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Chung, J.-H.*; Kwangwoo, S.*; Yokoo, Tetsuya R.; Ueta, Daichi*; Imai, Masaki; Kim, H.-S.; Kiem, D. H.; Han, M. J.*; Shamoto, Shinichi
Scientific Reports (Internet), 15, p.5978_1 - 5978_10, 2025/02
Times Cited Count：0Metcalfe, R.*; Benbow, S. J.*; Kawama, Daisuke*; Tachi, Yukio
Science of the Total Environment, 958, p.177690_1 - 177690_17, 2025/01
Uplifting fractured granitic rocks occur in substantial areas of countries such as Japan. A repository site would be selected in such an area only if it is possible to make a safety case, accounting for the changing conditions during uplift. The safety case must include robust arguments that chemical processes in the rocks around the repository will contribute sufficiently to minimise radiological doses to biosphere receptors. To provide confidence in the safety arguments, numerical models need to be sufficiently realistic, but also parameterised conservatively (pessimistically). However, model development is challenging because uplift involves many complex couplings between groundwater flow, chemical reactions between water and rock, and changing rock properties. The couplings would affect radionuclide mobilisation and retardation, by influencing diffusive radionuclide fluxes between groundwater flowing in fractures and effectively immobile porewater in the rock matrix and radionuclide partitioning between water and solid phases, via: (i) mineral precipitation/dissolution; (ii) mineral alteration; and (iii) sorption/desorption. It is difficult to represent all this complexity in numerical models while showing that they are parameterised conservatively. Here we present a modelling approach, illustrated by simulation cases for some exemplar radioelements, to identify realistically conservative process conceptualisations and model parameterisations.
Metcalfe, R.*; Tachi, Yukio; Sasao, Eiji; Kawama, Daisuke*
Science of the Total Environment, 957, p.177375_1 - 177375_17, 2024/12
A safety case for an underground radioactive waste repository must show that groundwater will not in future transport radionuclides from the repository to the near-surface environment (the biosphere) in harmful quantities. Safety cases are developed step-wise throughout a programme to site and develop a repository. At early stages, before a site is selected, safety cases are generic and based on simplified safety assessment models of the disposal system that have conservative parameter values. Later, when site-specific conditions are known, more realistic models are needed for the long-term geo-environmental evolution and their impacts on radionuclide migration/retention. Uplift is one such environmental change, which may be particularly important in countries near active tectonic plate boundaries, such as Japan. Here we review the state of knowledge about how the properties of fractured granitic rocks evolve during uplift, based on studies in Japan. Hence, we present conceptual models and a generic scenario for mass transport and retardation processes in uplifting granitic rocks as a basis for realistic numerical models to underpin safety assessment.
Nakayama, Masashi
JAEA-Review 2024-042, 111 Pages, 2024/11
JAEA-Review-2024-042.pdf:7.83MB
The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory (URL) Project is being pursued by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to enhance the reliability of relevant technologies for geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste through investigating the deep geological environment within the host sedimentary rocks at Horonobe Town in Hokkaido, north Japan. In the fiscal year 2023, we continued R&D on "Study on near-field system performance in geological environment", "Demonstration of repository design options", and "Understanding of buffering behaviour of sedimentary rock to natural perturbations". These are identified as key R&D on challenges to be tackled in the Horonobe underground research plan for the fiscal year 2020 onwards. Specifically, "full-scale engineered barrier system (EBS) performance experiment" and "solute transport experiment with model testing" were carried out as part of "Study on nearfield system performance in geological environment". "Demonstration of engineering feasibility of repository technology" and "evaluation of EBS behaviour over 100
C" were addressed for "Demonstration of repository design options". The validation of a method for assessing permeability using the Ductility Index and a method for estimating the state of in-situ ground pressure from hydraulic perturbation tests were investigated as part of the study "Understanding of buffering behaviour of sedimentary rock to natural perturbations". In FY2023, we resumed construction of the subsurface facilities, 3 new tunnels in the 350 m gallery and resumed excavation of the East Access Shaft and the Ventilation Shaft. By the end of FY2023, the 350 m gallery extension (tunnel extension 66 m) had been completed, and the depths of the East Access Shaft and Ventilation Shaft were GL-424 m and GL-393 m respectively.
Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tokyo Institute of Technology*
JAEA-Review 2024-026, 80 Pages, 2024/10
JAEA-Review-2024-026.pdf:1.96MB
The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2022. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2019, this report summarizes the research results of the "Study on degradation of fuel debris by combined effects of radiological, chemical, and biological functions" conducted from FY2019 to FY2022. In the project, radiochemists, nuclear chemists, nuclear physicists, material scientists, and environmental biologists are teamed to elucidate the mechanism of the degradation of fuel debris by combined effects of radiological, chemical, and biological functions.
Onoda, Yuichi; Nishino, Hiroyuki; Kurisaka, Kenichi; Yamano, Hidemasa
Proceedings of Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management & Asian Symposium on Risk Assessment and Management (PSAM17 & ASRAM2024) (Internet), 10 Pages, 2024/10
We developed the measures for improving resilience of the sodium-cooled fast reactor structure using the failure mitigation technology and evaluated the effectiveness of the measures. To prevent core damage in the event of an accident progressing to an ultra-high temperature state, both measures to prevent overpressure in the reactor vessel and measures to cool the reactor core are required. As a core cooling measure, we developed a core cooling concept that promotes radiant heat transfer from the reactor vessel and cools the containment vessel outer surface by natural convection named Containment Vessel Auxiliary Cooling System (CVACS). We developed a method to use the reduction rate of core damage frequency as an indicator for effectiveness of the measures for improving resilience. The core damage frequency was evaluated by calculating the core cooling performance using CVACS, reflecting the results of structural analysis and human reliability analysis. By implementing measures for improving resilience in addition to existing measures, the core damage frequency of Japan loop-type sodium-cooled fast reactor caused by LOHRS has been reduced to about one-hundredth of the previous level.
Nakayama, Masashi
JAEA-Review 2024-033, 64 Pages, 2024/09
JAEA-Review-2024-033.pdf:5.15MB
The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory Project is being pursued by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency to enhance the reliability of relevant technologies for geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste through investigating the deep geological environment within the host sedimentary rocks at Horonobe Town in Hokkaido, north Japan. In the fiscal year 2024, we continue R&D on "Study on near-field system performance in geological environment", "Demonstration of repository design options", and "Understanding of buffering behaviour of sedimentary rocks to natural perturbations". These are identified as key R&D challenges to be tackled in the Horonobe underground research plan for the fiscal year 2020 onwards. In the "Study on near-field system performance in geological environment", we continue to obtain data from the full-scale engineered barrier system performance experiment, and work on the specifics of the full-scale engineered barrier system dismantling experiment. We summarise the solute transport experiments for the excavation damaged zone and the effects of organic matter, micro-organisms and colloids, and develop the assessment methodology. We summarise the evaluation methodology using the deep Wakkanai Formation as a case study for block-scale solute transport experiments. As for "Demonstration of repository design options", we summarise the results of investigations and experiments on changes in the geological environment after tunnel excavation and closure, and summarise the applicability and technical challenges of the closure technology for boreholes excavated from tunnels. The systematic integration of technologies towards EBS emplacement, including the organisation of investigation and evaluation methods and analysis, will be promoted. Experiments to confirm the performance of the engineered barrier system under critical conditions, such as high temperatures (
100C), continue the in-situ tests started in 2023.
Ito, Shinji*; Shimizu, Hiroyuki*; Ono, Shintaro*; Takayama, Yusuke
Doboku Gakkai Rombunshu (Internet), 80(8), p.24-00030_1 - 24-00030_18, 2024/08
In the design consideration of a geological disposal facility for radioactive waste, it is essential to perform a mechanical evaluation that takes into account phenomena that may occur from construction and operation to post-closure. With this background, we have developed the long-term mechanical analysis system MACBECE. In this research, we have built an analysis system that can consistently evaluate the mechanical behavior considering the thermal and hydraulic evolution after the closure of the repository by incorporating the constitutive model for unsaturated soils and coupling with the thermal-hydraulic analysis. As a validation, a mechanical analysis was conducted for the in-situ experiment for full-scale engineered barrier system performance experiment at Horonobe URL. Despite some discrepancies due to constraints in two-dimensional analysis, the extended functionality of the analysis code was confirmed to effectively repro-duce the measured data.
Yuan, X.*; Hu, Q. H.*; Fang, X.*; Wang, Q. M.*; Ma, Y.*; Tachi, Yukio
Sedimentary Geology, 465, p.106633_1 - 106633_14, 2024/05
Times Cited Count：0 Percentile：0.00(Geology)Nakayama, Masashi
JAEA-Review 2023-032, 159 Pages, 2024/02
JAEA-Review-2023-032.pdf:19.37MB
The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory (URL) Project is being pursued by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to enhance the reliability of relevant technologies for geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste through investigating the deep geological environment within the host sedimentary rocks at Horonobe Town in Hokkaido, north Japan. In the fiscal year 2022, we continued R&D on "Study on near-field system performance in geological environment", "Demonstration of repository design options", and "Understanding of buffering behaviour of sedimentary rock to natural perturbations". These are identified as key R&D on challenges to be tackled in the Horonobe underground research plan for the fiscal year 2020 onwards. Specifically, "full-scale engineered barrier system (EBS) performance experiment" and "solute transport experiment with model testing" were carried out as part of "Study on near- field system performance in geological environment". "Demonstration of engineering feasibility of repository technology" and "evaluation of EBS behaviour over 100C" were addressed for "Demonstration of repository design options". A study on "Understanding of buffering behaviour of sedimentary rock to natural perturbations" was also implemented in two areas, "evaluation of intrinsic buffering against endogenic and exogenic processes" and "development of techniques for evaluating excavation damaged zone (EDZ) self-sealing behaviour after backfilling". The Horonobe International Project (HIP) was initiated in February 2023 to promote research and development in collaboration with national and international organizations.
Morimoto, Kyoichi; Ono, Takahiro; Kakutani, Satomi; Yoshida, Moeka; Suzuki, Soichiro
Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, 36(1), p.125 - 133, 2024/02
The Naraha Center for Remote Control Technology Development was established for the purpose of developing and verifying remote control equipment for promoting the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and the external use of this center was started in 2016. The mission of this center is to contribute to the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and for the reconstruction of Fukushima Prefecture. In this review, we describe the equipment related to the full-scale mock-up test, the component test for a remote-control device and the virtual reality system in this center. In addition, the case examples for usage of these equipment are introduced.
Kamada, Masaki*; Yoshida, Takuma*; Sugita, Tsukasa*; Okumura, Keisuke
Nihon Genshiryoku Gakkai-Shi ATOMO
, 66(2), p.83 - 86, 2024/02
no abstracts in English
evaluation tests in an Underground Research Laboratory, Horonobe, JapanYoshida, Hidekazu*; Yamamoto, Koshi*; Asahara, Yoshihiro*; Maruyama, Ippei*; Karukaya, Koichi*; Saito, Akane*; Matsui, Hiroya; Mochizuki, Akihito; Katsuta, Nagayoshi*; Metcalfe, R.*
Powering the Energy Transition through Subsurface Collaboration; Proceedings of the 1st Energy Geoscience Conference (Energy Geoscience Conference Series, 1), 20 Pages, 2024/00
A capability to permanently seal fluid flow-paths in bedrock, such as natural faults/fractures, and damaged zones around boreholes/excavations, is needed to ensure the long-term safety and effectiveness of many underground activities. Cementitious materials are commonly used as seals, however these materials unavoidably undergo physical and chemical degradation, therefore potentially decreasing seal durability. In order to solve these problems, a more durable sealing method using concretion-forming resin has been developed by learning from natural calcite (CaCO
) concretion formation. The sealing capability of resin was tested by experiments on bedrock flow-paths in an underground research laboratory (URL), Hokkaido, Japan. The results showed a decrease the permeability rapidly down to 1/1,000 of the initial permeability due to calcite precipitation over a period of one year. During the experiment inland earthquakes occurred with foci below the URL (depths 2-7 km and maximum magnitude 5.4). Due to the earthquakes the hydraulic conductivities of the flow-paths sealed initially by concretion-forming resin increased. However, these flow-paths subsequently resealed rapidly, and within a few months recovered the same hydraulic conductivities as before the earthquakes. This new technique for rapidly producing long-lasting seals against fluid flow through rocks will be applicable to many kinds of underground activities.
Vauchy, R.; Hirooka, Shun; Murakami, Tatsutoshi
Materialia, 32, p.101934_1 - 101934_12, 2023/12
Vauchy, R.; Hirooka, Shun; Murakami, Tatsutoshi
Materialia, 32, p.101943_1 - 101943_8, 2023/12
Kato, Tomoaki; Yamagishi, Isao
JAEA-Technology 2023-018, 53 Pages, 2023/11
JAEA-Technology-2023-018.pdf:2.6MB
In the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, radioactive carbonate slurry waste was generated using the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) pretreatment and temporarily stored in a high integrity container (HIC). In 2015, overflow of supernatant from HIC estimate as bubble retention in the carbonate slurry was discovered, increasing the need for a safety assessment of the carbonate slurry stored the HIC (HIC slurry). In this study, a carbonate slurry (simulated slurry) was prepared according to the Mg/Ca mass ratio in the ALPS inlet water of the HIC slurry which overflew the HIC. The effects of reaction time during the pretreatment process, suspended solids concentration (SS concentration), and settling time on the particle composition, morphology and rheological properties of the slurry were investigated. Evaluating the effect of reaction time and concentration process on chemical properties in slurry production, the effect of the reaction time was not confirmed in the simulated slurry that had undergone the concentration process, and slurry prepared at SS concentration of 150 g/L was composed of formless particles have a particle diameter of 0.4 
m or less. We also investigate the effect of SS concentration on sedimentability, decrease in SS concentration by dilution with processing solution contributed to an increase in the initial slurry settling velocity. Furthermore, two different flow characteristics were observed depending on the settling time, suggesting that the slurry at the initial settling time has non-Bingham flow properties, whereas it changes to Bingham flow properties as the settling time becomes longer. In addition, yield stress was increased with settling time, and this yield stress was found to be exponentially proportional to the density of the slurry. These results provide knowledge to estimate the current state of HIC slurry and are expected to contribute to the safety assessment.
Nakayama, Masashi
JAEA-Review 2023-019, 70 Pages, 2023/11
JAEA-Review-2023-019.pdf:6.83MB
The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory (URL) Project is being pursued by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to enhance the reliability of relevant technologies for geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste through investigating the deep geological environment within the host sedimentary rocks at Horonobe Town in Hokkaido, north Japan. In the fiscal year 2023, we continue R&D on "Study on near-field system performance in geological environment", "Demonstration of repository design options", and "Understanding of buffering behaviour of sedimentary rocks to natural perturbations". These are identified as key R&D challenges to be tackled in the Horonobe underground research plan for the fiscal year 2020 onwards. In the "Study on near-field system performance in geological environment", we conduct the coupled analysis on the full-scale engineered barrier system performance experiment and test the coupled simulation code through comparison with different simulation codes in the international DECOVALEX-2023 collaboration project. Borehole investigations are also carried out for solute transport experiments in the Koetoi Formation. As for "Demonstration of repository design concept", we carry out in situ experiments and data analysis on concrete deterioration under the subsurface conditions. Geophysical surveys are also carried out around an experimental tunnel to be newly excavated at the 350m gallery and characterise the initial conditions of the excavation damaged zone. For the "Understanding of buffering behaviour of sedimentary rocks to natural perturbations", we analyse the results of the hydraulic disturbance tests conducted in previous years and understand the relationship between rock stress / stress state and fault / fracture hydraulic connectivity. Concerning the construction and maintenance of the subsurface facilities, the 350 m gallery is extended and shafts are sank to a depth of 500 m.
Ohno, Shuji; Maeda, Seiichiro
Dai-27-Kai Doryoku, Enerugi Gijutsu Shimpojiumu Koen Rombunshu (Internet), 3 Pages, 2023/09
Esser, S. P.*; Rahlff, J.*; Zhao, W.*; Predl, M.*; Plewka, J.*; Sures, K.*; Wimmer, F.*; Lee, J.*; Adam, P. S.*; McGonigle, J.*; et al.
Nature Microbiology (Internet), 8(9), p.1619 - 1633, 2023/09
Times Cited Count：7 Percentile：83.06(Microbiology)Hidaka, Akihide; Kawashima, Shigeto*; Kajino, Mizuo*
Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 60(7), p.743 - 758, 2023/07
Times Cited Count：2 Percentile：54.24(Nuclear Science & Technology)An accurate estimation of radionuclides released during the Fukushima accident is essential. Therefore, authors investigated Te release using the Unit emission-regression estimation method, in which the deposition distribution is weighted based on the hourly deposition obtained from mesoscale meteorological model calculations assuming Unit emissions. The previous study focused on confirming the applicability of this method. Subsequent examination revealed that if any part of the time when a release have occurred is missing from the estimated release period, the entire source term calculation will be distorted. Therefore, this study performed the recalculation by extending the estimation period to cover all major releases. Consequently, unspecified release events were clarified, and their correspondence to in-core events was confirmed. The 
Te release caused by Zr cladding complete oxidation can explain the regional dependence of the Te/
Cs ratio in the soil contamination map.
