DEEP DISPOSAL | WASTE MANAGEMENT
NOT TO SCALE
SuperLAT™ S drilling rig 1,000 feet Natural fractures in brittle igneous rock
Titanium drip shields
SuperLAT™
the world round. The required types of high-level waste horizontal wellbores can be realistically drilled today. There are thousands of horizontal wellbores in which a multiplicity of down-hole tools, production equipment, and completion systems are in use today in oil and gas exploration. If required, high-level waste can be deconstructed and reconstructed to fit into cylinders at the dimensions deemed most efficient, and the wellbore can be engineered to fit. As an economic way to make available deep geological
repositories in a short time and at relatively low cost, it stands in stark contrast to current methods. Furthermore, a massive base of technological knowledge exists, with experienced technical services companies who can support implementation. The horizontal wellbore is also lined with multiple steel
casings and surrounded by a well-designed cement matrix. This provides yet another secure layer, in addition to the natural protection of the impermeable rock repository formation as shown in Figure 2. Cylindrical waste capsules can be robotically inserted
from the surface, through the vertical section before ‘landing’ safely in the horizontal wellbore. Resting the capsules horizontally in the wellbore eliminates any added weight which occurs when stacking vertically. The individual waste capsules inside are sealed in place, many thousands of metres below the ecosphere, in a hydraulically closed rock zone. After storing capsules safely in the repository, the vertical wellbore can be sealed. As figure 4 shows, a simple surface marker is all
that remains where a 40,000 tonne atomic bomb was successfully detonated more than 2500 metres (8,000 feet) underground during operations to stimulate (frack) the deep gas bearing shale formations in Colorado in the USA. After the deep horizontal repository system is closed permanently a similar surface marker would be the only visible reminder that tonnes of nuclear waste are buried thousands of metres below the surface. Additional warnings against intrusive drilling within several miles of the site would also be required. Storing the waste so deep would also render any retrieval efforts by bad actors practically impossible.
Protecting groundwater Even after decades without any significant progress or success, groups continue to follow each others’ lead, excavating and developing mining systems in near surface waste repositories in or near the water table. Without U
Steel Cement
Steel Passivated copper container Spent fuel bundle Above, figure 3:
Nuclear waste capsule in horizontal wellbore
vertical wellbore >10,000 feet SuperLAT™ horizontal wellbore with capsules Impermeable formations - isolated for tens of millions of years
Above, figure 2: The SuperLATTM System compared to Yucca Mt.
Repository rock
Wellbore Cement
Above, figure 4: Surface Plaque at the site of a 40 kilotonne nuclear explosion thousands of metres underground
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