Deep Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste presents a critical review of designing, siting, constructing and demonstrating the safety and environmental impact of deep repositories for radioactive wastes. It is structured to provide a broad perspective of this multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary topic: providing enough detail for a non-specialist to understand the fundamental principles involved and with extensive references to sources of more detailed information. Emphasis is very much on "deep geological disposal – at least some tens of metres below land surface and, in many cases, many hundred of metres deep. Additionally, only radioactive wastes are considered directly – even though such wastes often contain also significant chemotoxic or otherwise hazardous components. Many of the principles involved are generally applicable to other repository options (e.g. near-surface or on-surface disposal) and, indeed, to other types of hazardous waste. - Presents a current critical review in designing, siting, constructing and demonsrating the safety and environmental impact of deep repositories for radwaste - Addresses the fundamental principles of radioactive waste with up-to-date examples and real-world case studies - Written for a multi-disciplinary audience, with an appropriate level of detail to allow a non-specialist to understand

As part of research into the geological disposal of radioactive waste in Belgium, the HADES underground research laboratory (URL) was constructed in a clay formation in the early 1980s. This was the world's first purpose-built URL in a deep clay formation. Over the past four decades, the HADES URL has played an important role in the research, development and demonstration (RD&D) of geological disposal. It enabled the in situ characterization of the clay host rock, it allowed experiments to be performed under realistic geological conditions and it demonstrated the feasibility of constructing, operating and closing underground repositories. This volume presents several key contributions of the HADES URL to both Belgian and international research into geological disposal. It not only compiles some important RD&D results, but also illustrates the essential role URLs such as the HADES URL have played in developing concepts for the geological disposal of radioactive waste.

This text features 105 papers dealing with the fundamentals and the applications of poromechanics from the Biot conference of 1998, held in Louvain-la-Neuve. Topics include: wave propogation; numerical modelling; identification of poromechanical parameters; and constitutive modelling.

As oil reserves decline and the environment takes centre stage in public policy discussions, the merits and dangers of nuclear power and nuclear waste management are once again being debated. Nuclear Waste Management in Canada provides a critical counterpoint to the position of government and industry by examining not only the technical but also the social and ethical aspects of the issue. What do frequently used terms such as safety, risk, and acceptability really mean? And how and why did the public consultation process in Canada fail to address ethical and social issues? This timely collection defuses the uncertainty, ambiguity, and ignorance that surrounds discussions of nuclear energy.