko, B.M.; Wagner, M.J.

During the past few years, the primary mission at the US Department of Energy`s Hanford Site has changed from producing plutonium to restoring the environment. Large volumes of high-level radioactive wastes (HLW), generated during past Pu production and other operations, are stored in underground tanks on site. The current plan for remediating the Hanford tank farms consists of waste retrieval, pretreatment, treatment (immobilization), and disposal. The HLW will be immobilized in a borosilicate glass matrix and then disposed of in a geologic repository. Because of the expected high cost of HLW vitrification and geologic disposal, pretreatment processes will be implementedmore » to reduce the volume of borosilicate glass produced in disposing of the tank wastes. On this basis, a pretreatment plan is being developed. This report describes the sludge washing and caustic leaching test conducted to create a Hanford tank sludge pretreatment flowsheet.« less

Conceptual uncertainty in crystalline bedrock: Is simple evaluation the only practical approach?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Geier, J.; Voss, C.I.; Dverstorp, B.

2002-01-01

A simple evaluation can be used to characterize the capacity of crystalline bedrock to act as a barrier to release radionuclides from a nuclear waste repository. Physically plausible bounds on groundwater flow and an effective transport-resistance parameter are estimated based on fundamental principles and idealized models of pore geometry. Application to an intensively characterized site in Sweden shows that, due to high spatial variability and uncertainty regarding properties of transport paths, the uncertainty associated with the geological barrier is too high to allow meaningful discrimination between good and poor performance. Application of more complex (stochastic-continuum and discrete-fracture-network) models does not yield a significant improvement in the resolution of geological barrier performance. Comparison with seven other less intensively characterized crystalline study sites in Sweden leads to similar results, raising a question as to what extent the geological barrier function can be characterized by state-of-the art site investigation methods prior to repository construction. A simple evaluation provides a simple and robust practical approach for inclusion in performance assessment.

Conceptual uncertainty in crystalline bedrock: Is simple evaluation the only practical approach?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Geier, J.; Voss, C.I.; Dverstorp, B.

2002-01-01

A simple evaluation can be used to characterise the capacity of crystalline bedrock to act as a barrier to releases of radionuclides from a nuclear waste repository. Physically plausible bounds on groundwater flow and an effective transport-resistance parameter are estimated based on fundamental principles and idealised models of pore geometry. Application to an intensively characterised site in Sweden shows that, due to high spatial variability and uncertainty regarding properties of transport paths, the uncertainty associated with the geological barrier is too high to allow meaningful discrimination between good and poor performance. Application of more complex (stochastic-continuum and discrete-fracture-network) models does not yield a significant improvement in the resolution of geologic-barrier performance. Comparison with seven other less intensively characterised crystalline study sites in Sweden leads to similar results, raising a question as to what extent the geological barrier function can be characterised by state-of-the art site investigation methods prior to repository construction. A simple evaluation provides a simple and robust practical approach for inclusion in performance assessment.

MODELING OF THE GROUNDWATER TRANSPORT AROUND A DEEP BOREHOLE NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

N. Lubchenko; M. Rodríguez-Buño; E.A. Bates

2015-04-01

The concept of disposal of high-level nuclear waste in deep boreholes drilled into crystalline bedrock is gaining renewed interest and consideration as a viable mined repository alternative. A large amount of work on conceptual borehole design and preliminary performance assessment has been performed by researchers at MIT, Sandia National Laboratories, SKB (Sweden), and others. Much of this work relied on analytical derivations or, in a few cases, on weakly coupled models of heat, water, and radionuclide transport in the rock. Detailed numerical models are necessary to account for the large heterogeneity of properties (e.g., permeability and salinity vs. depth, diffusionmore » coefficients, etc.) that would be observed at potential borehole disposal sites. A derivation of the FALCON code (Fracturing And Liquid CONvection) was used for the thermal-hydrologic modeling. This code solves the transport equations in porous media in a fully coupled way. The application leverages the flexibility and strengths of the MOOSE framework, developed by Idaho National Laboratory. The current version simulates heat, fluid, and chemical species transport in a fully coupled way allowing the rigorous evaluation of candidate repository site performance. This paper mostly focuses on the modeling of a deep borehole repository under realistic conditions, including modeling of a finite array of boreholes surrounded by undisturbed rock. The decay heat generated by the canisters diffuses into the host rock. Water heating can potentially lead to convection on the scale of thousands of years after the emplacement of the fuel. This convection is tightly coupled to the transport of the dissolved salt, which can suppress convection and reduce the release of the radioactive materials to the aquifer. The purpose of this work has been to evaluate the importance of the borehole array spacing and find the conditions under which convective transport can be ruled out as a radionuclide transport mechanism. Preliminary results show that modeling of the borehole array, including the surrounding rock, predicts convective flow in the system with physical velocities of the order of 10-5 km/yr over 105 years. This results in an escape length on the order of kilometers, which is comparable to the repository depth. However, a correct account of the salinity effects reduces convection velocity and escape length of the radionuclides from the repository.« less

Can shale safely host US nuclear waste?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Neuzil, C.E.

2013-01-01

"Even as cleanup efforts after Japan’s Fukushima disaster offer a stark reminder of the spent nuclear fuel (SNF) stored at nuclear plants worldwide, the decision in 2009 to scrap Yucca Mountain as a permanent disposal site has dimmed hope for a repository for SNF and other high-level nuclear waste (HLW) in the United States anytime soon. About 70,000 metric tons of SNF are now in pool or dry cask storage at 75 sites across the United States [Government Accountability Office, 2012], and uncertainty about its fate is hobbling future development of nuclear power, increasing costs for utilities, and creating a liability for American taxpayers [Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, 2012].However, abandoning Yucca Mountain could also result in broadening geologic options for hosting America’s nuclear waste. Shales and other argillaceous formations (mudrocks, clays, and similar clay-rich media) have been absent from the U.S. repository program. In contrast, France, Switzerland, and Belgium are now planning repositories in argillaceous formations after extensive research in underground laboratories on the safety and feasibility of such an approach [Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, 2012; Nationale Genossenschaft für die Lagerung radioaktiver Abfälle (NAGRA), 2010; Organisme national des déchets radioactifs et des matières fissiles enrichies, 2011]. Other nations, notably Japan, Canada, and the United Kingdom, are studying argillaceous formations or may consider them in their siting programs [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2012; Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), (2011a); Powell et al., 2010]."

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barr, G.E.; Borns, D.J.; Fridrich, C.

A comprehensive collection of scenarios is presented that connect initiating tectonic events with radionuclide releases by logical and physically possible combinations or sequences of features, events and processes. The initiating tectonic events include both discrete faulting and distributed rock deformation developed through the repository and adjacent to it, as well as earthquake-induced ground motion and changes in tectonic stress at the site. The effects of these tectonic events include impacts on the engineered-barrier system, such as container rupture and failure of repository tunnels. These effects also include a wide range of hydrologic effects such as changes in pathways and flowmore » rates in the unsaturated and saturated zones, changes in the water-table configuration, and in the development of perched-water systems. These scenarios are intended go guide performance-assessment analyses and to assist principal investigators in how essential field, laboratory, and calculational studies are used. This suite of scenarios will help ensure that all important aspects of the system disturbance related to a tectonic scenario are captured in numerical analyses. It also provides a record of all options considered by project analysts to provide documentation required for licensing agreement. The final portion of this report discusses issues remaining to be addressed with respect to tectonic activity. 105 refs.« less

Interpretation of Schlumberger DC resistivity data from Gibson Dome-Lockhart Basin study area, San Juan County, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Watts, R.D.

1982-01-01

A Schlumberger dc resistivity survey of the Gibson Dome-Lockhart Basin area, San Juan County, Utah, has revealed the following electrical characteristics of the area: (1) the area between the northern part of Davis Canyon and Gibson Dome is electrically quite uniform and resistive at the depth of the Pennsylvanian evaporite deposits, (2) there is a deep conductive anomaly at Horsehead Rock, and (3) there are several shallow and deep electrical anomalies in the vicinity of the Lockhart fault system. No adverse indicators were found for nuclear waste repository siting south of Indian Creek, but additional soundings should be made to increase data density and to extend the survey area southward. The Lockhart fault system appears to have triggered salt dissolution or flow outside the limits of Lockhart Basin; further geophysical work and drilling will be required to understand the origin of the Lockhart Basin structure and its present state of activity. This problem is important because geologic processes that lead to enlargement of the Lockhart Basin structure or to development of similar structures would threaten the integrity of a repository in the Gibson Dome area.

Public Preferences Related to Radioactive Waste Management in the United States: Methodology and Response Reference Report for the 2016 Energy and Environment Survey.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jenkins-Smith, Hank C.; Silva, Carol L.; Gupta, Kuhika

This report presents the questions and responses to a nationwide survey taken June 2016 to track preferences of US residents concerning the environment, energy, and radioactive waste management. A focus of the 2016 survey is public perceptions on different options for managing spent nuclear fuel, including on-site storage, interim storage, deep boreholes, general purpose geologic repositories, and geologic repositories for only defense-related waste. Highlights of the survey results include the following: (1) public attention to the 2011 accident and subsequent cleanup at the Fukushima nuclear facility continues to influence the perceived balance of risk and benefit for nuclear energy; (2)more » the incident at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in 2014 could influence future public support for nuclear waste management; (3) public knowledge about US nuclear waste management policies has remined higher than seen prior to the Fukushima nuclear accident and submittal of the Yucca Mountain application; (6) support for a mined disposal facility is higher than for deep borehole disposal, building one more interim storage facilities, or continued on-site storage of spent nuclear fuel; (7) support for a repository that comingles commercial and defense related waste is higher than for a repository for only defense related waste; (8) the public’s level of trust accorded to the National Academies, university scientists, and local emergency responders is the highest and the level trust accorded to advocacy organizations, public utilities, and local/national press is the lowest; and (9) the public is willing to serve on citizens panels but, in general, will only modestly engage in issues related to radioactive waste management.« less

Long-Term Information Management (LTIM) of Safeguards Data at Repositories: Phase II

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haddal, Risa N.

One of the challenges of implementing safeguards for geological repositories will be the long-term preservation of safeguards-related data for 100 years or more. While most countries considering the construction and operation of such facilities agree that safeguards information should be preserved, there are gaps with respect to standardized requirements, guidelines, timescales, and approaches. This study analyzes those gaps and explores research to clarify stakeholder needs, identify current policies, approaches, best practices and international standards, and explores existing safeguards information management infrastructure. The study also attempts to clarify what a safeguards data classification system might look like, how long data shouldmore » be retained, and how information should be exchanged between stakeholders at different phases of a repository’s life cycle. The analysis produced a variety of recommendations on what information to preserve, how to preserve it, where to store it, retention options and how to exchange information in the long term. Key findings include the use of the globally recognized international records management standard, ISO15489, for guidance on the development of information management systems, and the development of a Key Information File (KIF). The KIF could be used to identify only the most relevant, high-level safeguards information and the history of decision making about the repository. The study also suggests implementing on-site and off-site records storage in digital and physical form; developing a safeguards data classification system; long-term records retention with periodic reviews every 5 to 10 years during each phase of the repository life cycle; and establishing transition procedures well in advance so that data shepherds and records officers can transfer information with incoming facility managers effectively and efficiently. These and other recommendations are further analyzed in this study.« less

A strategy to seal exploratory boreholes in unsaturated tuff; Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fernandez, J.A.; Case, J.B.; Givens, C.A.

1994-04-01

This report presents a strategy for sealing exploratory boreholes associated with the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project. Over 500 existing and proposed boreholes have been considered in the development of this strategy, ranging from shallow (penetrating into alluvium only) to deep (penetrating into the groundwater table). Among the comprehensive list of recommendations are the following: Those boreholes within the potential repository boundary and penetrating through the potential repository horizon are the most significant boreholes from a performance standpoint and should be sealed. Shallow boreholes are comparatively insignificant and require only nominal sealing. The primary areas in which to place sealsmore » are away from high-temperature zones at a distance from the potential repository horizon in the Paintbrush nonwelded tuff and the upper portion of the Topopah Spring Member and in the tuffaceous beds of the Calico Hills Unit. Seals should be placed prior to waste emplacement. Performance goals for borehole seals both above and below the potential repository are proposed. Detailed construction information on the boreholes that could be used for future design specifications is provided along with a description of the environmental setting, i.e., the geology, hydrology, and the in situ and thermal stress states. A borehole classification scheme based on the condition of the borehole wall in different tuffaceous units is also proposed. In addition, calculations are presented to assess the significance of the boreholes acting as preferential pathways for the release of radionuclides. Design calculations are presented to answer the concerns of when, where, and how to seal. As part of the strategy development, available technologies to seal exploratory boreholes (including casing removal, borehole wall reconditioning, and seal emplacement) are reviewed.« less

10 CFR 60.151 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Applicability. 60.151 Section 60.151 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) DISPOSAL OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES Quality... to activities related thereto. These activities include: site characterization, facility and...

10 CFR 60.151 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Applicability. 60.151 Section 60.151 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) DISPOSAL OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN GEOLOGIC REPOSITORIES Quality... to activities related thereto. These activities include: site characterization, facility and...

Future Volcanism at Yucca Mountain - Statistical Insights from the Non-Detection of Basalt Intrusions in the Potential Repository

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coleman, N.; Abramson, L.

2004-05-01

Yucca Mt. (YM) is a potential repository site for high-level radioactive waste and spent fuel. One issue is the potential for future igneous activity to intersect the repository. If the event probability is <1E-8/yr, it need not be considered in licensing. Plio-Quaternary volcanos and older basalts occur near YM. Connor et al (JGR, 2000) estimate a probability of 1E-8/yr to 1E-7/yr for a basaltic dike to intersect the potential repository. Based on aeromagnetic data, Hill and Stamatakos (CNWRA, 2002) propose that additional volcanos may lie buried in nearby basins. They suggest if these volcanos are part of temporal-clustered volcanic activity, the probability of an intrusion may be as high as 1E-6/yr. We examine whether recurrence probabilities >2E-7/yr are realistic given that no dikes have been found in or above the 1.3E7 yr-old potential repository block. For 2E-7/yr (or 1E-6/yr), the expected number of penetrating dikes is 2.6 (respectively, 13), and the probability of at least one penetration is 0.93 (0.999). These results are not consistent with the exploration evidence. YM is one of the most intensively studied places on Earth. Over 20 yrs of studies have included surface and subsurface mapping, geophysical surveys, construction of 10+ km of tunnels in the mountain, drilling of many boreholes, and construction of many pits (DOE, Site Recommendation, 2002). It seems unlikely that multiple dikes could exist within the proposed repository footprint and escape detection. A dike complex dated 11.7 Ma (Smith et al, UNLV, 1997) or 10 Ma (Carr and Parrish, 1985) does exist NW of YM and west of the main Solitario Canyon Fault. These basalts intruded the Tiva Canyon Tuff (12.7 Ma) in an epoch of caldera-forming pyroclastic eruptions that ended millions of yrs ago. We would conclude that basaltic volcanism related to Miocene silicic volcanism may also have ended. Given the nondetection of dikes in the potential repository, we can use a Poisson model to estimate an upper-bound probability of 2E-7/yr (95% conf. level) for an igneous intrusion over the next 1E4 yrs. If we assume one undiscovered dike exists, the upper-bound probability would rise to 4E-7/yr. Higher probabilities may be possible if conditions that fostered Plio-Quaternary volcanism became enhanced over time. To the contrary, basalts of the past 11 Ma in Crater Flat have erupted in four episodes that together show a declining trend in erupted magma volume (DOE, TBD13, 2003). Smith et al (GSA Today, 2002) suggest there may be a common magma source for volcanism in Crater Flat and the Lunar Crater volcanic field, and that recurrence rates for YM could be underestimated. Their interpretation is highly speculative given the 130-km (80-mi) distance between these zones. A claim that crustal extension at YM is anomalously large, possibly favoring renewed volcanism (Wernicke et al, Science, 1999), was contradicted by later work (Savage et al, JGR, 2000). Spatial-temporal models that predict future intrusion probabilities of >2E-7/yr may be overly conservative and unrealistic. Along with currently planned site characterization activities, realistic models could be developed by considering the non-detection of basaltic dikes in the potential repository footprint. (The views expressed are the authors' and do not reflect any final judgment or determination by the Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regarding the matters addressed or the acceptability of a license application for a geologic repository at Yucca Mt.)

Structural geology of the proposed site area for a high-level radioactive waste repository, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Potter, C.J.; Day, W.C.; Sweetkind, D.S.; Dickerson, R.P.

2004-01-01

Geologic mapping and fracture studies have documented the fundamental patterns of joints and faults in the thick sequence of rhyolite tuffs at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the proposed site of an underground repository for high-level radioactive waste. The largest structures are north-striking, block-bounding normal faults (with a subordinate left-lateral component) that divide the mountain into numerous 1-4-km-wide panels of gently east-dipping strata. Block-bounding faults, which underwent Quaternary movement as well as earlier Neogene movement, are linked by dominantly northwest-striking relay faults, especially in the more extended southern part of Yucca Mountain. Intrablock faults are commonly short and discontinuous, except those on the more intensely deformed margins of the blocks. Lithologic properties of the local tuff stratigraphy strongly control the mesoscale fracture network, and locally the fracture network has a strong influence on the nature of intrablock faulting. The least faulted part of Yucca Mountain is the north-central part, the site of the proposed repository. Although bounded by complex normal-fault systems, the 4-km-wide central block contains only sparse intrablock faults. Locally intense jointing appears to be strata-bound. The complexity of deformation and the magnitude of extension increase in all directions away from the proposed repository volume, especially in the southern part of the mountain where the intensity of deformation and the amount of vertical-axis rotation increase markedly. Block-bounding faults were active at Yucca Mountain during and after eruption of the 12.8-12.7 Ma Paintbrush Group, and significant motion on these faults postdated the 11.6 Ma Rainier Mesa Tuff. Diminished fault activity continued into Quaternary time. Roughly half of the stratal tilting in the site area occurred after 11.6 Ma, probably synchronous with the main pulse of vertical-axis rotation, which occurred between 11.6 and 11.45 Ma. Studies of sequential formation of tectonic joints, in the context of regional paleostress studies, indicate that north- and northwest-striking joint sets formed coevally with the main faulting episode during regional east-northeast-west-southwest extension and that a prominent northeast-striking joint set formed later, probably after 9 Ma. These structural analyses contribute to the understanding of several important issues at Yucca Mountain, including potential hydrologic pathways, seismic hazards, and fault-displacement hazards. ?? 2004 Geological Society of America.

Quality Assurance for Digital Learning Object Repositories: Issues for the Metadata Creation Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Currier, Sarah; Barton, Jane; O'Beirne, Ronan; Ryan, Ben

2004-01-01

Metadata enables users to find the resources they require, therefore it is an important component of any digital learning object repository. Much work has already been done within the learning technology community to assure metadata quality, focused on the development of metadata standards, specifications and vocabularies and their implementation…

Modelling of processes occurring in deep geological repository - Development of new modules in the GoldSim environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vopálka, D.; Lukin, D.; Vokál, A.

2006-01-01

Three new modules modelling the processes that occur in a deep geological repository have been prepared in the GoldSim computer code environment (using its Transport Module). These modules help to understand the role of selected parameters in the near-field region of the final repository and to prepare an own complex model of the repository behaviour. The source term module includes radioactive decay and ingrowth in the canister, first order degradation of fuel matrix, solubility limitation of the concentration of the studied nuclides, and diffusive migration through the surrounding bentonite layer controlled by the output boundary condition formulated with respect to the rate of water flow in the rock. The corrosion module describes corrosion of canisters made of carbon steel and transport of corrosion products in the near-field region. This module computes balance equations between dissolving species and species transported by diffusion and/or advection from the surface of a solid material. The diffusion module that includes also non-linear form of the interaction isotherm can be used for an evaluation of small-scale diffusion experiments.

Looking for Skeletons in the Data Centre `Cupboard': How Repository Certification Can Help

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorvari, S.; Glaves, H.

2017-12-01

There has been a national geoscience repository at the British Geological Survey (or one of its previous incarnations) almost since its inception in 1835. This longevity has resulted in vast amounts of analogue material and, more recently, digital data some of which has been collected by our scientists but much more has been acquired either through various legislative obligations or donated from various sources. However, the role and operation of the UK National Geoscience Data Centre (NGDC) in the 21st Century is very different to that of the past, with new systems and procedures dealing with predominantly digital data. A web-based ingestion portal allows users to submit their data directly to the NGDC while online services provide discovery and access to data and derived products. Increasingly we are also required to implement an array of standards e.g. ISO, OGC, W3C, best practices e.g. FAIR and legislation e.g. EU INSPIRE Directive; whilst at the same time needing to justifying our very existence to our funding agency and hosting organisation. External pressures to demonstrate that we can be recognised as a trusted repository by researchers, various funding agencies, publishers and other related entities have forced us to look at how we function, and to benchmark our operations against those of other organisations and current relevant standards such as those laid down by different repository certification processes. Following an assessment of the various options, the WDS/DSA certification process was selected as the most appropriate route for accreditation of NGDC as a trustworthy repository. It provided a suitable framework for reviewing the current systems, procedures and best practices. Undertaking this process allowed us to identify where the NGDC already has robust systems in place and where there were gaps and deficiencies in current practices. The WDS/DSA assessment process also helped to reinforce best practice throughout the NGDC and demonstrated that many of the recognised and required procedures and standards for recognition as a trusted repository were already in place, even if they were not always followed!

Repository Profiles for Atmospheric and Climate Sciences: Capabilities and Trends in Data Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, C. Y.; Thompson, C. A.; Palmer, C. L.

2014-12-01

As digital research data proliferate and expectations for open access escalate, the landscape of data repositories is becoming more complex. For example, DataBib currently identifies 980 data repositories across the disciplines, with 117 categorized under Geosciences. In atmospheric and climate sciences, there are great expectations for the integration and reuse of data for advancing science. To realize this potential, resources are needed that explicate the range of repository options available for locating and depositing open data, their conditions of access and use, and the services and tools they provide. This study profiled 38 open digital repositories in the atmospheric and climate sciences, analyzing each on 55 criteria through content analysis of their websites. The results provide a systematic way to assess and compare capabilities, services, and institutional characteristics and identify trends across repositories. Selected results from the more detailed outcomes to be presented: Most repositories offer guidance on data format(s) for submission and dissemination. 42% offer authorization-free access. More than half use some type of data identification system such as DOIs. Nearly half offer some data processing, with a similar number providing software or tools. 78.9% request that users cite or acknowledge datasets used and the data center. Only 21.1% recommend specific metadata standards, such as ISO 19115 or Dublin Core, with more than half utilizing a customized metadata scheme. Information was rarely provided on repository certification and accreditation and uneven for transfer of rights and data security. Few provided policy information on preservation, migration, reappraisal, disposal, or long-term sustainability. As repository use increases, it will be important for institutions to make their procedures and policies explicit, to build trust with user communities and improve efficiencies in data sharing. Resources such as repository profiles will be essential for scientists to weigh options and understand trends in data services across the evolving network of repositories.

Process improvement methods increase the efficiency, accuracy, and utility of a neurocritical care research repository.

PubMed

O'Connor, Sydney; Ayres, Alison; Cortellini, Lynelle; Rosand, Jonathan; Rosenthal, Eric; Kimberly, W Taylor

2012-08-01

Reliable and efficient data repositories are essential for the advancement of research in Neurocritical care. Various factors, such as the large volume of patients treated within the neuro ICU, their differing length and complexity of hospital stay, and the substantial amount of desired information can complicate the process of data collection. We adapted the tools of process improvement to the data collection and database design of a research repository for a Neuroscience intensive care unit. By the Shewhart-Deming method, we implemented an iterative approach to improve the process of data collection for each element. After an initial design phase, we re-evaluated all data fields that were challenging or time-consuming to collect. We then applied root-cause analysis to optimize the accuracy and ease of collection, and to determine the most efficient manner of collecting the maximal amount of data. During a 6-month period, we iteratively analyzed the process of data collection for various data elements. For example, the pre-admission medications were found to contain numerous inaccuracies after comparison with a gold standard (sensitivity 71% and specificity 94%). Also, our first method of tracking patient admissions and discharges contained higher than expected errors (sensitivity 94% and specificity 93%). In addition to increasing accuracy, we focused on improving efficiency. Through repeated incremental improvements, we reduced the number of subject records that required daily monitoring from 40 to 6 per day, and decreased daily effort from 4.5 to 1.5 h/day. By applying process improvement methods to the design of a Neuroscience ICU data repository, we achieved a threefold improvement in efficiency and increased accuracy. Although individual barriers to data collection will vary from institution to institution, a focus on process improvement is critical to overcoming these barriers.

Statement by Dr. Raul A. Deju to the Subcommittee on Radioactive Waste, Energy and Utilities Committee, Washington State Senate, Richland, Washington, October 21, 1982

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deju, R.A.

1982-10-01

The Basalt Waste Isolation Project's mission is to assess whether or not a nuclear waste repository can be sited in the basalts beneath the Hanford Site. Dr. Deju summarizes the results of the siting studies, the activities connected with waste package development, and ongoing engineering studies. In addition, he gives a glimpse of past technical reviews of the project and comments on major technical activities planned in the near future.

PS1-29: Resources to Facilitate Multi-site Collaboration: the PRIMER Research Toolkit

PubMed Central

Greene, Sarah; Thompson, Ella; Baldwin, Laura-Mae; Neale, Anne Victoria; Dolor, Rowena

2010-01-01

Background and Aims: The national research enterprise has typically functioned in a decentralized fashion, resulting in duplicative or undocumented processes, impeding not only the pace of research, but diffusion of established best practices. To remedy this, many long-standing networks have begun capturing and documenting proven strategies to streamline and standardize various aspects of the research process. The project, “Partnership-driven Resources to IMprove and Enhance Research” (PRIMER), was funded through the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) initiative to leverage the collective expertise from two networks: the HMO Research Network and Practice Based Research Networks (PBRNs). Each network has a shared goal of propagating research resources and best practices. Methods: We created and distributed an online survey to 92 CTSA and PBRN representatives in March, 2009 to define critical needs and existing resources that could inform a resource repository. The survey identified barriers and benefits to forming research partnerships, and assessed the perceived utility of various tools that could accelerate the research process. The study team identified, reviewed and organized tools based on the typical research trajectory from design to dissemination. Results: Fifty-five of 92 invitees (59%) completed the survey. Respondents rated the ability to conduct community-relevant research through true academic-community partnerships as the top-rated benefit of multi-site research, followed by the opportunity to accelerate translation of research into practice. The top two perceived barriers to multi-site research were ‘funding opportunities are not adequate (e.g., too few, not enough to support true collaborations), and ‘lack of research infrastructure to support [all] partners (e.g., no IT support, IRB, dedicated research staff). Respondents’ ratings of the utility of various tools and templates was used to guide development of an online repository: www.ResearchToolkit.org, which is comprised of over 120 distinct resources. Conclusions: We are disseminating the ResearchToolkit website via academic and media channels, and identifying options for making it a sustainable resource. Given the dynamic nature of the research enterprise, maintenance and accuracy of a web-based resource is challenging. Still, the positive response to the toolkit suggests that there is high interest in sustaining it. We will demonstrate the Toolkit as part of this conference.

Ground-water modeling of the Death Valley Region, Nevada and California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Belcher, W.R.; Faunt, C.C.; Sweetkind, D.S.; Blainey, J.B.; San Juan, C. A.; Laczniak, R.J.; Hill, M.C.

2006-01-01

The Death Valley regional ground-water flow system (DVRFS) of southern Nevada and eastern California covers an area of about 100,000 square kilometers and contains very complex geology and hydrology. Using a computer model to represent the complex system, the U.S. Geological Survey simulated ground-water flow in the Death Valley region for use with U.S. Department of Energy projects in southern Nevada. The model was created to help address contaminant cleanup activities associated with the underground nuclear testing conducted from 1951 to 1992 at the Nevada Test Site and to support the licensing process for the proposed geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

Geologic uncertainty in a regulatory environment: An example from the potential Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rautman, C. A.; Treadway, A. H.

1991-11-01

Regulatory geologists are concerned with predicting the performance of sites proposed for waste disposal or for remediation of existing pollution problems. Geologic modeling of these sites requires large-scale expansion of knowledge obtained from very limited sampling. This expansion induces considerable uncertainty into the geologic models of rock properties that are required for modeling the predicted performance of the site. One method for assessing this uncertainty is through nonparametric geostatistical simulation. Simulation can produce a series of equiprobable models of a rock property of interest. Each model honors measured values at sampled locations, and each can be constructed to emulate both the univariate histogram and the spatial covariance structure of the measured data. Computing a performance model for a number of geologic simulations allows evaluation of the effects of geologic uncertainty. A site may be judged acceptable if the number of failures to meet a particular performance criterion produced by these computations is sufficiently low. A site that produces too many failures may be either unacceptable or simply inadequately described. The simulation approach to addressing geologic uncertainty is being applied to the potential high-level nuclear waste repository site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, U.S.A. Preliminary geologic models of unsaturated permeability have been created that reproduce observed statistical properties reasonably well. A spread of unsaturated groundwater travel times has been computed that reflects the variability of those geologic models. Regions within the simulated models exhibiting the greatest variability among multiple runs are candidates for obtaining the greatest reduction in uncertainty through additional site characterization.

Utilizing online resources for taxonomy: a cybercatalog of Afrotropical apiocerid flies (Insecta: Diptera: Apioceridae).

PubMed

Dikow, Torsten; Agosti, Donat

2015-01-01

A cybercatalog to the Apioceridae (apiocerid flies) of the Afrotropical Region is provided. Each taxon entry includes links to open-access, online repositories such as ZooBank, BHL/BioStor/BLR, Plazi, GBIF, Morphbank, EoL, and a research web-site to access taxonomic information, digitized literature, morphological descriptions, specimen occurrence data, and images. Cybercatalogs as the one presented here will need to become the future of taxonomic catalogs taking advantage of the growing number of online repositories, linked data, and be easily updatable. Comments on the deposition of the holotype of Apiocera braunsi Melander, 1907 are made.

HepSim: A repository with predictions for high-energy physics experiments

DOE PAGES

Chekanov, S. V.

2015-02-03

A file repository for calculations of cross sections and kinematic distributions using Monte Carlo generators for high-energy collisions is discussed. The repository is used to facilitate effective preservation and archiving of data from theoretical calculations and for comparisons with experimental data. The HepSim data library is publicly accessible and includes a number of Monte Carlo event samples with Standard Model predictions for current and future experiments. The HepSim project includes a software package to automate the process of downloading and viewing online Monte Carlo event samples. Data streaming over a network for end-user analysis is discussed.

Exploring a New Model for Preprint Server: A Case Study of CSPO

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hu, Changping; Zhang, Yaokun; Chen, Guo

2010-01-01

This paper describes the introduction of an open-access preprint server in China covering 43 disciplines. The system includes mandatory deposit for state-funded research and reports on the repository and its effectiveness and outlines a novel process of peer-review of preprints in the repository, which can be incorporated into the established…

Repository-Based Software Engineering Program: Working Program Management Plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

Repository-Based Software Engineering Program (RBSE) is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sponsored program dedicated to introducing and supporting common, effective approaches to software engineering practices. The process of conceiving, designing, building, and maintaining software systems by using existing software assets that are stored in a specialized operational reuse library or repository, accessible to system designers, is the foundation of the program. In addition to operating a software repository, RBSE promotes (1) software engineering technology transfer, (2) academic and instructional support of reuse programs, (3) the use of common software engineering standards and practices, (4) software reuse technology research, and (5) interoperability between reuse libraries. This Program Management Plan (PMP) is intended to communicate program goals and objectives, describe major work areas, and define a management report and control process. This process will assist the Program Manager, University of Houston at Clear Lake (UHCL) in tracking work progress and describing major program activities to NASA management. The goal of this PMP is to make managing the RBSE program a relatively easy process that improves the work of all team members. The PMP describes work areas addressed and work efforts being accomplished by the program; however, it is not intended as a complete description of the program. Its focus is on providing management tools and management processes for monitoring, evaluating, and administering the program; and it includes schedules for charting milestones and deliveries of program products. The PMP was developed by soliciting and obtaining guidance from appropriate program participants, analyzing program management guidance, and reviewing related program management documents.

Norm - contaminated iodine production facilities decommissioning in Turkmenistan: experience and results

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gelbutovskiy, Alexander; Cheremisin, Peter; Egorov, Alexander

2013-07-01

This report summarizes the data, including the cost parameters of the former iodine production facilities decommissioning project in Turkmenistan. Before the closure, these facilities were producing the iodine from the underground mineral water by the methods of charcoal adsorption. Balkanabat iodine and Khazar chemical plants' sites remediation, transportation and disposal campaigns main results could be seen. The rehabilitated area covers 47.5 thousand square meters. The remediation equipment main characteristics, technical solutions and rehabilitation operations performed are indicated also. The report shows the types of the waste shipping containers, the quantity and nature of the logistics operations. The project waste turnovermore » is about 2 million ton-kilometers. The problems encountered during the remediation of the Khazar chemical plant site are discussed: undetected waste quantities that were discovered during the operational activities required the additional volume of the disposal facility. The additional repository wall superstructure was designed and erected to accommodate this additional waste. There are data on the volume and characteristics of the NORM waste disposed: 60.4 thousand cu.m. of NORM with total activity 1 439 x 10{sup 9} Bq (38.89 Ci) were disposed at all. This report summarizes the project implementation results, from 2009 to 15.02.2012 (the date of the repository closure and its placement under the controlled supervision), including monitoring results within a year after the repository closure. (authors)« less

Future intrusion of oxygenated glacial meltwaters into the Fennoscandian shield: a possibility to consider in performance assessments for nuclear-waste disposal sites?: Chapter 6

USGS Publications Warehouse

Glynn, Pierre

2008-01-01

Provost et al. (1998) and Glynn and Voss (1999; also published in Glynn et al., 1999) considered the possibility that during future glaciations, oxygenated glacial meltwaters from two- to three-kilometer thick ice sheets could potentially intrude to the 500 m depth of planned nuclear-waste repositories. This possibility has been of concern because of potential negative effects on the stability of the repository engineered environment, and because of the potential mobilization of radionuclides should the oxygenated waters come into contact with the radioactive waste. The above reports argued that given the current state of knowledge, it was hard to discount the possibility that oxygenated waters could penetrate to repository level depth. The reports also suggested that oxidizing conditions might be present in the fractured rock environment for significant amounts of time, on the order of thousands to tens of thousands of years. In some earlier reports, Swedish and Finnish governmental agencies in charge of nuclear-waste disposal had considered the possibility that oxygenated meltwaters might intrude to the repository depth (SKI: 1992; Martinerie et al, 1992; Ahonen and Vieno, 1994). Subsequent to the publication of Provost et al. (1998), Glynn et al. (1999) and Glynn and Voss (1999), the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Handling Company (SKB) commissioned efforts to examine more thoroughly the possibilities that oxygenated meltwaters might occur under ice-sheet conditions and intrude to the repository depth.

Product/Process (P/P) Models For The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF): Model Ranges And Validation Ranges For Future Processing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jantzen, C.; Edwards, T.

Radioactive high level waste (HLW) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) has successfully been vitrified into borosilicate glass in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) since 1996. Vitrification requires stringent product/process (P/P) constraints since the glass cannot be reworked once it is poured into ten foot tall by two foot diameter canisters. A unique “feed forward” statistical process control (SPC) was developed for this control rather than statistical quality control (SQC). In SPC, the feed composition to the DWPF melter is controlled prior to vitrification. In SQC, the glass product would be sampled after it is vitrified. Individual glass property-compositionmore » models form the basis for the “feed forward” SPC. The models transform constraints on the melt and glass properties into constraints on the feed composition going to the melter in order to guarantee, at the 95% confidence level, that the feed will be processable and that the durability of the resulting waste form will be acceptable to a geologic repository.« less

10 CFR 960.5-2-5 - Environmental quality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

..., State, or local environmental requirements. (2) Projected significant adverse environmental impacts that... REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Environment, Socioeconomics, and Transportation § 960.5-2-5 Environmental quality. (a) Qualifying condition. The site shall be located such that (1) the quality of the environment...

SEDIMENT ASSESSMENT WITH THE BIVALVE MULINIA LATERALIS: MAXIMIZING TEST ORGANISM PROTECTION

EPA Science Inventory

Estuarine and marine sediments are a major repository for many of the more persistent chemicals introduced into surface waters. Approaches used by USEPA to identify a national inventory of contaminated sediment sites include, among other tools, whole-sediment toxicity (presently ...

10 CFR 960.5-2-5 - Environmental quality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... repository siting, construction, operation, closure, and decommissioning, and projected environmental impacts..., technical, social, economic, and environmental factors; and (2) the requirements specified in § 960.5-1(a)(2... the activities proposed to take place thereon. (2) Potential significant adverse environmental impacts...

10 CFR 960.5-2-5 - Environmental quality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... repository siting, construction, operation, closure, and decommissioning, and projected environmental impacts..., technical, social, economic, and environmental factors; and (2) the requirements specified in § 960.5-1(a)(2... the activities proposed to take place thereon. (2) Potential significant adverse environmental impacts...

10 CFR 960.5-2-5 - Environmental quality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... repository siting, construction, operation, closure, and decommissioning, and projected environmental impacts..., technical, social, economic, and environmental factors; and (2) the requirements specified in § 960.5-1(a)(2... the activities proposed to take place thereon. (2) Potential significant adverse environmental impacts...

Web life: Planet SciCast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2009-08-01

So what is the site about? Planet SciCast is an online repository for short films about science - a bit like a science-specific, moderated version of YouTube. As of July 2009, the site hosts over 150 films on topics ranging from CERN's Large Hadron Collider to fun things to do with treacle. New content appears on the site every few weeks, and some films include links to information about related experiments, demos and activities. The site also runs an annual competition aimed at getting more people involved in making science films, with prizes in categories like "best original score" and "best presenter".

Lead isotopes and trace metals in dust at Yucca Mountain

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kwak, Loretta; Neymark, Leonid A.; Peterman, Zell E.

2008-01-01

Lead (Pb)-isotope compositions and trace-metal concentrations were determined for samples of dust collected from underground and surface locations at and near the proposed radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Rare earth element concentrations in the dust samples from the underground tunnels are similar to those in wholerock samples of the repository host rocks (Miocene Tiva Canyon Tuff and Topopah Spring Tuff), supporting interpretation that the subsurface dust is mainly composed of rock comminuted during tunnel construction. Other trace metals (arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, manganese, nickel, lead, antimony, thallium, and zinc) are variably enriched in the subsurface dust samples relative to the average concentrations in the host rocks. Average concentrations of arsenic and lead in dust samples, high concentrations of which can cause corrosion of waste canisters, have enrichment factors from 1.2 to 1.6 and are insignificant relative to the range of concentrations for these metals observed in the host rock samples. Most dust samples from surface sites also are enriched in many of these trace metals relative to average repository host rocks. At least some of these enrichments may be artifacts of sampling. Plotted on a 208Pb/206Pb-207Pb/206Pb graph, Pb-isotope compositions of dust samples from underground sites form a mixing line extending from host-rock Pb-isotope compositions towards compositions of many of the dust samples from surface sites; however, combined Pb concentration and isotope data indicate the presence of a Pbenriched component in the subsurface dust that is not derived from host rock or surface dust and may derive from anthropogenic materials introduced into the underground environment.

Physical limits on ground motion at Yucca Mountain

USGS Publications Warehouse

Andrews, D.J.; Hanks, T.C.; Whitney, J.W.

2007-01-01

Physical limits on possible maximum ground motion at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the designated site of a high-level radioactive waste repository, are set by the shear stress available in the seismogenic depth of the crust and by limits on stress change that can propagate through the medium. We find in dynamic deterministic 2D calculations that maximum possible horizontal peak ground velocity (PGV) at the underground repository site is 3.6 m/sec, which is smaller than the mean PGV predicted by the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) at annual exceedance probabilities less than 10-6 per year. The physical limit on vertical PGV, 5.7 m/sec, arises from supershear rupture and is larger than that from the PSHA down to 10-8 per year. In addition to these physical limits, we also calculate the maximum ground motion subject to the constraint of known fault slip at the surface, as inferred from paleoseismic studies. Using a published probabilistic fault displacement hazard curve, these calculations provide a probabilistic hazard curve for horizontal PGV that is lower than that from the PSHA. In all cases the maximum ground motion at the repository site is found by maximizing constructive interference of signals from the rupture front, for physically realizable rupture velocity, from all parts of the fault. Vertical PGV is maximized for ruptures propagating near the P-wave speed, and horizontal PGV is maximized for ruptures propagating near the Rayleigh-wave speed. Yielding in shear with a Mohr-Coulomb yield condition reduces ground motion only a modest amount in events with supershear rupture velocity, because ground motion consists primarily of P waves in that case. The possibility of compaction of the porous unsaturated tuffs at the higher ground-motion levels is another attenuating mechanism that needs to be investigated.

A biosphere assessment of high-level radioactive waste disposal in Sweden.

PubMed

Kautsky, Ulrik; Lindborg, Tobias; Valentin, Jack

2015-04-01

Licence applications to build a repository for the disposal of Swedish spent nuclear fuel have been lodged, underpinned by myriad reports and several broader reviews. This paper sketches out the technical and administrative aspects and highlights a recent review of the biosphere effects of a potential release from the repository. A comprehensive database and an understanding of major fluxes and pools of water and organic matter in the landscape let one envisage the future by looking at older parts of the site. Thus, today's biosphere is used as a natural analogue of possible future landscapes. It is concluded that the planned repository can meet the safety criteria and will have no detectable radiological impact on plants and animals. This paper also briefly describes biosphere work undertaken after the review. The multidisciplinary approach used is relevant in a much wider context and may prove beneficial across many environmental contexts. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Native Americans and state and local governments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rusco, E.R.

1991-10-01

Native Americans` concerns arising from the possibility of establishment of a nuclear repository for high level wastes at Yucca Mountain fall principally into two main categories. First, the strongest objection to the repository comes from traditional Western Shoshones. Their objections are based on a claim that the Western Shoshones still own Yucca Mountain and also on the assertion that putting high level nuclear wastes into the ground is a violation of their religious views regarding nature. Second, there are several reservations around the Yucca Mountain site that might be affected in various ways by building of the repository. There ismore » a question about how many such reservations there are, which can only be decided when more information is available. This report discusses two questions: the bearing of the continued vigorous assertion by traditionalist Western Shoshones of their land claim; and the extent to which Nevada state and local governments are able to understand and represent Indian viewpoints about Yucca Mountain.« less

Marine ecosystem modeling beyond the box: using GIS to study carbon fluxes in a coastal ecosystem.

PubMed

Wijnbladh, Erik; Jönsson, Bror Fredrik; Kumblad, Linda

2006-12-01

Studies of carbon fluxes in marine ecosystems are often done by using box model approaches with basin size boxes, or highly resolved 3D models, and an emphasis on the pelagic component of the ecosystem. Those approaches work well in the ocean proper, but can give rise to considerable problems when applied to coastal systems, because of the scale of certain ecological niches and the fact that benthic organisms are the dominant functional group of the ecosystem. In addition, 3D models require an extensive modeling effort. In this project, an intermediate approach based on a high resolution (20x20 m) GIS data-grid has been developed for the coastal ecosystem in the Laxemar area (Baltic Sea, Sweden) based on a number of different site investigations. The model has been developed in the context of a safety assessment project for a proposed nuclear waste repository, in which the fate of hypothetically released radionuclides from the planned repository is estimated. The assessment project requires not only a good understanding of the ecosystem dynamics at the site, but also quantification of stocks and flows of matter in the system. The data-grid was then used to set up a carbon budget describing the spatial distribution of biomass, primary production, net ecosystem production and thus where carbon sinks and sources are located in the area. From these results, it was clear that there was a large variation in ecosystem characteristics within the basins and, on a larger scale, that the inner areas are net producing and the outer areas net respiring, even in shallow phytobenthic communities. Benthic processes had a similar or larger influence on carbon fluxes as advective processes in inner areas, whereas the opposite appears to be true in the outer basins. As many radionuclides are expected to follow the pathways of organic matter in the environment, these findings enhance our abilities to realistically describe and predict their fate in the ecosystem.

Innovations and Lessons Learned Developing the USDA Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network Common Observatory Data Repository

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, J. D.; Heilman, P.; Goodrich, D. C.; Sadler, J.

2015-12-01

The objective for the USDA Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network Common Observatory Repository (CORe) is to provide data management services including archive, discovery, and access for consistently observed data across all 18 nodes. LTAR members have an average of 56 years of diverse historic data. Each LTAR has designated a representative 'permanent' site as the location's common meteorological observatory. CORe implementation is phased, starting with meteorology, then adding hydrology, eddy flux, soil, and biology data. A design goal was to adopt existing best practices while minimizing the additional data management duties for the researchers. LTAR is providing support for data management specialists at the locations and the National Agricultural Library is providing central data management services. Maintaining continuity with historical observations is essential, so observations from both the legacy and new common methods are included in CORe. International standards are used to store robust descriptive metadata (ISO 19115) for the observation station and surrounding locale (WMO), sensors (Sensor ML), and activity (e.g., re-calibration, locale changes) to provide sufficient detail for novel data re-use for the next 50 years. To facilitate data submission a simple text format was designed. Datasets in CORe will receive DOIs to encourage citations giving fair credit for data providers. Data and metadata access are designed to support multiple formats and naming conventions. An automated QC process is being developed to enhance comparability among LTAR locations and to generate QC process metadata. Data provenance is maintained with a permanent record of changes including those by local scientists reviewing the automated QC results. Lessons learned so far include increase in site acceptance of CORe with the decision to store data from both legacy and new common methods. A larger than anticipated variety of currently used methods with potentially significant differences for future data use was found. Cooperative peer support among locations with the same sensors coupled with central support has reduced redundancy in procedural and data documentation.

The Cathedral and the Bazaar of E-Repository Development: Encouraging Community Engagement with Moving Pictures and Sound

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Denis; Shephard, Kerry L.; Phillips, Peter

2008-01-01

This paper offers an insight into the development, use and governance of e-repositories for learning and teaching, illustrated by Eric Raymond's bazaar and cathedral analogies and by a comparison of collection strategies that focus on content coverage or on the needs of users. It addresses in particular the processes that encourage and achieve…

A Computational Workflow for the Automated Generation of Models of Genetic Designs.

PubMed

Misirli, Göksel; Nguyen, Tramy; McLaughlin, James Alastair; Vaidyanathan, Prashant; Jones, Timothy S; Densmore, Douglas; Myers, Chris; Wipat, Anil

2018-06-05

Computational models are essential to engineer predictable biological systems and to scale up this process for complex systems. Computational modeling often requires expert knowledge and data to build models. Clearly, manual creation of models is not scalable for large designs. Despite several automated model construction approaches, computational methodologies to bridge knowledge in design repositories and the process of creating computational models have still not been established. This paper describes a workflow for automatic generation of computational models of genetic circuits from data stored in design repositories using existing standards. This workflow leverages the software tool SBOLDesigner to build structural models that are then enriched by the Virtual Parts Repository API using Systems Biology Open Language (SBOL) data fetched from the SynBioHub design repository. The iBioSim software tool is then utilized to convert this SBOL description into a computational model encoded using the Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML). Finally, this SBML model can be simulated using a variety of methods. This workflow provides synthetic biologists with easy to use tools to create predictable biological systems, hiding away the complexity of building computational models. This approach can further be incorporated into other computational workflows for design automation.

E-facts: business process management in clinical data repositories.

PubMed

Wattanasin, Nich; Peng, Zhaoping; Raine, Christine; Mitchell, Mariah; Wang, Charles; Murphy, Shawn N

2008-11-06

The Partners Healthcare Research Patient Data Registry (RPDR) is a centralized data repository that gathers clinical data from various hospital systems. The RPDR allows clinical investigators to obtain aggregate numbers of patients with user-defined characteristics such as diagnoses, procedures, medications, and laboratory values. They may then obtain patient identifiers and electronic medical records with prior IRB approval. Moreover, the accurate identification and efficient population of worthwhile and quantifiable facts from doctor's report into the RPDR is a significant process. As part of our ongoing e-Fact project, this work describes a new business process management technology that helps coordinate and simplify this procedure.

10 CFR 60.21 - Content of application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... accordance with § 73.51 of this chapter. This plan must include the design for physical protection, the... might affect geologic repository operations area design and performance. The description of the site... geomechanical, hydrogeologic, and geochemical systems to the maximum design thermal loading, given the pattern...

10 CFR 60.21 - Content of application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... accordance with § 73.51 of this chapter. This plan must include the design for physical protection, the... might affect geologic repository operations area design and performance. The description of the site... geomechanical, hydrogeologic, and geochemical systems to the maximum design thermal loading, given the pattern...

10 CFR 60.21 - Content of application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... accordance with § 73.51 of this chapter. This plan must include the design for physical protection, the... might affect geologic repository operations area design and performance. The description of the site... geomechanical, hydrogeologic, and geochemical systems to the maximum design thermal loading, given the pattern...

10 CFR 60.21 - Content of application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... accordance with § 73.51 of this chapter. This plan must include the design for physical protection, the... might affect geologic repository operations area design and performance. The description of the site... geomechanical, hydrogeologic, and geochemical systems to the maximum design thermal loading, given the pattern...

10 CFR 60.21 - Content of application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... accordance with § 73.51 of this chapter. This plan must include the design for physical protection, the... might affect geologic repository operations area design and performance. The description of the site... geomechanical, hydrogeologic, and geochemical systems to the maximum design thermal loading, given the pattern...

10 CFR 963.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... the sealing of shafts and ramps, except those openings that may be designed for ventilation or... repository, as defined by this section, at the Yucca Mountain site. Design means a description of the... includes the engineered barrier system. Design bases means that information that identifies the specific...

10 CFR 963.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... the sealing of shafts and ramps, except those openings that may be designed for ventilation or... repository, as defined by this section, at the Yucca Mountain site. Design means a description of the... includes the engineered barrier system. Design bases means that information that identifies the specific...

10 CFR 960.3 - Implementation guidelines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Implementation guidelines. 960.3 Section 960.3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3 Implementation guidelines. The guidelines of this subpart...

10 CFR 960.3 - Implementation guidelines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Implementation guidelines. 960.3 Section 960.3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3 Implementation guidelines. The guidelines of this subpart...

10 CFR 960.3 - Implementation guidelines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Implementation guidelines. 960.3 Section 960.3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3 Implementation guidelines. The guidelines of this subpart...

10 CFR 960.3 - Implementation guidelines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Implementation guidelines. 960.3 Section 960.3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3 Implementation guidelines. The guidelines of this subpart...

Review breathes life into Yucca site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gwynne, Peter

2014-12-01

A review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on the long-term safety of the Yucca Mountain repository for nuclear waste in Nevada has improved the chances that it may go ahead, despite being mothballed by the administration of US president Barack Obama back in 2010.

10 CFR 960.3 - Implementation guidelines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Implementation guidelines. 960.3 Section 960.3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Implementation Guidelines § 960.3 Implementation guidelines. The guidelines of this subpart...

10 CFR 960.1 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Applicability. 960.1 Section 960.1 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY General Provisions § 960.1 Applicability. These guidelines were developed in accordance with the...

10 CFR 963.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... the sealing of shafts and ramps, except those openings that may be designed for ventilation or... repository, as defined by this section, at the Yucca Mountain site. Design means a description of the... includes the engineered barrier system. Design bases means that information that identifies the specific...

10 CFR 963.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... the sealing of shafts and ramps, except those openings that may be designed for ventilation or... repository, as defined by this section, at the Yucca Mountain site. Design means a description of the... includes the engineered barrier system. Design bases means that information that identifies the specific...

10 CFR 963.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... the sealing of shafts and ramps, except those openings that may be designed for ventilation or... repository, as defined by this section, at the Yucca Mountain site. Design means a description of the... includes the engineered barrier system. Design bases means that information that identifies the specific...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building, Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach, Center Director Jim Kennedy and NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston unveil a plaque honoring “Columbia, the crew of STS-107, and their loved ones.” The site is the “Columbia room,” a permanent repository of the debris collected in the aftermath of the tragic accident Feb. 1, 2003, that claimed the orbiter and lives of the seven-member crew. The dedication of the plaque was made in front of the 40-member preservation team.

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-01-29

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building, Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach, Center Director Jim Kennedy and NASA Vehicle Manager Scott Thurston unveil a plaque honoring “Columbia, the crew of STS-107, and their loved ones.” The site is the “Columbia room,” a permanent repository of the debris collected in the aftermath of the tragic accident Feb. 1, 2003, that claimed the orbiter and lives of the seven-member crew. The dedication of the plaque was made in front of the 40-member preservation team.

Organizing Diverse, Distributed Project Information

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, Richard M.

2003-01-01

SemanticOrganizer is a software application designed to organize and integrate information generated within a distributed organization or as part of a project that involves multiple, geographically dispersed collaborators. SemanticOrganizer incorporates the capabilities of database storage, document sharing, hypermedia navigation, and semantic-interlinking into a system that can be customized to satisfy the specific information-management needs of different user communities. The program provides a centralized repository of information that is both secure and accessible to project collaborators via the World Wide Web. SemanticOrganizer's repository can be used to collect diverse information (including forms, documents, notes, data, spreadsheets, images, and sounds) from computers at collaborators work sites. The program organizes the information using a unique network-structured conceptual framework, wherein each node represents a data record that contains not only the original information but also metadata (in effect, standardized data that characterize the information). Links among nodes express semantic relationships among the data records. The program features a Web interface through which users enter, interlink, and/or search for information in the repository. By use of this repository, the collaborators have immediate access to the most recent project information, as well as to archived information. A key advantage to SemanticOrganizer is its ability to interlink information together in a natural fashion using customized terminology and concepts that are familiar to a user community.

Use of groundwater lifetime expectancy for the performance assessment of a deep geologic waste repository: 1. Theory, illustrations, and implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cornaton, F. J.; Park, Y.-J.; Normani, S. D.; Sudicky, E. A.; Sykes, J. F.

2008-04-01

Long-term solutions for the disposal of toxic wastes usually involve isolation of the wastes in a deep subsurface geologic environment. In the case of spent nuclear fuel, if radionuclide leakage occurs from the engineered barrier, the geological medium represents the ultimate barrier that is relied upon to ensure safety. Consequently, an evaluation of radionuclide travel times from a repository to the biosphere is critically important in a performance assessment analysis. In this study, we develop a travel time framework based on the concept of groundwater lifetime expectancy as a safety indicator. Lifetime expectancy characterizes the time that radionuclides will spend in the subsurface after their release from the repository and prior to discharging into the biosphere. The probability density function of lifetime expectancy is computed throughout the host rock by solving the backward-in-time solute transport adjoint equation subject to a properly posed set of boundary conditions. It can then be used to define optimal repository locations. The risk associated with selected sites can be evaluated by simulating an appropriate contaminant release history. The utility of the method is illustrated by means of analytical and numerical examples, which focus on the effect of fracture networks on the uncertainty of evaluated lifetime expectancy.

Nuclear waste disposal: Gambling on Yucca Mountain

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ginsburg, S.

1995-05-01

This document describes the historical aspects of nuclear energy ,nuclear weapons usage, and development of the nuclear bureaucracy in the United States, and discusses the selection and siting of Yucca Mountain, Nevada for a federal nuclear waste repository. Litigation regarding the site selection and resulting battles in the political arena and in the Nevada State Legislature are also presented. Alternative radioactive waste disposal options, risk assessments of the Yucca Mountain site, and logistics regarding the transportation and storage of nuclear waste are also presented. This document also contains an extensive bibliography.

Feds deed Ward Valley site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1995-06-12

This article is a review of the efforts to site a low-level waste repository in California. To resolve a long-running dispute, the US Government has agreed to deed to the state 1000 acres of land in the Mohave Desert. It was noted that environmentalists are unhappy with this action, and it was also noted by the prime contractor (US Ecology) that the facility can be finished six to nine months after the legal challenges are finished.

Reducing data friction through site-based data curation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomer, A.; Palmer, C. L.

2017-12-01

Much of geoscience research takes place at "scientifically significant sites": localities which have attracted a critical mass of scientific interest, and thereby merit protection by government bodies, as well as the preservation of specimen and data collections and the development of site-specific permitting requirements for access to the site and its associated collections. However, many data standards and knowledge organization schemas do not adequately describe key characteristics of the sites, despite their centrality to research projects. Through work conducted as part of the IMLS-funded Site-Based Data Curation (SBDC) project, we developed a Minimum Information Framework (MIF) for site-based science, in which "information about a site's structure" is considered a core class of information. Here we present our empirically-derived information framework, as well as the methods used to create it. We believe these approaches will lead to the development of more effective data repositories and tools, and thereby will reduce "data friction" in interdisciplinary, yet site-based, geoscience workflows. The Minimum Information Framework for Site-based Research was developed through work at two scientifically significant sites: the hot springs at Yellowstone National Park, which are key to geobiology research; and the La Brea Tar Pits, an important paleontology locality in Southern California. We employed diverse methods of participatory engagement, in which key stakeholders at our sites (e.g. curators, collections managers, researchers, permit officers) were consulted through workshops, focus groups, interviews, action research methods, and collaborative information modeling and systems analysis. These participatory approaches were highly effective in fostering on-going partnership among a diverse team of domain scientists, information scientists, and software developers. The MIF developed in this work may be viewed as a "proto-standard" that can inform future repository development and data standards. Further, the approaches used to develop the MIF represent an important step toward systematic methods of developing geoscience data standards. Finally, we argue that organizing data around aspects of a site makes data collections more accessible to a range of scientific communities.

Childhood Vesicoureteral Reflux Studies: Registries and Repositories Sources and Nosology

PubMed Central

Chesney, Russell W.; Patters, Andrea B.

2012-01-01

Despite several recent studies, the advisability of antimicrobial prophylaxis and certain imaging studies for urinary tract infections (UTIs) remains controversial. The role of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) on the severity and re-infection rates for UTIs is also difficult to assess. Registries and repositories of data and biomaterials from clinical studies in children with VUR are valuable. Disease registries are collections of secondary data related to patients with a specific diagnosis, condition or procedure. Registries differ from indices in that they contain more extensive data. A research repository is an entity that receives, stores, processes and/or disseminates specimens (or other materials) as needed. It encompasses the physical location as well as the full range of activities associated with its operation. It may also be referred to as a biorepository. This report provides information about some current registries and repositories that include data and samples from children with VUR. It also describes the heterogeneous nature of the subjects, as some registries and repositories include only data or samples from patients with primary reflux while others also include those from patients with syndromic or secondary reflux. PMID:23044377

Testing of candidate waste-package backfill and canister materials for basalt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wood, M. I.; Anderson, W. J.; Aden, G. D.

1982-09-01

The Basalt Waste Isolation Project (BWIP) is developing a multiple-barrier waste package to contain high-level nuclear waste as part of an overall system (e.g., waste package, repository sealing system, and host rock) designed to isolate the waste in a repository located in basalt beneath the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington. The three basic components of the waste package are the waste form, the canister, and the backfill. An extensive testing program is under way to determine the chemical, physical, and mechanical properties of potential canister and backfill materials. The data derived from this testing program will be used to recommend those materials that most adequately perform the functions assigned to the canister and backfill.

The new Wallula CO2 project may revive the old Columbia River Basalt (western USA) nuclear-waste repository project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwartz, Michael O.

2018-02-01

A novel CO2 sequestration project at Wallula, Washington, USA, makes ample use of the geoscientific data collection of the old nuclear waste repository project at the Hanford Site nearby. Both projects target the Columbia River Basalt (CRB). The new publicity for the old project comes at a time when the approach to high-level nuclear waste disposal has undergone fundamental changes. The emphasis now is on a technical barrier that is chemically compatible with the host rock. In the ideal case, the waste container is in thermodynamic equilibrium with the host-rock groundwater regime. The CRB groundwater has what it takes to represent the ideal case.

Developing criteria to establish Trusted Digital Repositories

USGS Publications Warehouse

Faundeen, John L.

2017-01-01

This paper details the drivers, methods, and outcomes of the U.S. Geological Survey’s quest to establish criteria by which to judge its own digital preservation resources as Trusted Digital Repositories. Drivers included recent U.S. legislation focused on data and asset management conducted by federal agencies spending $100M USD or more annually on research activities. The methods entailed seeking existing evaluation criteria from national and international organizations such as International Standards Organization (ISO), U.S. Library of Congress, and Data Seal of Approval upon which to model USGS repository evaluations. Certification, complexity, cost, and usability of existing evaluation models were key considerations. The selected evaluation method was derived to allow the repository evaluation process to be transparent, understandable, and defensible; factors that are critical for judging competing, internal units. Implementing the chosen evaluation criteria involved establishing a cross-agency, multi-disciplinary team that interfaced across the organization. 

Challenges and Solutions for the Integration of Structural and Hydrogeological Understanding of Fracture Systems - Insights from the Olkiluoto Site, Finland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartley, L. J.; Aaltonen, I.; Baxter, S. J.; Cottrell, M.; Fox, A. L.; Hoek, J.; Koskinen, L.; Mattila, J.; Mosley, K.; Selroos, J. O.; Suikkanen, J.; Vanhanarkaus, O.; Williams, T. R. N.

2017-12-01

A field site at Olkiluoto in SW Finland has undergone extensive investigations as a location for a deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel, which is expected to become operational in the early 2020s. Characterisation data comes from 58 deep cored drillholes, a wide variety of geophysical investigations, many outcrops, kilometres of underground mapping and testing in the ONKALO research facility, and groundwater pressure monitoring and sampling in both deep and shallow holes. A primary focus is on the properties of natural fractures and brittle fault zones in the low permeability crystalline rocks at Olkiluoto; an understanding of the flow and transport processes in these features are an essential part of assessing long-term safety of the repository. This presentation will illustrate how different types of source data and cross-disciplinary interpretations are integrated to develop conceptual and numerical models of the fracture system. A model of the brittle fault zones developed from geological and geophysical data provides the hydrostructural backbone controlling the most intense fracturing and dynamic conduits for fluids. Models of ductile deformation and lithology form a tectonic framework for the description of fracture heterogeneity in the background rock, revealing correlations between the intensity and orientation of fractures with geological and spatial properties. The sizes of brittle features are found to be best defined on two scales relating to individual fractures and zones. Inferred fracture-specific from flow logging are correlated with fracture geometric and mechanical properties along with in situ stress measurements to create a hydromechanical description of fracture hydraulic properties. The insights and understandings gained from these efforts help define a discrete fracture network (DFN) model for the Olkiluoto site, with hydrogeological characteristics consistent with monitoring data of hydraulic heads and their disturbances to pumping and underground construction. This work offers ideas and proposed solutions on how some of the challenges in describing fractured rock hydrogeology can be tackled.

77 FR 4815 - Ace Info Solutions, Inc., and Information International Associates; Transfer of Data

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-31

... Confidential Business Information (CBI) by the submitter, will be transferred to Ace Info Solutions, Inc., and... Chemical Libraries and Repository; 4. Information architecture support, consultation on site structure and..., Business and industry, Government contracts, Government property, Security measures. Dated: January 19...

Game Theory .net.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shor, Mikhael

2003-01-01

States making game theory relevant and accessible to students is challenging. Describes the primary goal of GameTheory.net is to provide interactive teaching tools. Indicates the site strives to unite educators from economics, political and computer science, and ecology by providing a repository of lecture notes and tests for courses using…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hansen, Francis D.

Observational petrofabrics, thermal, mechanical, and hydrological measurements were made on reconsolidated salt samples extracted from the field site in which a study called Backfilling and Sealing of Underground Repositories for Radioactive Waste in Salt was conducted. Similar characterization was completed more than a decade ago, so this work furthers previous measurements after sustained consolidation in situ . Porosity determined by traditional point-counting on polished sections and helium porosimeter methods ranged from 20-25% with consolidation governed by brittle processes, as evidence of fluid-aided, grain-boundary processes was rarely observed. Thermal conductivity in the range of 2.3 W /( m * K )more » is consistent for granular halite in this porosity range. Gas flow measurements yielded permeability of the order of 5e -13 m 2 . Pressure-sensitive compressive strengths at 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 MPa confining pressure were 8, 9, and 14 MPa, respectively, with apparent elastic moduli increase with deformation.« less

Multi-institutional tumor banking: lessons learned from a pancreatic cancer biospecimen repository.

PubMed

Demeure, Michael J; Sielaff, Timothy; Koep, Larry; Prinz, Richard; Moser, A James; Zeh, Herb; Hostetter, Galen; Black, Jodi; Decker, Ardis; Rosewell, Sandra; Bussey, Kimberly J; Von Hoff, Daniel

2010-10-01

Clinically annotated pancreatic cancer samples are needed for progress to be made toward developing more effective treatments for this deadly cancer. As part of a National Cancer Institute-funded program project, we established a biospecimen core to support the research efforts. This article summarizes the key hurdles encountered and solutions we found in the process of developing a successful multi-institution biospecimen repository.

Electronic Collection Management and Electronic Information Services

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-12-01

federated search tools are still being perfected with much debate surrounding their use. Encouragingly, as the federated search tools have evolved...institutional repositories to be included in a federated search process, libraries would have to harvest the metadata from the repositories and then make...providers in Library High Tech News. At this time, federated search engines serve some user groups better than others. Undergraduate students are well

The SeaView EarthCube project: Lessons Learned from Integrating Across Repositories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diggs, S. C.; Stocks, K. I.; Arko, R. A.; Kinkade, D.; Shepherd, A.; Olson, C. J.; Pham, A.

2017-12-01

SeaView is an NSF-funded EarthCube Integrative Activity Project working with 5 existing data repositories* to provide oceanographers with highly integrated thematic data collections in user-requested formats. The project has three complementary goals: Supporting Scientists: SeaView targets scientists' need for easy access to data of interest that are ready to import into their preferred tool. Strengthening Repositories: By integrating data from multiple repositories for science use, SeaView is helping the ocean data repositories align their data and processes and make ocean data more accessible and easily integrated. Informing EarthCube (earthcube.org): SeaView's experience as an integration demonstration can inform the larger NSF EarthCube architecture and design effort. The challenges faced in this small-scale effort are informative to geosciences cyberinfrastructure more generally. Here we focus on the lessons learned that may inform other data facilities and integrative architecture projects. (The SeaView data collections will be presented at the Ocean Sciences 2018 meeting.) One example is the importance of shared semantics, with persistent identifiers, for key integration elements across the data sets (e.g. cruise, parameter, and project/program.) These must allow for revision through time and should have an agreed authority or process for resolving conflicts: aligning identifiers and correcting errors were time consuming and often required both deep domain knowledge and "back end" knowledge of the data facilities. Another example is the need for robust provenance, and tools that support automated or semi-automated data transform pipelines that capture provenance. Multiple copies and versions of data are now flowing into repositories, and onward to long-term archives such as NOAA NCEI and umbrella portals such as DataONE. Exact copies can be identified with hashes (for those that have the skills), but it can be painfully difficult to understand the processing or format changes that differentiates versions. As more sensors are deployed, and data re-use increases, this will only become more challenging. We will discuss these, and additional lessons learned, as well as invite discussion and solutions from others doing similar work. * BCO-DMO, CCHDO, OBIS, OOI, R2R

An evaluation of the process and initial impact of disseminating a nursing e-thesis.

PubMed

Macduff, Colin

2009-05-01

This paper is a report of a study conducted to evaluate product, process and outcome aspects of the dissemination of a nursing PhD thesis via an open-access electronic institutional repository. Despite the growth of university institutional repositories which make theses easily accessible via the world wide web, nursing has been very slow to evaluate related processes and outcomes. Drawing on Stake's evaluation research methods, a case study design was adopted. The case is described using a four-phase structure within which key aspects of process and impact are reflexively analysed. In the conceptualization/re-conceptualization phase, fundamental questions about the purpose, format and imagined readership for a published nursing PhD were considered. In the preparation phase, seven key practical processes were identified that are likely to be relevant to most e-theses. In the dissemination phase email invitations were primarily used to invite engagement. The evaluation phase involved quantitative indicators of initial impact, such as page viewing and download statistics and qualitative feedback on processes and product. Analysis of process and impact elements of e-thesis dissemination is likely to have more than intrinsic value. The advent of e-theses housed in web-based institutional repositories has the potential to transform thesis access and use. It also offers potential to transform the nature and scope of thesis production and dissemination. Nursing scholars can exploit and evaluate such opportunities.

Secured web-based video repository for multicenter studies

PubMed Central

Yan, Ling; Hicks, Matt; Winslow, Korey; Comella, Cynthia; Ludlow, Christy; Jinnah, H. A; Rosen, Ami R; Wright, Laura; Galpern, Wendy R; Perlmutter, Joel S

2015-01-01

Background We developed a novel secured web-based dystonia video repository for the Dystonia Coalition, part of the Rare Disease Clinical Research network funded by the Office of Rare Diseases Research and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. A critical component of phenotypic data collection for all projects of the Dystonia Coalition includes a standardized video of each participant. We now describe our method for collecting, serving and securing these videos that is widely applicable to other studies. Methods Each recruiting site uploads standardized videos to a centralized secured server for processing to permit website posting. The streaming technology used to view the videos from the website does not allow downloading of video files. With appropriate institutional review board approval and agreement with the hosting institution, users can search and view selected videos on the website using customizable, permissions-based access that maintains security yet facilitates research and quality control. Results This approach provides a convenient platform for researchers across institutions to evaluate and analyze shared video data. We have applied this methodology for quality control, confirmation of diagnoses, validation of rating scales, and implementation of new research projects. Conclusions We believe our system can be a model for similar projects that require access to common video resources. PMID:25630890

Study of thermo-hydro-mechanical processes at a potential site of an Indian nuclear waste repository

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maheshwar, Sachin; Verma, A. K.; Singh, T. N.; Bajpai, R. K.

2015-12-01

A detailed scientific study is required for the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes because they generate extremely high heat during their half-life period. Although, several methods have been proposed for the disposal of nuclear wastes, deep underground repository is considered to be a suitable option. In this paper, field investigation has been done near to Bhima basin of peninsular India. Detailed fracture analysis near the borehole shows very prominent maxima of fractures striking N55∘E coinciding with the trace of master basement cover metasediment fault. Physico-mechanical properties of rocks have been determined in the laboratory. The host rock chosen is granite and engineered barrier near the canister is proposed to be clay. A thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) analysis has been done to study the effect of heat on deformations, stresses and pore-pressure variation in granite and clay barriers. For this purpose, finite difference method has been used. Suitable rheological models have been used to model elastic canister and elasto-plastic engineered barrier and host rock. It has been found that both temperature and stresses at any point in the rockmass is below the design criteria which are 100∘C for temperature and 0.2 for damage number.

D Cultural Heritage Documentation: a Comparison Between Different Photogrammetric Software and Their Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gagliolo, S.; Ausonio, E.; Federici, B.; Ferrando, I.; Passoni, D.; Sguerso, D.

2018-05-01

The conservation of Cultural Heritage depends on the availability of means and resources and, consequently, on the possibility to make effective operations of data acquisition. In facts, on the one hand the creation of data repositories allows the description of the present state-of-art, in order to preserve the testimonial value and to permit the fruition. On the other hand, data acquisition grants a metrical knowledge, which is particularly useful for a direct restoration of the surveyed objects, through the analysis of their 3D digital models. In the last decades, the continuous increase and improvement of 3D survey techniques and of tools for the geometric and digital data management have represented a great support to the development of documentary activities. In particular, Photogrammetry is a survey technique highly appropriate in the creation of data repositories in the field of Cultural Heritage, thanks to its advantages of cheapness, flexibility, speed, and the opportunity to ensure the operators' safety in hazardous areas too. In order to obtain a complete documentation, the high precision of the on-site operations must be coupled with an effective post-processing phase. Hence, a comparison among some of the photogrammetric software currently available was performed by the authors, with a particular attention to the workflow completeness and the final products quality.

3D numerical modelling of the thermal state of deep geological nuclear waste repositories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butov, R. A.; Drobyshevsky, N. I.; Moiseenko, E. V.; Tokarev, Yu. N.

2017-09-01

One of the important aspects of the high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal in deep geological repositories is ensuring the integrity of the engineered barriers which is, among other phenomena, considerably influenced by the thermal loads. As the HLW produce significant amount of heat, the design of the repository should maintain the balance between the cost-effectiveness of the construction and the sufficiency of the safety margins, including those imposed on the thermal conditions of the barriers. The 3D finite-element computer code FENIA was developed as a tool for simulation of thermal processes in deep geological repositories. Further the models for mechanical phenomena and groundwater hydraulics will be added resulting in a fully coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) solution. The long-term simulations of the thermal state were performed for two possible layouts of the repository. One was based on the proposed project of Russian repository, and another features larger HLW amount within the same space. The obtained results describe the spatial and temporal evolution of the temperature filed inside the repository and in the surrounding rock for 3500 years. These results show that practically all generated heat was ultimately absorbed by the host rock without any significant temperature increase. Still in the short time span even in case of smaller amount of the HLW the temperature maximum exceeds 100 °C, and for larger amount of the HLW the local temperature remains above 100 °C for considerable time. Thus, the substantiation of the long-term stability of the repository would require an extensive study of the materials properties and behaviour in order to remove the excessive conservatism from the simulations and to reduce the uncertainty of the input data.

Simulation of fluid flow and energy transport processes associated with high-level radioactive waste disposal in unsaturated alluvium

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pollock, David W.

1986-01-01

Many parts of the Great Basin have thick zones of unsaturated alluvium which might be suitable for disposing of high-level radioactive wastes. A mathematical model accounting for the coupled transport of energy, water (vapor and liquid), and dry air was used to analyze one-dimensional, vertical transport above and below an areally extensive repository. Numerical simulations were conducted for a hypothetical repository containing spent nuclear fuel and located 100 m below land surface. Initial steady state downward water fluxes of zero (hydrostatic) and 0.0003 m yr−1were considered in an attempt to bracket the likely range in natural water flux. Predicted temperatures within the repository peaked after approximately 50 years and declined slowly thereafter in response to the decreasing intensity of the radioactive heat source. The alluvium near the repository experienced a cycle of drying and rewetting in both cases. The extent of the dry zone was strongly controlled by the mobility of liquid water near the repository under natural conditions. In the case of initial hydrostatic conditions, the dry zone extended approximately 10 m above and 15 m below the repository. For the case of a natural flux of 0.0003 m yr−1 the relative permeability of water near the repository was initially more than 30 times the value under hydrostatic conditions, consequently the dry zone extended only about 2 m above and 5 m below the repository. In both cases a significant perturbation in liquid saturation levels persisted for several hundred years. This analysis illustrates the extreme sensitivity of model predictions to initial conditions and parameters, such as relative permeability and moisture characteristic curves, that are often poorly known.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kot, Wing K.; Pegg, Ian L.; Brandys, Marek

One of the primary roles of waste pretreatment at the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) is to separate the majority of the radioactive components from the majority of the nonradioactive components in retrieved tank wastes, producing a high level waste (HLW) stream and a low activity waste (LAW) stream. This separation process is a key element in the overall strategy to reduce the volume of HLW that requires vitrification and subsequent disposal in a national deep geological repository for high level nuclear waste. After removal of the radioactive constituents, the LAW stream, which has a much largermore » volume but smaller fraction of radioactivity than the HLW stream, will be immobilized and disposed of in near surface facilities at the Hanford site.« less

Validating Retinal Fundus Image Analysis Algorithms: Issues and a Proposal

PubMed Central

Trucco, Emanuele; Ruggeri, Alfredo; Karnowski, Thomas; Giancardo, Luca; Chaum, Edward; Hubschman, Jean Pierre; al-Diri, Bashir; Cheung, Carol Y.; Wong, Damon; Abràmoff, Michael; Lim, Gilbert; Kumar, Dinesh; Burlina, Philippe; Bressler, Neil M.; Jelinek, Herbert F.; Meriaudeau, Fabrice; Quellec, Gwénolé; MacGillivray, Tom; Dhillon, Bal

2013-01-01

This paper concerns the validation of automatic retinal image analysis (ARIA) algorithms. For reasons of space and consistency, we concentrate on the validation of algorithms processing color fundus camera images, currently the largest section of the ARIA literature. We sketch the context (imaging instruments and target tasks) of ARIA validation, summarizing the main image analysis and validation techniques. We then present a list of recommendations focusing on the creation of large repositories of test data created by international consortia, easily accessible via moderated Web sites, including multicenter annotations by multiple experts, specific to clinical tasks, and capable of running submitted software automatically on the data stored, with clear and widely agreed-on performance criteria, to provide a fair comparison. PMID:23794433

High-level nuclear waste transport and storage assessment of potential impacts on tourism in the Las Vegas area. Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

The literature review and empirical analyses presented in this report were undertaken, for the most part, between August and October 1983. They are not comprehensive. No primary data were gathered, nor were any formal surveys conducted. Additionally, because construction of a repository at Yucca Mountain, if that site is selected for a repository, is not scheduled to begin until 1993, engineering design and planned physical appearance of the repository are very preliminary. Therefore, specific design features or visual appearance were not addressed in the analyses. Finally, because actual transportation routes have not been designated, impacts on tourism generated specifically bymore » transportation activities are not considered separately. Chapter 2 briefly discusses possible means by which a repository could impact tourism in the Las Vegas area. Chapter 3 presents a review of previous research on alternative methods for predicting the response of people to potential hazards. A review of several published studies where these methods have been applied to facilities and activities associated with radioactive materials is included in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 contains five case studies of tourism impacts associated with past events that were perceived by the public to represent safety hazards. These perceptions of safety hazards were evidenced by news media coverage. These case studies were conducted specifically for this report. Conclusions of this preliminary analysis regarding the potential impact on tourism in the Las Vegas area of a repository at Yucca Mountain are in Chapter 5. Recommendations for further research are contained in Chapter 6.« less

Krypton-81 in groundwater of the Culebra Dolomite near the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, New Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sturchio, Neil C.; Kuhlman, Kristopher L.; Yokochi, Reika; Probst, Peter C.; Jiang, Wei; Lu, Zheng-Tian; Mueller, Peter; Yang, Guo-Min

2014-05-01

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico is the first geologic repository for disposal of transuranic nuclear waste from defense-related programs of the US Department of Energy. It is constructed within halite beds of the Permian-age Salado Formation. The Culebra Dolomite, confined within Rustler Formation evaporites overlying the Salado Formation, is a potential pathway for radionuclide transport from the repository to the accessible environment in the human-disturbed repository scenario. Although extensive subsurface characterization and numerical flow modeling of groundwater has been done in the vicinity of the WIPP, few studies have used natural isotopic tracers to validate the flow models and to better understand solute transport at this site. The advent of Atom-Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA) has enabled routine measurement of cosmogenic 81Kr (half-life 229,000 yr), a near-ideal tracer for long-term groundwater transport. We measured 81Kr in saline groundwater sampled from two Culebra Dolomite monitoring wells near the WIPP site, and compared 81Kr model ages with reverse particle-tracking results of well-calibrated flow models. The 81Kr model ages are ~ 130,000 and ~ 330,000 yr for high-transmissivity and low-transmissivity portions of the formation, respectively. Compared with flow model results which indicate a relatively young mean hydraulic age (~ 32,000 yr), the 81Kr model ages imply substantial physical attenuation of conservative solutes in the Culebra Dolomite and provide limits on the effective diffusivity of contaminants into the confining aquitards.