Scientific Center for the Development and Assessment of Long-Term Safety of Engineering Barriers for Radioactive Waste Isolation
(SC "Engineering Barriers")
(SC "Engineering Barriers")
On Thursday, December 22, 2022, a meeting dedicated to the establishment of the Scientific Center for the Development and Assessment of Long-Term Safety of Engineered Barriers for Radioactive Waste Isolation (SC "Engineered Barriers") was held at the Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy and Geochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IGEM RAS).
During the meeting, representatives of scientific and industrial organizations discussed issues related to the creation and development of the Scientific Center.
During the meeting, representatives of scientific and industrial organizations discussed issues related to the creation and development of the Scientific Center.
The meeting was attended by:
- Petrov Vladislav Alexandrovich – Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of IGEM RAS
- Krupskaya Victoria Valeryevna – Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences (PhD), Leading Researcher, IGEM RAS
- Dorofeev Alexander Nikolaevich – Head of the Project Office "Establishment of a Unified State System for Radioactive Waste Management", State Corporation "Rosatom"
- Kalmykov Stepan Nikolaevich – Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Scientific Supervisor of the Faculty of Chemistry of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences
- Matveev Leonid Vladimirovich – Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Director of IBRAE RAS
- Vetyugov Alexander Vyacheslavovich – General Director of LLC "Company Bentonite"
- Vinokurov Sergey Evgenievich – Deputy Director for Scientific Research at GEOKHI RAS
- Utkin Sergey Sergeevich – Doctor of Technical Sciences, Head of Division, IBRAE RAS
- Blokhin Pavel Anatolievich – Candidate of Technical Sciences (PhD), Head of Department, IBRAE RAS
- Gupalo Vladimir Sergeevich – Doctor of Technical Sciences, Head of Laboratory, IBRAE RAS
- Konovalov Vladimir Yurievich – Head of Division, JSC "Atomenergoproekt"
- Belousov Petr Evgenievich – Senior Researcher, IGEM RAS
- Zakusin Sergey Vyacheslavovich – Junior Researcher, IGEM RAS
- Zakusina Olga Valeryevna – Junior Researcher, IGEM RAS
- Morozov Ivan Arkadievich – Junior Researcher, IGEM RAS
As a first step towards the establishment of the Scientific Center, a scientific and technical platform was created at IGEM RAS — the Laboratory for Experimental Study of the Evolution of Clay Materials (CLEVER = CLay EVolution Experiments Room), headed by Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences (PhD), Leading Researcher of IGEM RAS, V.V. Krupskaya. The capabilities of this laboratory, currently available, were demonstrated to the meeting participants.
Meeting participants during the demonstration of the capabilities of the Laboratory for Experimental Study of the Evolution of Clay Materials "CLEVER" (CLay EVolution Experiments Room)
The relevance of creating a specialized Scientific Center is driven by the expansion of work on the construction of radioactive waste storage facilities and the decommissioning of nuclear- and radiation-hazardous facilities, carried out mainly within the framework of the Federal Target Program "Ensuring Nuclear and Radiation Safety for 2016−2020 and for the Period up to 2035". According to current estimates, ensuring the safety of nuclear energy facilities for the duration of their potential hazard will require approximately 13 million tons of clay materials with various characteristics. The inclusion of such target centers with distributed specialized competencies as the SC "Engineered Barriers" in the research framework will contribute to the development of systemic solutions that will improve the quality of work.
Equipment specimens and examples of samples being worked with in the laboratory
In the work of the Center, applied research on the behavior of materials under predicted storage conditions is based on fundamental research being conducted at IGEM RAS on the composition, structure and properties of clay materials for engineered safety barriers, the interaction of various barrier components with each other, etc.
The dynamics of an experiment conducted during the meeting, which clearly demonstrates the self-healing ability of bentonite materials
To date, IGEM RAS has accumulated unique experience in the field of studying engineered barrier components and substantiating the assessment of safety functions for radioactive waste isolation. Specialized equipment has been developed and acquired, and unique experimental setups have been created that allow obtaining a wide range of experimental data necessary for modeling the evolution of barrier properties over the time period specified by the project. During the meeting, the capabilities of the new scientific and technical platform for conducting research at the Laboratory for Experimental Study of the Evolution of Clay Materials were demonstrated.
Laboratory staff and one of the mock-ups of a long-term experiment to study the behavior of clay materials as part of engineered barriers in assembly before testing
The creation of this platform became the first step in the implementation of the Scientific Center, and the specially developed equipment, which has no analogues in Russia, will make it possible to solve fundamental and applied problems related to the long-term evolution of engineered barrier components.