The Russian Strategy of using Crystalline Rock as a Repository for Nuclear Waste

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Abstract
The first Russian underground repository for high- and intermediate-level radioactive waste (HLW and ILW, respectively) will be built in the crystalline Archean granite–gneisses at Yeniseisky (Krasnoyarsk region, Siberia). The geological and hydrogeological characteristics of this site are similar to those found in Forsmark (Sweden) and Olkiluoto (Finland). However, the Russian disposal strategy is different. HLW will be disposed in the form of an aluminophos phate glass and ILW (with long-lived radionuclides) will be cemented. Preliminary research on all aspects of repository design (stability of waste forms, waste packages, and bentonite buffer; evaluation of the geologic barrier; and simulation of radionuclide transport by groundwater) will be performed at an on-site underground research laboratory.