Safety and Repository Concepts and Provisional Design

  pdf NAB 24-18 Rev. 1 Safety and Repository Concepts and Provisional Design(5.10 MB)

Abstract

This report is part of the documentation that forms the general licence application. It firstly defines the overarching protection objective, design principles and protection criteria, as well as other boundary conditions for the development of the current safety and repository concept. These include international frameworks such as International Atomic Energy Agency Safety Standards, and Swiss legal and regulatory frameworks. The discussion also covers institutional decisions and strategic choices made in Switzerland regarding radioactive waste disposal. The scientific and technical foundation, crucial for the repository design and safety demonstration, is explained in detail.

Secondly, the report describes Nagra’s safety and repository concept, i.e., the repository safety barriers and their properties and how, through the safety barriers and safety functions they perform, the geological deep repository ensures the protection of humans and the environment. The safety functions apply to the repository as a whole, but can also be assigned to its individual components, including “pillars of safety”, which are repository barriers. and their properties that are considered well understood and insensitive to perturbations and are the main contributors to these safety functions.

Thirdly, the report sets out a provisional repository design for a combined deep geological repository, established for the purposes of the general licence application, that is consistent with, and based upon, the safety and repository concept. It includes details about the accessways, repository sections, and the engineered barrier system.

The document concludes with a discussion of the key aspects of the safety and repository concept and associated provisional repository design.