Geochemically based safety assessment

Performance assessment (PA) for nuclear waste disposal based on transport processes frequently neglects significant safety factors by overestimation of radionuclide mobilization and underestimation of radionuclide retention processes. To include well understood geochemical knowledge into PA, the quasi-closed system approach (QCS) was developed. The QCS approach is described and applied to a LLW disposal in a German salt mine with respect to the disposed waste forms, geo-engineered barriers, and backfill strategies. The geochemical tools and the thermodynamic database for modelling highly concentrated salt systems are discussed. Applications are demonstrated which cover the long-term geochemical environment in the disposal caverns, the optimization of buffer materials, radionuclide retention, and the overall robustness of the approach. Also the effect of a potential solution exchange between different emplacement caverns is investigated. It is shown that the QCS approach provides essential data concerning the long-term geochemistry and related radionuclide concentrations to be used in PA and safety analysis.