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Clays in natural & engineered barriers for radioactive waste confinement
Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 32 (2007) 1 www.elsevier.com/locate/pce
Foreword
Clays in natural & engineered barriers for radioactive waste confinement
In many countries (such as Belgium, Germany, France, Japan, Switzerland . . .), deep argillaceous formations are considered as potential host rock for radioactive waste disposal. Precise knowledge of the clay properties in the various domains concerned by the construction feasibility, the exploitation phase of the repository facilities, as well as the long term evolution of the waste in its environment, is therefore of crucial importance in assessing the Performance and the Safety of the radioactive waste disposal concepts. In this general context, the second international meeting on ‘‘Clays in natural and engineered barriers for radioactive waste confinement’’ organised by the French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (Andra) was aimed at bringing together specialists of the different disciplines related to clay and scientists from organisations involved in the disposal of radioactive waste to present on-going research and discuss the most recent developments and issues in fundamental knowledge and corresponding modelling in the vast domain of natural and artificial clay barriers. The second international meeting, which took place in Tours (France) from 14 to 18 March 2005, assembled 498 delegates (from 24 different countries) representing many Research Institutes and Universities around the world, together with representative of various National Radioactive Waste Management Organisations. A wide range of scientific subjects, dealing with most of the disciplines applied to waste isolation, was covered through 17 oral sessions and 8 posters sessions which provided to the participants an invaluable occasion to exchange their experience and opinions on the subject. The 86 manuscripts printed in these proceedings form a representative sample of the 107 talks and 225 posters presented during the meeting. They are grouped in 8 major
1474-7065/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.pce.2006.08.044
themes: Clay-based concepts & General strategy (10 papers), Geochemistry and clay mineralogy (12 p), Alteration processes (8 p), Water, solute and gas transfer in porous media (17 p), Sorption, retention and complexation (6 p), Processes linked to the Excavation Damaged & disturbed Zones (10 p), Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (+Chemical) processes in the Engineered Barrier System (13 p) and, Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (+Chemical) processes in natural clay formations (11 p). It should be noted that most of works and experiments presented here have been (and still are) carried out in the framework of various international co-operation programs. This is an indicative outcome of the common interest of the different countries involved in programs on radioactive waste disposal to co-ordinate their efforts in order to improve their technical and scientific knowledge. The organising and the scientific committees of the meeting would finally like to acknowledge the authors, the reviewers, and the guest editors for their foremost contribution. They would also like to express their particular thanks to the editor for providing the opportunity to disseminate such a high standard and valuable knowledge. Patrick Landais Jean Franc¸ois Aranyossy France’s National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management (ANDRA), Scientific Department (DS/DIR), 1-7 rue Jean Monnet 92298, Chaˆtenay-Malabry, France E-mail addresses: [email protected] (P. Landais), [email protected] (J.F. Aranyossy) Available online 2 February 2007
Foreword
Clays in natural & engineered barriers for radioactive waste confinement
In many countries (such as Belgium, Germany, France, Japan, Switzerland . . .), deep argillaceous formations are considered as potential host rock for radioactive waste disposal. Precise knowledge of the clay properties in the various domains concerned by the construction feasibility, the exploitation phase of the repository facilities, as well as the long term evolution of the waste in its environment, is therefore of crucial importance in assessing the Performance and the Safety of the radioactive waste disposal concepts. In this general context, the second international meeting on ‘‘Clays in natural and engineered barriers for radioactive waste confinement’’ organised by the French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (Andra) was aimed at bringing together specialists of the different disciplines related to clay and scientists from organisations involved in the disposal of radioactive waste to present on-going research and discuss the most recent developments and issues in fundamental knowledge and corresponding modelling in the vast domain of natural and artificial clay barriers. The second international meeting, which took place in Tours (France) from 14 to 18 March 2005, assembled 498 delegates (from 24 different countries) representing many Research Institutes and Universities around the world, together with representative of various National Radioactive Waste Management Organisations. A wide range of scientific subjects, dealing with most of the disciplines applied to waste isolation, was covered through 17 oral sessions and 8 posters sessions which provided to the participants an invaluable occasion to exchange their experience and opinions on the subject. The 86 manuscripts printed in these proceedings form a representative sample of the 107 talks and 225 posters presented during the meeting. They are grouped in 8 major
1474-7065/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.pce.2006.08.044
themes: Clay-based concepts & General strategy (10 papers), Geochemistry and clay mineralogy (12 p), Alteration processes (8 p), Water, solute and gas transfer in porous media (17 p), Sorption, retention and complexation (6 p), Processes linked to the Excavation Damaged & disturbed Zones (10 p), Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (+Chemical) processes in the Engineered Barrier System (13 p) and, Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (+Chemical) processes in natural clay formations (11 p). It should be noted that most of works and experiments presented here have been (and still are) carried out in the framework of various international co-operation programs. This is an indicative outcome of the common interest of the different countries involved in programs on radioactive waste disposal to co-ordinate their efforts in order to improve their technical and scientific knowledge. The organising and the scientific committees of the meeting would finally like to acknowledge the authors, the reviewers, and the guest editors for their foremost contribution. They would also like to express their particular thanks to the editor for providing the opportunity to disseminate such a high standard and valuable knowledge. Patrick Landais Jean Franc¸ois Aranyossy France’s National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management (ANDRA), Scientific Department (DS/DIR), 1-7 rue Jean Monnet 92298, Chaˆtenay-Malabry, France E-mail addresses: [email protected] (P. Landais), [email protected] (J.F. Aranyossy) Available online 2 February 2007