An overview of research activities on cementitious materials for radioactive waste management
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An overview of research activities on cementitious materials for radioactive waste management Zoran Drace1, Irena Mele1, Michael I. Ojovan1,2 and R. O. Abdel Rahman3 1
International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramer Strasse 5, PO Box 100, 1400 Vienna, Austria; Immobilisation Science Laboratory, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield, S1 3JD, United Kingdom; 3 Hot Laboratory Center, Atomic Energy Authority of Egypt, P.O. 13759, Inshas, Cairo, Egypt 2
ABSTRACT An overview is given on research activities on cementitious materials for radioactive waste management systems based on the IAEA Coordinated Research Project (CRP) held in 2007-2010. It has been joined by 26 research organizations from 22 countries which shared their research and practical activities on use of cementitious materials for various barrier purposes. The CRP has initially formulated the research topics considered within four specific streams: A) Conventional cementitious systems; B) Novel cementitious materials and technologies; C) Testing and waste acceptance criteria; and D) Modelling long term behaviour. The CRP has analysed both barrier functions and interactions envisaged between various components with focus on predisposal stage of waste management. Cementation processes have achieved a high degree of acceptance and many processes are now regarded as technically mature. A large body of information is currently available on proven waste conditioning technologies although novel approaches are continuing to be devised. Most of the existing technologies have been developed for conditioning of large amounts of operational radioactive waste from nuclear power plants and other nuclear fuel cycle facilities. However new waste streams including those resulting from legacy and decommissioning activities required improved material performance and technologies. The most important outcome of CRP was the exchange of information and research cooperation between different institutions and has contributed towards general enhancement of safety by improving waste management practices and their efficiency. The paper presents the most important results and trends revealed by CRP participants. The research contributions of participating organizations will be published as country contributions in a forthcoming IAEA technical publication. INTRODUCTION The final step in radioactive waste management is disposal which aims to ensure a safe isolation of radioactive waste from biosphere under controlled conditions. This isolation is achieved by using the multi-barrier concept to restrict radionuclides releases into the environment where the barriers can be either natural or engineered. The engineered barriers functions and the materials which can be used are listed in Table I. Several coordinated research projects (CRP) were launched by IAEA to study the performance of engineered barriers in radioactive waste storage and disposal facilities. In 1997, the IAEA launched a CRP focused on the long term behaviour of low
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