Defence Nuclear Waste Disposal in Russia: International Perspective, 1998 NATO Science Partnership Subseries: 1 Series, Vol. 18

Significant amounts of liquid and solid radioactive waste have been generated in Russia during the production of nuclear weapons, and there is an urgent need to find suitable ways to manage these wastes in a way that protects both the current population and future generations. This book contains contributions from pure and applied scientists and other representatives from Europe, North America, and Russia, who are, or have been, actively involved in the field of radioactive waste management and disposal. First-hand experience of specific problems associated with defence-related wastes in the USA and the Russian Federation is presented, and current plans are described for the disposal of solid wastes arising from civilian nuclear power production programmes in other countries, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany and the UK.
The book provides a good insight into ongoing research at local and national level within Russia, devoted to the safe disposal of defence-related radioactive waste. It also demonstrates how existing expertise and technology from civilian nuclear waste management programmes can be applied to solving the problems created by nuclear defence programmes.
Contributions address methods of immobilisation, site selection methodology, site characterisation techniques and data interpretation, the key elements of safety/performance assessments of planned deep (geological) repositories for radioactive waste, and radionuclide transport modelling. Concerns associated with certain specific nuclear waste disposal concepts and repository sites are also presented.

Introductory.- 1 The Role of Performance Assessment in Radioactive Waste Disposal.- Session 1: Waste Conditioning & Engineered Barriers.- 2 Multibarrier Effectiveness as the Expedient Measure for Selecting the Appropriate Stabilization and Immobilization Procedure for the Various Waste Categories.- 3 Disposal of Conditioned HLW Matrices and Interaction with a Deep Clay Layer as Host Formation.- 4 Waste Conditioning Methods: Economical and Ecological Impact.- 5 A Search for Optimal Forms for Solidifying High-Level Radioactive Waste which are Geologically Compatible with Granitic Host Rocks.- 6 Caesium Immobilization using Zeolite-Containing Rocks and High Temperature Treatment.- 7 Use of Natural Materials from Northern Russia for the Isolation of Radioactive Wastes and Spent Nuclear Fuel.- Session 2: Geological Aspects of Radioactive Waste Disposal.- 8 Geological Aspects of the Deep Disposal of Radioactive Waste.- 9 Geological Formations in Bulgaria Suitable for a Deep HLW Repository.- 10 Complex Geological Investigations to Select a Site for High-Level Waste Disposal in the Krasnoyarsk Region (Russia).- 11 On the Question of Predicting the Safety of the Northern ‘Polygon’ of the Krasnoyarsk Mining-Chemical Company Based on a Geological and Geophysical Model.- Session 3: Site Characterisation Methods.- 12 Site Characterisation Methods and Data Interpretation — the Drigg Site Characterisation.- 13 Application of Focusing Transformations to Environmental Geophysical Problems.- 14 Acoustic Emission Monitoring: a Tool for the Selection and Nondestructive Characterisation of Sites for the Deep Disposal of Radioactive Waste.- 15 Kinetic Concept of Monitoring the Long-Term Stability of a Deep Repository for Radioactive Waste.- Session 4: Modelling/Assessment Associatedwith Radioactive Waste Disposal.- 16 Identifying Contaminants of Concern for Postclosure Assessment.- 17 Experience of Safety Assessment for the Deep Disposal of Intermediate-Level Waste in the U.K..- 18 Deep-Well Injection of Liquid Radioactive Waste in Russia: Present Situation.- 19 Deep-Well Injection of Radioactive Waste in Russia.- 20 Probabilistic Safety Assessment for High-Level Waste Tanks at Hanford.- Session 5: Special Problems Associated with Radioactive Waste Disposal.- 21 Underground Autocatalytic-Criticality Potential and its Implications to Weapons Fissile-Material Disposition.- 22 Geological History of Yucca Mountain (Nevada) and the Problem of a High-Level Nuclear Waste Repository.- 23 Chemical Aspects Associated with the Assessment of Radionuclide Migration through Natural Geochemical Barriers.- 24 Application of Biotechnology to the Problem of the Disposal of Radioactive Wastes.- 25 Evaluation of the Safe Disposal of Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel in the Vicinity of Bashmachnaya Bay on the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago.- 26 Comments on Seismic Considerations with Respect to Deep Radioactive Waste Disposal.- Summary of Workshop Discussions.