International Perspectives on Salt Repositories

Andrew OrrellWaste & Environmental Safety Section Division of Radiation, Transport and Waste SafetyDepartment of Nuclear Safety and SecurityInternational Atomic Energy Agency

7th US/German Workshop on Salt Repository Research, Design, OperationWashington DC, 7-9 September 2016

2

Outline• Disclaimer: the discussion does not represent IAEA or any Member

State, only personal reflections. • Purpose of the IAEA• Deep Geologic Disposal Developments

– HLW/SNF, Intermediate Level Waste (Long-Lived Alpha Waste)

• Global Inventories• Member States Issues with Disposal • Salt Workshop Role?

3

IAEA Statutory Obligations (1957)Article III, Functions • “To establish or adopt, in consultation and, where

appropriate, in collaboration with the competent organs of the United Nations and with the specialized agencies concerned, standards of safety for protection of health and minimization of danger to life and property (including such standards for labour conditions), and to provide for the application of these standards …“

Article VIII, Exchange of information• The agency shall take positive steps to encourage the

exchange among its members of information relating to the nature and peaceful uses of atomic energy and shall serve as an intermediary among its members for this purpose.

– Peer Reviews– Technical Cooperation– R&D, CRP, Workshops– Training– Information Networks

4

Updates

• Finland• Sweden• Germany• France• USA• South Australia

5

Global Inventory of Spent Fuel

6

Current Status - Production

7

Power Generation

Pool Storage

Dry CaskStorage

Disposal

8

http://cnpp.iaea.org/pages/index.htm

9

Vietnam

• In July 2011, the Prime Minister approved Master Plan on Electricity Development, period 2011-2020 with vision to 2030. – Ninh Thuan 1, 4 units of 1000 MW each. Units 1 & 2 will be put into operation by

2020-2021, while Units 3 & 4 are scheduled for 2024-2025. – Ninh Thuan 2, 4 units of 1000 MW each. Units 1 & 2 will be put into operation in

2021-2022, while Units 3 & 4 are scheduled for 2026-2027. • Type of contract (Turnkey, Split Package, Multi Packages): EPC

(Engineering, Procurement, and Construction); • Policy for nuclear fuel cycle: The NPPs will use imported nuclear fuel; • Strategy for funding long term spent fuel handling and final disposal, waste

management and decommissioning: not available.• 2.7. Fuel cycle including waste management• Radioactive wastes, including spent fuels, will be stored temporarily for

about 30 years on-site. • In December 2010, the Prime Minister approved the Oriented Planning

locations for radioactive waste to 2030 with a vision to 2050.

10

UAE• On December 27th, 2009, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) announced that it had

selected a team led by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) to design, build and help operate civil nuclear power plants for the United Arab Emirates’ peaceful nuclear energy program.

• The first AP1400 unit scheduled to connect in 2017, three more units completed by 2020. • The contract with KEPCO calls for extensive training, human resource development and education

programs, as the UAE builds the capacity to eventually staff the majority of the nuclear energy program with national talent and develops the industrial infrastructure.

• September, 2009, the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) was established as an independent regulatory authority, responsible for ensuring long-term safety, security and sustainability in peaceful uses of nuclear energy in the UAE by establishing world-class regulations and supervising their implementation.

• 2.7. Fuel cycle including waste management• The UAE is in the process of developing and implementing a strategy for the management of all

nuclear fuel cycle activities, including the procurement, use, and short- and long-term management of nuclear fuel for its nuclear power plants. The strategy conforms to guidelines established by the International Atomic Energy Agency and will be continually updated, taking into account new information and technological advances from the nuclear industry during the next decades, before the long-term spent fuel management plan is implemented.

• The UAE is establishing the basis for the safe and efficient processing, storage, and disposal of radioactive wastes which will be generated by future nuclear power plant operations.

11

Mexico

2.7. Fuel cycle including waste management• As for spent nuclear fuel, the current plans are to store

it at the reactors' pools. These have been re-racked to increase the original capacity in order to accommodate the spent fuel that the reactors will produce during their expected operating life. This plan gives CFE time to make a more definite decision on long-term storage methods, dependent on future developments in uranium availability and price, expansion of the Mexican nuclear power capacity, new technologies, etc.– [In 2014, the Laguna Verde nuclear power plant finalised a contract for

independent spent fuel storage installation services for both units.]

12

Mexico - Financial

13

Global Perspective – Disposal of HLW / SNF

• Disposal solutions are particularly challenging for:– Countries with small nuclear programmes,– Countries with nuclear applications only,– Nuclear newcomer countries

• Nuclear newcomer countries embracing nuclear power defer the issue of disposal– It is not a requirement to have disposal capacity

in place a-priori to power production, only a plan.

14

What Might This Mean

15

Quantify the Salt Potential• Design experience• Lab, Field, & in-situ Testing and Data• Safety Case, PA, FEP

16

Mexico Salt Deposits

17

AustraliaABC Rural 22 Aug 2013

• Tellus Holdings wants to establish an underground mine and waste storage facility near the Indigenous community of Titjikala, 120 kilometres south of Alice Springs. The Northern Territory Government has issued the final environmental impact statement guidelines for the project, which now enters a feasibility study phase.

• Managing director Duncan van der Merwe says "It's approximately 700 metres to the top of the salt, and the salt bed is approximately 250 to 250 metres thick. … "So we'll drill the wells, improve the mine design and will identify if the project still remains viable. … There's also tourism potential. A German salt mine we visited last year had 20,000 visitors dropping approximately $4 million into the local economy.”

18

Salt production in South Australia

In the 1960s South Australia produced 80% of Australia’s salt; however, this percentage decreased with major expansion of solar salt production in Western Australia.

19

The Turda Salt Mine in RomaniaDaniel Andrei Suciu

20

Next?

Thank you!