TVO-92 Safety Analysis of Spent Fuel Disposal

Vieno, Timo; Hautoj?rvi, Aimo; Koskinen, Lasse; Nordman, Henrik; Salo, Jukka-Pekka; ,

TVO-92 Safety Analysis of Spent Fuel Disposal

by Timo Vieno, Technical Research Cent of Finland, (VTT), Espoo, Finland,
Aimo Hautoj?rvi, Technical Research Cent of Finland, (VTT), Espoo, Finland,
Lasse Koskinen, Technical Research Cent of Finland, (VTT), Espoo, Finland,
Henrik Nordman, Technical Research Cent of Finland, (VTT), Espoo, Finland,
Jukka-Pekka Salo, Technical Research Cent of Finland, (VTT), Espoo, Finland,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: High Level Radioactive Waste Management 1993

Abstract:

Spent fuel from the TVO I and TVO II reactors is planned to be disposed of in a repository to be constructed at a depth of about 500 meters in crystalline bedrock. The fuel will be encapsulated in composite copper and steel canisters. Preliminary site investigations have been carried out between 1987 and 1992 at five sites. If the conditions in the geosphere in the vicinity of the repository do not change drastically and if no major disruptive event hits the repository, the copper-steel canisters remain intact for millions of years and no significant amount of radioactive substances will ever escape from the repository. The spent fuel, the buffer and the geosphere restrict efficiently the release of radionuclides even if the canister is initially defective or is broken soon after the sealing of the repository. The results of the safety analysis attest that the planned disposal system fulfills the safety requirements. Suitable places for the repository can be found at each of the five investigation sites. It is important to characterize in detail the site where the repository will be located, so that fracture zones can be taken into consideration when constructing the repository.

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