BUFFER PROPERTIES OF BENTONITE BARRIER SYSTEMS FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE ISOLATION IN GEOLOGICAL REPOSITORY IN THE NIZHNEKANSKIY MASSIF

The paper discusses the main properties of bentonite clays being considered as a component of safety barriers for radioactive waste isolation in geological repositories. It focuses on experimental and analytical studies providing the basic information needed for the selection of the most suitable material for the experiments that are to be carried out in the underground research laboratory and in the construction of the geological repository. The paper summarizes the required full-scale and supporting laboratory experiments that are to be implemented in the Underground Research Laboratory being constructed in the Nizhnekanskiy massif (Krasnoyarsk Region). The proposed experiments were based on the requirements and basic properties of bentonite being considered as the engineered barrier for radioactive waste disposal. As a result of laboratory and full-scale experiments the information required to assess the repository’s evolution following its closure will be obtained.

Keywords: bentonite, radioactive waste, engineered barriers, geological repository, bentonite properties, laboratory and full-scale experiments, Nizhnekanskiy massif.

Krupskaya V. V., Zakusin S. V., Lekhov V. A., Dorzhieva O. V., Belousov P. E., Tyupina E. A. Buffer Properties of Bentonite Barrier Systems for Radioactive Waste Isolation in Geological Repository in the Nizhnekanskiy Massif. Radioactive Waste, 2020, no. 1 (10), pp. 35—55. (In Russian). DOI: 10.25283/2587-9707-2020-1-35-55.