Preliminary post-closure safety assessment for a borehole-type repository for disused sealed radioactive sources in Brazil

Abstract

Brazil has a relatively large inventory of disused sealed radioactive sources (DSRSs). Until now, no decision has yet been made about the final destination of this category of radioactive wastes, although a repatriation of a small fraction of these sources comprising mainly neutron and high activity sources was already carried out. Borehole type repositories are one disposal solution considered for DSRSs in Brazil. This paper addresses a preliminary post-closure safety assessment for such a facility, using the borehole disposal concept (BDC) applied to different geological conditions and a range of projected inventories. Results from running the AMBER code considering deterministic and stochastic approaches showed that Am-241 is the main source of potential concern in order to comply with the effective dose constraint of 0.3 mSv/y and allowed the establishment of the relation between the maximum Am-241 inventory and the hydraulic conductivity of the geosphere.