Advances in Radiation Biology

Volume 13

John T. Lett, John T. Lett

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781483281865
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Biology
• Index: Biological Sciences

Advances in Radiation Biology, Volume 12, provides an overview of the state of knowledge in the field of radiation biology. Environmental matters are continuing to produce surprises and remain sources of concern. The safe disposal of radioactive waste still is a major problem facing the nuclear power industry. A possible solution is discussed here. New information about the survivors from radiation exposure at Hiroshima and Nagasaki has emphasized the consequences of brain damage in the developing embryo, the importance of late radiation carcinogenesis, and the roles played by age and sex in human radiation responses. It also is prompting an increasing number of scientists involved in radiation protection to question the use of small animal models to quantify late radiation effects in humans. Contributions to this volume deal with experimental and other aspects of those problems. Finally, increasing confirmation of the dose rate response for densely ionizing radiations has highlighted the hazard they pose to humans in the terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments. Therefore, the intention of agencies in the United States and elsewhere to generate better funded and more scientifically perspicacious programs of space radiation biology is welcome. Possible interests of the military in that regard are also considered.

Subseabed Disposal of High-Level Nuclear Wastes

Leo S. Gomez, Subseabed Programs Division, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185

A. Aristides Yayanos, University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, LA Jolla, California 92093

Douglas W. Jackson, Rollins Environmental Service, Houston, Texas 77017

I Introduction

The ultimate disposal of high-level nuclear wastes (HLW) is one of the prime concerns in deciding whether or not nuclear power should become a major energy source. In the United States the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA), Public Law 97-425, establishes a comprehensive policy for the management and disposal of radioactive wastes and spent fuel. This policy mandates that mined repositories will be the first two disposal facilities. In addition, NWPA requires continued investigation of alternative approaches to waste disposal. One of these alternatives involves burying the waste within the clay sediments that lie under approximately 6 km of ocean water. This subseabed alternative is not intended to replace land-based options, but rather it is being assessed as a potential future repository.

A The Subseabed Concept

Subseabed disposal, like other geological disposal schemes (Brookins, 1984; Milnes, 1985), is a multibarrier concept that involves burial of solidified and packaged HLW or spent fuel in high-integrity canisters, tens of meters within the stable geologic formations of the deep-ocean floor. In this concept, the multiple barriers of the waste form, the canister, the clay sediments, and the ocean waters...