IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/reensy/v122y2014icp32-52.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Site characterization of the Yucca Mountain disposal system for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste

Author

Listed:
  • Rechard, Rob P.
  • Liu, Hui-Hai
  • Tsang, Yvonne W.
  • Finsterle, Stefan

Abstract

This paper summarizes the investigations conducted to characterize the geologic barrier of the Yucca Mountain disposal system. Site characterization progressed through (1) non-intrusive evaluation and borehole completions to determine stratigraphy for site identification; (2) exploration from the surface through well testing to evaluate the repository feasibility; (3) underground exploration to study coupled processes to evaluate repository suitability; and (4) reporting of experimental conclusions to support the repository compliance phase. Some of the scientific and technical challenges encountered included the evolution from a small preconstruction characterization program with much knowledge to be acquired during construction of the repository to a large characterization program with knowledge acquired prior to submission of the license application for construction authorization in June 2008 (i.e., the evolution from a preconstruction characterization program costing <$0.04×109 as estimated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 1982 to a thorough characterization, design, and analysis program costing $11×109—latter in 2010 constant dollars). Scientific understanding of unsaturated flow in fractures and seepage into an open drift in a thermally perturbed environment was initially lacking, so much site characterization expense was required to develop this knowledge.

Suggested Citation

  • Rechard, Rob P. & Liu, Hui-Hai & Tsang, Yvonne W. & Finsterle, Stefan, 2014. "Site characterization of the Yucca Mountain disposal system for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 32-52.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reensy:v:122:y:2014:i:c:p:32-52
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ress.2013.06.020
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0951832013001853
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ress.2013.06.020?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bernard Gazier & Jean - Philippe Touffut, 2006. "Introduction. Bien public, bien social," Post-Print halshs-00270232, HAL.
    2. A. B. Kersting & D. W. Efurd & D. L. Finnegan & D. J. Rokop & D. K. Smith & J. L. Thompson, 1999. "Migration of plutonium in ground water at the Nevada Test Site," Nature, Nature, vol. 397(6714), pages 56-59, January.
    3. Norman A. Eisenberg & Michael P. Lee & Timothy J. McCartin & Keith I. McConnell & Mark Thaggard & Andrew C. Campbell, 1999. "Development of a Performance Assessment Capability in the Waste Management Programs of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(5), pages 847-876, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. François Diaz-Maurin & Rodney C. Ewing, 2018. "Mission Impossible? Socio-Technical Integration of Nuclear Waste Geological Disposal Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-39, November.
    2. Richard A. Muller & Stefan Finsterle & John Grimsich & Rod Baltzer & Elizabeth A. Muller & James W. Rector & Joe Payer & John Apps, 2019. "Disposal of High-Level Nuclear Waste in Deep Horizontal Drillholes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-28, May.
    3. Suh, Jung Woo & Sohn, So Young & Lee, Bo Kyeong, 2020. "Patent clustering and network analyses to explore nuclear waste management technologies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    4. Senga Kiessé, Tristan & Ventura, Anne, 2016. "Discrete non-parametric kernel estimation for global sensitivity analysis," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 47-54.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rechard, Rob P. & Wilson, Michael L. & Sevougian, S. David, 2014. "Progression of performance assessment modeling for the Yucca Mountain disposal system for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 96-123.
    2. Johnson, Noel D. & Koyama, Mark, 2017. "Jewish communities and city growth in preindustrial Europe," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 339-354.
    3. Rechard, Rob P. & Freeze, Geoff A. & Perry, Frank V., 2014. "Hazards and scenarios examined for the Yucca Mountain disposal system for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 74-95.
    4. Konu, Henna, 2015. "Developing a forest-based wellbeing tourism product together with customers – An ethnographic approach," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 1-16.
    5. Pike, Ivy L. & Straight, Bilinda & Oesterle, Matthias & Hilton, Charles & Lanyasunya, Adamson, 2010. "Documenting the health consequences of endemic warfare in three pastoralist communities of northern Kenya: A conceptual framework," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 45-52, January.
    6. Sylvie Paré & Ralph Christian Maloumby-Baka, 2015. "The Role of Public-Third Sector Relationships in Solving Social Issues: the Case of One-Stop-Shop Service for the Promotion of Female Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Montreal," Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, Centre for Strategic and International Entrepreneurship at the Cracow University of Economics., vol. 3(3), pages 123-141.
    7. Kienzler, Hanna, 2008. "Debating war-trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in an interdisciplinary arena," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 218-227, July.
    8. Bernard Gazier & Marguerite Mendell, 2009. "Karl Polanyi Et La Pédagogie De L'Incohérence," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 80(1), pages 1-35, March.
    9. Rechard, Rob P. & Cotton, Thomas A. & Voegele, Michael D., 2014. "Site selection and regulatory basis for the Yucca Mountain disposal system for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 7-31.
    10. Tol, Wietse A. & Kohrt, Brandon A. & Jordans, Mark J.D. & Thapa, Suraj B. & Pettigrew, Judith & Upadhaya, Nawaraj & de Jong, Joop T.V.M., 2010. "Political violence and mental health: A multi-disciplinary review of the literature on Nepal," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 35-44, January.
    11. Lohan, Maria, 2007. "How might we understand men's health better? Integrating explanations from critical studies on men and inequalities in health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 493-504, August.
    12. Jelena Stankevičienė & Marek Szarucki, 2015. "Editorial: Dilemmas of Modern Economy and Business," Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, Centre for Strategic and International Entrepreneurship at the Cracow University of Economics., vol. 3(4), pages 7-9.
    13. Rechard, Rob P. & Stockman, Christine T., 2014. "Waste degradation and mobilization in performance assessments for the Yucca Mountain disposal system for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 165-188.
    14. Rechard, Rob P. & Arnold, Bill W. & Robinson, Bruce A. & Houseworth, James E., 2014. "Transport modeling in performance assessments for the Yucca Mountain disposal system for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 189-206.
    15. Victor Malkovsky & Sergey Yudintsev & Michael Ojovan, 2023. "Forecast of 241 Am Migration from a System of Deep Horizontal Boreholes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-15, October.
    16. Rechard, Rob P., 2014. "Results from past performance assessments for the Yucca Mountain disposal system for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 207-222.
    17. Hsu,Ying Chia & Wei, Ran, 2017. "Examining Predictors and Mediators of Vulnerability to Telecommunications Fraud among Senior Citizens in Taiwan," 14th ITS Asia-Pacific Regional Conference, Kyoto 2017: Mapping ICT into Transformation for the Next Information Society 168488, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    18. Victor I. Malkovsky & Vladislav A. Petrov & Sergey V. Yudintsev & Michael I. Ojovan & Valeri V. Poluektov, 2023. "Influence of Rock Structure on Migration of Radioactive Colloids from an Underground Repository of High-Level Radioactive Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, January.
    19. Back, Yujin & Praveen Parboteeah, K. & Nam, Dae-il, 2014. "Innovation in Emerging Markets: The Role of Management Consulting Firms," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 390-405.
    20. Shaw, Caroline & Blakely, Tony & Tobias, Martin, 2011. "Mortality among the working age population receiving incapacity benefits in New Zealand, 1981-2004," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(4), pages 568-575, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:reensy:v:122:y:2014:i:c:p:32-52. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/reliability-engineering-and-system-safety .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.