A Slovenian study sees an example of disposal in deep wells: Waste & Recycling
January 13, 2022
Disposal of nuclear waste in deep wells is “an important alternative that we need to consider”, said Leon Kegel from the Slovenian Organization for Radioactive Waste Management after a preliminary study of solutions for the disposal of spent fuel from the TRIGA II research reactor.
Slovenian reactor platform TRIGA II (Picture: Jožef Stefan Institute)
A study commissioned by the Slovenian Organization for Radioactive Waste Management (ARAO) in collaboration with US nuclear waste disposal company Deep Isolation showed that deep well disposal would be a “safe and cost-effective” solution.
The TRIGA II reactor from the 1960s – one of 66 reactors of its kind worldwide – produces radioactive isotopes for medical research and training. It is expected to close in 2043.
The most cost-effective option was the construction of one deep fuel depot from the TRIGA II research reactor at the Josef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana and from the Krško nuclear power plant.
Another option would be a micro landfill to dispose of all research waste in a single well with a small footprint.
According to Deep Isolation, this could be considered a path-finding project and “could be an invaluable contribution to research, presentation and characterization of the site for a wider national landfill – regardless of whether the Slovenian government decides to build a deep well or traditional mining “. Krško fuel landfill ”.
A separate Deep Isolation study commissioned by the Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning and the European Repository Development Organization was published in December, showing that the company’s deep well technology was a viable and cost-effective solution for medium and high radioactive long-lived radioactive waste temporarily stored in Croatia. , Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Slovenia.
“Disposal in deep wells is an important alternative that should be considered in Slovenia,” said Leon Kegel, ARAO’s head of planning and development.
“The recent work of Deep Isolation – for Slovenia on TRIGA II fuel and for Slovenia, Croatia, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway in the field of disposal of commercial spent fuel and other high-level radioactive waste – has been very helpful in highlighting potential benefits, increasing maturity and steps to dispose of deep wells as an alternative or addition to planned mining geological dumps, ”Kegel added.
EMEA Executive Director Deep Isolation Chris Parker said both studies represent “a strong argument for further international cooperation in a research demonstration project to gain technical and scientific knowledge on nuclear waste disposal in deep wells”.
The Deep Isolation solution from Berkeley, California for the management of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste involves their installation in corrosion-resistant containers installed in deep horizontal wells. The technology uses existing directional drilling technology. Waste can be obtained within a certain time frame or permanently insured. In 2019, Deep Isolation publicly unveiled its concept when it successfully erected and then acquired a prototype nuclear waste container a hundred meters underground through a well.
The company has completed other feasibility studies for deep well disposal for advanced nuclear projects, including the American Institute for Electricity Research and the Estonian Fermi Energia.
Researched and wrote World Nuclear News