the critical role of underground research laboratories · research on alternative host rocks...

NWTRBwww.nwtrb.govU.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board

Presented to:

Presented By:

The Critical Role of Underground Research Laboratories

Stimson Center

Bret Leslie, Senior Professional Staff

Washington, DC

[email protected]

April 24, 2020


Presentation StructurePart 1Board report to the Secretary of Energy and Congress

Filling the Gaps: The Critical Role of Underground Research Laboratories in the U.S. Department of Energy Geologic Disposal Research and Development Program

Part 2Personal Post Report Analysis

2April 24, 2020


Part 1 Outline• About the Board

• Board’s workshop on recent advances in repository science and operations from international underground research laboratory (URL) collaborations– Key points from participants from other countries

• U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) disposal research and development (R&D) program

• Board’s review and report on DOE’s URL-related R&D activities

• Board’s principal findings and recommendations

3April 24, 2020


About the Board

The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (Board) was established by Congress as an independent federal agency in the 1987 amendments to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA)

4April 24, 2020


About the Board • The Board evaluates the “technical and scientific validity” of

DOE activities related to implementing the NWPA

• DOE activities include: Packaging of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level

radioactive waste (HLW) and transportation of the wastes to a storage or disposal facility

Site characterization, design, and development of facilities for disposing of SNF or HLW

5April 24, 2020


About the Board

At full strength, the Board has eleven members:Candidates nominated by

National Academy of Sciences solely on the basis of eminence and expertise

Appointed by the PresidentServe part time for four-year,

staggered termsMay serve until replacedSupported by permanent, full-

time staff

6April 24, 2020


About the Board• Required to report its findings,

conclusions, and recommendations to the U.S. Congress and the Secretary of Energy

• By law, has access to draft DOE documents – allows Board recommendations to be made during decision-making, not after the fact

• Provides congressional testimony at the invitation of Congress

7April 24, 2020


About the Board• Holds public meetings several

times per year in different geographic locations in the United States

• The meetings are webcast• Provides technical and scientific

comments in letters to DOE following public meetings

• Makes all official documents (meeting transcripts and materials, reports, correspondence, congressional testimony, etc.) available on its website: www.nwtrb.gov

8April 24, 2020


Current Board Members Jean Bahr, Ph.D., Chair – University of Wisconsin, Madison

Steven M. Becker, Ph.D. – Old Dominion University

Susan L. Brantley, Ph.D. – Pennsylvania State University

Allen G. Croff, Graduate Nuc. Engr. Degree – Vanderbilt University

Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, Ph.D. – University of California, Irvine

Tissa Illangasekare, Ph.D. – Colorado School of Mines

Kenneth Lee Peddicord, Ph.D. – Texas A&M University

Paul J. Turinsky, Ph.D. – North Carolina State University

Mary Lou Zoback, Ph.D. – Stanford University

(vacant)

(vacant)

Not shown: Dr. Mary Lou Zoback

9April 24, 2020


Board Workshop• April 2019 workshop focused on URLs, DOE’s

disposal R&D program, and DOE’s international collaborations• Three speakers from countries with operating URLs

(France, Sweden, and Switzerland) and one speaker from a country without a URL (United Kingdom) described the integration and contribution of URL activities to their respective country’s radioactive waste management program

• These speakers emphasized that URLs play a critical role to the development and implementation of theirnation’s radioactive waste disposal program

10April 24, 2020


Using URLs Improves Technology Readiness• In URLs you can develop and test technology and methods for

site characterization, construction, operation, and monitoring

• Sweden raised its readiness from “technology validated in a lab” to “system prototype demonstration in an operational environment” using repeated testing at its Äspö URL

11April 24, 2020

P. Vidstrand (2019), Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory


URLs and Safety Case Development• URLs bridge spatial and temporal scales from lab to

repository• Integrating the URL results and synthesis within a systems

analysis framework supports safety case development• Such a framework allows for the integration of process

understanding, experimental data, and models by factoring in spatial upscaling and time extrapolation to repository systems

12April 24, 2020

Modified from I. Gaus (2019), The integration of URL science in the Swiss Radioactive Waste Management Programme


DOE’s Disposal R&D Program• In 2010, DOE began generic

research on alternative host rocks (crystalline, clay, and salt) and repository environments very different from that at Yucca Mountain• Focused on post-closure safety

• DOE prioritized its geologic disposal R&D activities in 2012 and updated their priorities in 2019• State-of-the-art level and importance

to safety case metrics used for update

13

DOE’s R&D Program

W. Boyle (2019), DOE Collaboration and Underground Research Program: Overall Program and Approach

April 24, 2020


DOE’s Disposal R&D Program (cont.)• DOE has collaborated in research conducted in several

URLs located in Europe and Asia since 2012

• Collaborations have been beneficial to DOE’s spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste disposal research program• Provided access to data and to decades of experience

gained in various disposal environments in a cost-effective manner and enabled DOE’s timely participation in URL-related studies

• Assisted development of DOE’s Geologic Disposal Safety Assessment Framework toolkit, advanced DOE’s repository system analyses, and advanced DOE’s uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis methods

14April 24, 2020


DOE’s Disposal R&D Program (cont.)

15April 24, 2020

DOE URL-based R&D activities addressing priority R&D topics are depicted by rock type and location within the repository

Modified from J. Birkholzer (2019), Overview of DOE’s International Collaborations and URL Activities


Board Review and Report• Board reviewed the technical

and scientific validity of DOE’s URL-related R&D activities using• Workshop and fact-finding

meeting with DOE• Reports published by DOE

and others• Board report has findings and

recommendations• Specific findings and

recommendations• Four principal findings and

recommendations16

April 24, 2020


Principal Findings and Recommendations• Finding #1: DOE participation in

URL-related international research greatly benefits the U.S. geologic disposal R&D program.

• Recommendation #1: DOE should expand its collaborative international URL activities to enhance its capacity for R&D of geologic repositories. – Address technical needs for design,

licensing, construction, and operation for U.S. waste types

– Include non-nuclear applications focused on underground operations

– Compile best practices

17April 24, 2020

France’s Full ScaleFunicular Demonstration

R. Neveu et al. (2020), Waste Shielded Casks Transfer by Funicular from the Surface to Disposal Level in Cigéo, March 9.


Principal Findings and Recommendations (cont.)

• Finding #2: Repository programs in other countries use URLs to explain the technical bases underlying their safety cases, periodically reassess knowledge gaps and define new activities to strengthen the technical bases, and demonstrate the technology that will allow implementation of the proposed safety concept.

18April 24, 2020

P. Vidstrand, Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (www.nwtrb.gov)

Sweden’s Canister Retrieval Test

http://www.nwtrb.gov/



• Recommendation #2: DOE should make systematic use of URL R&D results to regularly update generic repository safety cases that can be easily understood by and demonstrated to the public, including safety cases relevant to direct disposal of dual-purpose canisters in different host rocks.

19April 24, 2020

HotBENT (Grimsel Test Site, Switzerland)

A planned joint experiment integrated with lab and modeling studies to evaluate bentonite buffer behavior at 150 °C to 200 °C

Dual-purpose canisters are larger and hotter than other countries’ disposal packages

L. Zheng, DOE’s Engineered Barrier Integrity Activities:Understanding EBS Coupled Processes and Mineral Alterations at High Temperatures: From FEBEX-DP to HotBENT(www.nwtrb.gov)



• Finding #3: DOE needs domestic URLs to advance geologic disposal efforts over the next decades and further its ability to train the next generation of scientists, engineers, and skilled technical workers.

20


April 24, 2020

France’s Bure URL “The Bure URL will be instrumental in maintaining knowledge, skills and experience over the long time frames needed for implementing a geological disposal project as well as training scientific operators.”

J. Delay et al. (2020), ANDRA’s Underground Research Laboratory in Bure: Major Role in the Cigéo Development, March 11.


• Recommendation #3: DOE should pursue one or more domestic URLs to advance the development and demonstration of disposal concepts and provide a platform for training the next generation of U.S. scientists, engineers, and skilled technical workers. DOE should evaluate whether underground sites in the U.S. with existing infrastructure could be used as generic URLs. If DOE expands its domestic URL program in this way, then it should consider

– Broadening its focus to include developing and demonstrating the construction and operational concepts for disposal

– Larger more formal training opportunities

– Broadening accessibility to researchers

21


April 24, 2020


• Finding #4: DOE’s international URL collaborations have advanced its generic disposal R&D program, but further work on its coupled thermal-hydrological-mechanical-chemical models and URL- and laboratory-based research can strengthen its program.

• Recommendation #4: DOE should continue advancing its thermal-hydrological-mechanical-chemical-based research and model development and pursue more URL- and laboratory-based studies, particularly at elevated temperatures. In doing so, DOE should consider– Designing and conducting activities to test hypotheses/assumptions – Employing an iterative process– Including geomechanical and thermal effects in flow and transport

models– Focusing on bedded salts to improve the constitutive models of salt

behavior22


April 24, 2020


Part 1 Summary• Board’s report to Congress and the Secretary of

Energy recommends that DOE should – Expand its collaborative international URL activities

– Systematically use URL R&D results to regularly update generic repository safety cases relevant to direct disposal of dual-purpose canisters in different host rocks

– Pursue one or more domestic URLs to advance the development and demonstration of disposal concepts

– Continue advancing its thermal-hydrological-mechanical-chemical-based research and model development and pursue more URL- and laboratory-based studies, particularly at elevated temperatures

23April 24, 2020


Part 2: Personal Post Report Analysis

24April 24, 2020

The views presented in this part do not represent those of

the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, an

independent Federal agency, charged with evaluating the

technical and scientific validity of the U.S. Department of

Energy’s efforts to implement the Nuclear Waste Policy

Act.


Basis for Analysis

• Feedback on the Board’s URL report

– Briefings of Federal agencies

– Presentations and discussions at conferences

• Information gathered as the Board staff began to outline a future meeting or report on the “safety case” topic

25April 24, 2020


Part 2 Outline

• Safety case

• Use of underground facilities: R&D or research, development, and demonstration (RD&D)

• Technology readiness assessments (TRA) and technology readiness level (TRL)

26April 24, 2020


Safety Case• Safety case concept developed in late 1990’s• Nuclear Energy Agency’s (NEA’s) Integration Group for the

Safety Case formed in 2000– The safety of a repository is evaluated and documented in a "safety

case" that supports decision making at each stage of repository development NEA (2020)

• DOE’s disposal R&D program is using the NEA definition – “A safety case is the synthesis of evidence, analyses and arguments

that quantify and substantiate a claim that the repository will be safe after closure and beyond the time when active control of the facility can be relied on. The safety case becomes more comprehensive and rigorous as a program advances and is a key input to decision making at several steps in the repository planning and implementation process.”

NEA (2004), Post-Closure Safety Case for Geological Repositories: Nature and Purpose, OECD Nuclear Energy Agency

27April 24, 2020


Elements of the Geologic Disposal Safety Case

28April 24, 2020modified from S. D. Sevougian et al. (2019), DOE SFWST Campaign R&D Roadmap Update


Use of URLs

29April 24, 2020

• URLs are used for– Assessment and testing of instrumentation, sampling and

monitoring techniques– Characterizing the behaviors and performance of engineered

barrier components– Characterizing the fundamental properties and behaviors of

the host rock – Characterizing the effects of construction and excavation on

the host rock – Studying the interactions between disposal components– Investigating the sealing of repository excavations– Demonstrating and optimizing construction approaches and

methods – Demonstrating aspects of repository operations – Prototype disposal concept demonstrations

R&D

RD&D


Use of URLs by Country

30April 24, 2020

• Finland: RD&D

• Sweden: RD&D

• France: RD&D

• U.S. SNF and HLW: R&D and RD&D?

– Yucca Mountain and the NWPA, as amended

– Post-2010 disposal R&D program


Finland’s Use of Domestic URL (RD&D)

31April 24, 2020

• ONKALO® URL is a licensed nuclear facility (a site-specific URL)

• Triennial R&D plan required and no waste was used in ONKALO®

• Both the implementer (Posiva) and the regulator (STUK) used the URL to develop their respective capabilities prior to Posiva’s license application for construction

• Full-scale in-situ testing occurs after receipt of construction license

T. Jalonen (2020), Posiva's ONKALO® FST – Full-Scale In Situ System Test, March 9.


Sweden’s Use of Domestic URLs (RD&D)

32April 24, 2020

• R&D at Stripa mine (1977-1992)

• RD&D at Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (1986-2023)– Pre-investigations 1986-1990– Construction 1990-1995– Operating Phase 1995- ; example tests include

• Large scale gas injection and long term buffer • Prototype repository and canister retrieval

• URLs are not site-specific, not licensed, and do not use waste• The implementer (SKB) triennially produces a “RD&D Programme”

– Reviewed by regulator (SSM), with invited “interested public comment,” and provided to government

– Reviewed by Swedish National Council and provided to government– RD&D Programme produced in addition to decision documents such

as a license application for construction Images from P. Vidstrand, Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (www.nwtrb.gov)



France’s Use of Domestic URLs (RD&D)

33April 24, 2020

• 4 URLs; 2 still operating Tournemire Research Tunnel and Bure• After 1991 national law on management of radioactive waste there

was volunteerism based siting for an URL from 1992-1998– Three sites characterized and license applications submitted

• Bure (1999-2030), developed by Andra (implementer), licensed for operations until 2030, and does not use waste– Stage 1: Assessing the disposal suitability concept (1999-2005)– Stage 2: Providing the scientific basis for safety options and design

construction (2006-2010)– Stage 3: Preparing for licensing through large scale demonstrations

tests (2010-2018)• Prototype HLW disposal cells

– Stage 4: Optimizing technical solutions before disposal facility construction (2019-2025)

• Verify performance of the detailed construction requirements for disposal components


France’s Bure URL (RD&D)

34April 24, 2020

• At end of 2018: 1,842 meters of drift, 1,100 boreholes, 13,500 real time sensors, and 3 million data per day

Stage 4

Stage 3

Modified from D. Delort (2019), 28 years of R&D and Design activities to prepare the license application of Cigéo


U.S. Use of URLs for SNF and HLW Program

35April 24, 2020

• Yucca Mountain repository program (R&D)– Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982

– Title I–Disposal and Storage of High-Level Radioactive Waste, Spent Nuclear Fuel, and Low-Level Radioactive Waste

• Site characterization definition: “… limited subsurface lateral excavations and borings, and in situ testing needed to evaluate the suitability of a candidate site for the location of a repository …”

• Site approval and construction authorization (Section 114)– Site recommendation included “… description of proposed

repository … preliminary engineering specifications … description of waste form proposal … .”

– “ … shall submit … an application for a construction authorization … not later than 90 days after the date on which the recommendation of the site designation is effective … .”


U.S. Use of URLs for SNF and HLW Program

36April 24, 2020

• Title II–Research, Development, and Demonstration Regarding Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel (RD&D) [limited implementation]– Purpose: “ … to provide for the construction, operation, and

maintenance of a deep geologic test and evaluation facility; and to provide for a focused and integrated high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel research and development program, including the development of a test and evaluation facility to carry out research and provide an integrated demonstration of the technology for deep geologic disposal of high-level radioactive waste, … .”

– ‘Test and evaluation facility’• “means an at-depth, prototypic, underground cavity with subsurface lateral

excavations … including the development of data and experience for the safe handling and disposal of solidified HLW … or SNF.”

• “Design. The Secretary shall design each test and evaluation facility—(1) to be capable of receiving not more than 100 full-sized canisters of solidified high-level radioactive waste … spent fuel may be used … .”


U.S. Use of URLs for SNF- and HLW-Related Program

37April 24, 2020

• Post 2010 disposal R&D program (R&D)Evolution of RD&D Needs During Development of the Repository/Waste Management System

S. D. Sevougian et al. (2019), DOE SFWST Campaign R&D Roadmap Update

Modified from S. D. Sevougian (2017), Technology Readiness Assessment Process Applied to Post-closure Performance of Deep Geologic Repositories

• DOE Order 413.3B – TRAs required before Critical Decision (CD) points

a

un

Re

o v

R


Technology Readiness Level (TRL)

38April 24, 2020

S e l e c t i o n o f S i t e a n d C o n c e p t

S m a l l S c a l eF i e l d Te s t s

S u b s y s t e m S c a l e Te s t s i n O N K AL O

F u l l - s c a l e I n S i t uS y s t e m Te s t F S T

C o m m i s s i o n i n g Te s t w i t h o u t S F

O p e r a t i o n o f t h e F i n a lD i s p o s a l F a c i l i t y

S u b s y s t e m Te s t s i n Te s t F a c i l i t i e s

E I A - D i P

L a b o r a t o r y Te s t s

NASA (2020), Technology Readiness Levels

T. Jalonen (2020), ONKALO® - Underground Research Facility and Final Disposal Facility, March 11.

NASA, U.S. Posiva, Finland

SKB, SwedenTRL 7 at time of license application for repository construction (LARC); see Slide 11

atLARC


TRLs (continued)

39April 24, 2020

• Operation of disposal facility is at TRL 9

• A national repository program will go through each level during its development

• What level a program is at each key decision making point (e.g., site selection, application for construction, or application for operation) is decided by law and implementing regulations– Impacts how much more work is

needed before next key decision

39

At Time of LARCTwo Examples

1

2


Conclusions and Closing Remarks

40April 24, 2020

• Underground research laboratories play a critical role in repository programs around the world

• The safety case for a repository and the technology readiness of a repository program can be advanced through the use of underground facilities

• Development of the safety case and the use of the URL (R&D versus RD&D) in a repository program is determined by the laws and regulations that govern geologic disposal in each country

• Thanks to the Stimson Center!


References

41April 24, 2020

Birkholzer, J., 2019, Overview of DOE’s International Collaborations and URL Activities, Presentation to NWTRB, link.Boyle, W., 2019, DOE Collaboration and Underground Research Program: Overall Program and Approach, Presentation to NWTRB, link.Delay, J. et al., 2020, ANDRA’s Underground Research Laboratory in Bure: Major Role in the Cigéo Development, Presentation at WM2020 Conference, March 8 – 12, 2020, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.Delort, D., 2019, 28 years of R&D and Design activities to prepare the license application of Cigéo, Presentation to NWTRB, link.Gaus, I., 2019, The integration of URL science in the Swiss Radioactive Waste Management Programme, Presentation to NWTRB, link.Jalonen, T., 2020, Posiva's ONKALO® FST – Full-Scale In Situ System Test, Presentation at WM2020 Conference, March 8 – 12, 2020, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.Jalonen, T., 2020, ONKALO® - Underground Research Facility and Final Disposal Facility, Presentation at WM2020 Conference, March 8 – 12, 2020, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 2020, Technology Readiness Level, link.Neveu, R. et al., 2020, Waste Shielded Casks Transfer by Funicular from the Surface to Disposal Level in Cigéo, Presentation at WM2020 Conference, March 8 – 12, 2020, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.Nuclear Energy Agency, 2004, Post-Closure Safety Case for Geological Repositories: Nature and Purpose, OECD, link.Nuclear Energy Agency, 2020, Integration Group for the Safety Case (IGSC), OECD, link.Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, 2020, Filling the Gaps: The Critical Role of Underground Research Laboratories in the U.S. Department of Energy Geologic Disposal Research and Development Program, link.Sevougian, S. D., 2017, Technology Readiness Assessment Process Applied to Post-closure Performance of Deep Geologic Repositories, link.Sevougian, S. D. et al., 2019, DOE SFWST Campaign R&D Roadmap Update, link.Vidstrand, P., 2019, Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory, Presentation to NWTRB, link.

https://www.nwtrb.gov/docs/default-source/meetings/2019/april/birkholzer.pdf?sfvrsn=6

https://www.nwtrb.gov/docs/default-source/meetings/2019/april/boyle.pdf?sfvrsn=8

https://www.nwtrb.gov/docs/default-source/meetings/2019/april/delort.pdf?sfvrsn=6

https://www.nwtrb.gov/docs/default-source/meetings/2019/april/gaus.pdf?sfvrsn=8

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/scan/engineering/technology/txt_accordion1.html

https://www.oecd-nea.org/rwm/reports/2013/78121-rwn-sc-brochure.pdf

https://www.oecd-nea.org/rwm/igsc/

https://www.nwtrb.gov/docs/default-source/reports/nwtrb-url-report.pdf?sfvrsn=9

https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2017/11/f46/Dave%20Sevougian%20P%26RA%20CoP%20Tech%20Exch%202017%20Sevougian%20TRLs%20SAND2017-11147C%20rev2.pdf

https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1559571

https://www.nwtrb.gov/docs/default-source/meetings/2019/april/gaus.pdf?sfvrsn=8

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