Contacts
Nuclear Energy and Global Security Technologies Center Director
Sid Gutierrez
(smgutie@sandia.gov)
(505)844-6968
Geoscience Research and Applications Group Manager
John Merson
(jamerso@sandia.gov)
(505)844-2756
Contributing to solutions of radioactive waste management issues around the globe
Disposition of materials from the back end of the nuclear fuel/weapons cycle is a major global issue. Growing out of its major roles in several US repository programs, Sandia National Laboratories has a long history of active technical information exchange and collaboration on the science, engineering, and regulatory implementation of geologic repositories.
Sandia’s international engagement began back in the 1970s with the International Subseabed Disposal project and early international technical collaborations with the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant [WIPP] project. In the 1980s and 1990s, Sandia has been an active participant in international technical collaborations on numerical model development, model testing, and interfacing site characterization and performance assessment models, including: HYDROCOIN, INTRAVAL, GEOVAL, and GEOTRAP.
Sandia has also been an active contributor to international working groups that facilitate information exchange and development of multinational perspectives on repository development issues through the working groups organized by the Nuclear Energy Agency [NEA] of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD]. These working groups include the Radioactive Waste Management Committee [RWMC], Performance Assessment Advisory Group [PAAG], and the Co-ordinating Group on Site Evaluation and Design of Experiments for Radioactive Waste Disposal [SEDE].
As part of the WIPP International Program, Sandia has recently engaged in a variety of experimental and simulation studies in direct collaborations in Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, and Russia. These collaborations involve a wide range of technologies in the areas of radionuclide transport, multiphase flow, geomechanics, engineered barriers, monitoring technologies, and performance assessment. The WIPP international program has also hosted a series of international workshops on a variety of repository development topics, including:
With significant growth in utilization of nuclear energy in Asia, spent fuel and radioactive waste management programs in several Asian countries are undergoing important developments. In Japan, the final report of the H-12 Project to Establish Technical Basis for HLW Disposal in Japan is bringing to culmination years to research and development assessing the feasibility of developing deep geologic repositories in Japan. This report marks the transition from feasibility studies to a new program that will focus on selection and characterization of a repository site, along with advanced research and development in underground rock laboratories. Taiwan, Korea, and China have active, emerging repository programs, assessing technologies and geologic conditions for establishing geologic repositories.
Sandia has on ongoing technical collaborations with Japan in the areas of radionuclide transport, uncertainty characterization, decision analysis for site selection, probabilistic performance assessment, and quality assurance. With Korea, Sandia has recently initiated work on repository program development and utilization of performance assessment tools in the planning process. As part of the WIPP international program, Sandia has conducted workshops in Japan, Taiwan, and China on repository technology development and lessons learned for the WIPP repository program.
Sandia’s philosophy in working on international collaborations in radioactive waste management is to work within the framework of a government-to-government agreement that provides a framework for specific work tasks or for a Memorandum of Understanding [MOU] between Sandia and counterpart organizations that provides focus for specific interactions.
Repository Programs Around the World:
Asia
Europe
North America
International