A Systematic radionuclide migration parameter setting approach for potential siting environments in Japan

Hamamoto, Takafumi*; Ishida, Keisuke*; Shibutani, Sanae*; Fujisaki, Kiyoshi*; Tachi, Yukio  ; Ishiguro, Katsuhiko*; McKinley, I. G.*

NUMO's recently published safety case involves utilisation of the safety case approach to provide a basis for preparation for future phases of work and development of a template for later, more complete and rigorous, safety cases. Advances include capturing potential siting environments in Site Descriptive Models (SDMs) and focusing post-closure safety assessment methodology on repository designs tailored to these SDMs. Radionuclide-specific parameters in the engineered barrier system (EBS), such as solubilities, sorption and diffusion values, are selected based on established chemical models that take into account evolution of porewater chemistry, alteration of EBS material and different host rock properties. Existing chemical thermodynamic databases developed in Japan have been used for the coupled geochemical and mass transport analyses applied to set these parameters. Nevertheless, in view of fundamental uncertainties in the thermodynamic approach, expert judgment played a key role in the process. This paper discusses the methodology used to set "reasonably conservative" radionuclide migration parameters for the illustrative SDMs, with a focus on chemistry which can be captured in existing models only by introducing significant simplifications.