Publications Details

Report on Review of Waste Package Reliability Estimates for Geologic Disposal

Groth, Katrina G.; Hannigan, Francis P.; Liao, Huafei L.; Wheeler, Timothy A.

Disposal overpacks are proposed as an element of the engineered barrier system for direct disposal of spent nuclear fuel in dual-purpose canisters (DPCs) [1]. DPCs are currently licensed for storage and transport, but not disposal. In the DPC disposal system, overpacks would provide long-term containment, and conversely, they would keep groundwater from flooding DPCs. Without flooding, DPCs can never achieve nuclear criticality because they are under-moderated.