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Use of Fly-Ash for Sealing a Radioactive Waste Repository

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 1992

Marc Ollagnier ,
Christian Tauziede  and
Jodl Olivier
Marc Ollagnier
Affiliation:
ANDRA, BP 38 - 92266 FONTENAY-AUX-ROSES Cedex - FRANCE
Christian Tauziede
Affiliation:
INERIS, BP 2 - 60550 VERNEUIL-EN-HALATTE - FRANCE
Jodl Olivier
Affiliation:
EDF, BP 605 - 13093 AIX-EN-PROVENCE Cedex 2 - FRANCE
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Abstract

The mining industry currently uses fly-ash from coal-fired power-plants to close access shafts in abandoned mines, in sedimentary formations. The technique consists of installing a plug of fly-ash, about fifty meters high, at the base of the shaft-lining. In this study, fly-ash is considered as a possible sealant for radioactive repositories in sedimentary formations, as well as in hard rock.

Specific studies have been conducted in order to assess the feasibility of this technique, and to improve the long-term performance of the fly-ash seals. The hydraulic and mechanical characteristics of fly-ash, taken from the plug of an abandoned shaft, as well as from dumps of various ages, were measured. Laboratory tests showed that it is possible to reduce the hydraulic conductivity of fly-ash by a factor of thousand, with the addition of ten percent bentonite. Moreover, it seems possible to block fine fissures in the surrounding damaged rock by injecting grouts made of cement and fly-ash having maximum diameters of twenty micrometers.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 294: Symposium V – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XVI , 1992 , 297
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1993

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References

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