Rock Solid - Second Edition

Rock Solid, the second edition, was written by Dr Helen Wallace for Greenpeace Switzerland.

Click Here To read the executive summary and access the full document.

The following quote from the executive summary outlines the unreolved issues in the geological disposal of nuclear fuel waste.:

  • "Copper or steel canisters and overpacks containing spent nuclear fuel or high- level radioactive wastes could corrode more quickly than expected.
  • The effects of intense heat generated by radioactive decay, and of chemical and physical disturbance due to corrosion, gas generation, cement water, and resulting changes in mineral content, could impair the ability of backfill materials to protect the canisters from stresses in the rock and to trap some radionuclides.
  • Build-up of gas pressure in the repository, as a result of the corrosion of metals and/or the degradation of organic material, could damage the barriers and force fast routes for radionuclide escape through crystalline rock fractures or clay rock pores.
  • Poorly understood chemical effects, such as the formation of colloids, could speed up the transport of some of the more radiotoxic elements such as plutonium.
  • Unidentified fractures and faults, or poor understanding of how water and gas will open up and flow through excavated tunnels, fractures and faults, could lead to the release of radionuclides in groundwater much faster than expected.
  • Excavation of the repository will damage adjacent zones of rock and could thereby create fast routes for radionuclide escape.
  • Future generations, seeking underground resources or storage facilities, might accidentally dig a shaft into the rock around the repository or a well into contaminated groundwater above it; or deliberately seek to extract canister metals or nuclear materials for military use.
  • Future glaciation could cause faulting of the rock, rupture of containers and penetration of surface waters or permafrost to the repository depth, leading to failure of the barriers and faster dissolution of the waste.
  • Faults could be re-activated, creating fast routes for radionuclides to escape or leading to earthquakes which could damage containers, backfill and the rock."

 

THe first edition came out in 2010.  Click here to access the first edition.