Fifth Worldwide Review on Nuclear Waste Disposal Programs - Earth and Environmental Sciences Area

Book Cover: Fifth WorldWide Review The Energy Geosciences Division of Berkeley Lab has just released the Fifth Worldwide Review on International Approaches for Nuclear Waste Disposal in Geological Formations: Geological Challenges in Radioactive Waste Isolation. This book summarizes state-of-the-art radioactive waste disposal approaches in geological formations, with contributions from authors representing 23 countries.

Since the Fourth Worldwide Review in 2006, advances in technologies, disposal site assessments and selections, and civic involvement have led to substantial progress for several government programs, with some countries now building long-term radioactive waste disposal sites. The final, safe disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste has challenged governments, energy companies, and scientists around the world. Determining the safest underground sites and developing technologies to isolate all kinds of radioactive wastes have taken place over the past forty years, and are international in scope.

This review’s authors describe the status of scientific and technical advances as of December 2016, but also the often-complex interactions of government, law, and citizenry as national nuclear waste disposal programs were established. They also describe potential issues that may arise as repository programs mature, and identify techniques for sharing concepts on design and safety cases, which aid in promoting and gaining societal confidence in disposing nuclear wastes in deep geologic repositories. With better understanding of both the safety of modern approaches to deep geologic waste disposal and the increasing risks in the face of no long-term solution for nuclear wastes, the public perception of the growing need for and safety of long-term radioactive waste disposal becomes more accurate, and allows for greater acceptance.

The review also outlines problems in nuclear waste disposal in deep geological formations, and offers opportunities to learn from international assessments and perspectives on developing national radioactive waste disposal programs.

Where to get it?

You can now read this book online, chapter by chapter, or you can download the pdf.

To read online: http://eesa.lbl.gov/worldwide-review/ (146MB, so use a fast network connection)
To download entire document: https://doi.org/10.2172/1353043

Dedication

The editors dedicate this review to Paul A. Witherspoon, who was the founder of the Earth Sciences Division (established in 1977) of Berkeley Lab. He also initiated the first review of national programs of nuclear waste disposal in deep geological formations in 1989, and edited and published the first four worldwide reviews. The review is also dedicated to the memory of Dr. Gudmundur “Bo” Bodvarsson, the former director of the Earth Sciences Division, and Leader of the Berkeley Lab’s Yucca Mountain project, which provided assessment of Yucca Mountain as a potential, nuclear waste disposal site.

Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy, Spent Fuel and Waste Science and Technology R&D Campaign, by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories.
International Approaches for Nuclear Waste Disposal in Geological Formations: Geological Challenges in Radioactive Waste Isolation—Fifth Worldwide Review
Editors: Boris Faybishenko (LBNL), Jens Birkholzer (LBNL), David Sassani (SNL) and Peter Swift (SNL).
Published by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, LBNL-1006984, DOI: 10.2172/1353043, December 2016.

News & Events

Three EESA scientists receive DOE Early Career Research Awards

August 10, 2017

Three Earth and Environmental Sciences Area (EESA) scientists receive the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science Early Career Research Award for 2017. Congratulations to Nick Bouskill, Charlie Koven, and Neslihan Tas Baas.

EESA Develops New Approach to Restock California’s Groundwater via Almond Orchards, Vineyards

August 3, 2017

Groundwater—the water stored underneath the Earth’s surface between the cracks and spaces in soil, sand, and bedrock—is essential for the California residents and farmers who rely on it for up to 46 percent of their annual water use. Yet during the 2012-2017 drought, the state’s surface water supply was not sufficient to meet demand, resulting in excess groundwater pumping that caused land subsidence of up to 13 inches in some parts of the San Joaquin Valley.

Now a team of scientists at Berkeley Lab’s Earth & Environmental Sciences Area are working with farmers and partners like the Almond Board of California and UC Davis to test on-farm banking, a new approach that has the potential to manage groundwater more sustainably. It’s an improvement on the age-old method of groundwater recharge, the process of replenishing aquifers by infiltrating water from the surface into shallow aquifers.

“On-farm banking has the promise of making the most productive use of the greatest amount of land possible while increasing the reliability and resiliency of California’s groundwater supply,” says EESA scientist Peter Nico, a soil and environmental biogeochemist.

EESA Scientist Builds Cross-Border Collaborations for Geothermal Research

August 1, 2017

Thirty-five years ago, Berkeley Lab’s Earth & Environmental Sciences Area (EESA) scientist Patrick Dobson began his career as a graduate student by conducting field mapping, collecting fluid samples, and learning the ropes from local scientists at the Los Azufres geothermal field in Michoacán, Mexico. During his summer doing field work in Mexico, he met Berkeley Lab’s Marcelo Lippmann, who was attending a symposium on the Cerro Prieto geothermal field, the subject of a collaborative research project between the Lab (funded by the U.S. Department of Energy) and the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Mexico’s state-owned utility.

Now—after decades of leading geothermal exploration projects all over the world, including Indonesia, Central America, and South America— Dobson’s work has come full circle.

Earlier this year, he spent two weeks in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico as a Fulbright Specialist in geothermal research. Hosted by the Center for Scientific Investigation and Higher Education in Ensenada (CICESE), one of the main hubs for geothermal work in the country, Dobson met with Mexican researchers to share knowledge, identify areas of mutual interest, and explore potential areas of collaboration.

Berkeley Lab Scientists Brief California Science Advisory Panel for Food and Agriculture

July 28, 2017

As two-thirds of the fruits and nuts—and over a third of the vegetables—produced in the United States are grown in California, it’s crucial that the Golden State cultivate healthy soils that are resilient to stresses such as climate change, drought, and groundwater overuse. Now scientists at Berkeley Lab’s Earth & Environmental Sciences Area (EESA) and Biosciences Area are contributing to the effort by sharing their expertise with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA)’s Science Advisory Panel, a group comprised of farmers, agriculture professionals, and experts in areas such as water, conservation, and resource management. Last week, EESA scientist Peter Nico hosted the panel at the Lab to brief them on research related to developing healthy soils, sustainable groundwater management strategies, and climate-adaptive agriculture.