Hydraulic and earth engineering – Soil remediation – In situ contaminant removal or stabilization
Patent
1989-12-18
1991-03-19
Wasil, Daniel D.
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Soil remediation
In situ contaminant removal or stabilization
405 55, B63G 500, G21F 934
Patent
active
050006177
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a store for the storage of environmentally harmful substances, such as stable toxic compounds and long-lived nuclear materials, etc., which store comprises a number of cavities in rock intended for holding the substances in question, with a roof above said cavities, and with the cavities in question being surrounded by a hydraulic barrier.
With regard to the storage of harmful substances such as stable toxic compounds or long-lived nuclear materials, the prior art is such that no system which may be regarded as satisfactory exists. Previous solutions applied to the problem of disposing of these harmful substances have customarily involved the dumping of the substances at sea or on refuse tips on the one hand, and on the other hand the recovery or degradation of the substances by industrial processes. More often than not the result has not been what was intended. In most cases the processes have resulted in the formation of new harmful substances and undesirable emissions into the biosphere. Dumping at sea or on refuse tips has resulted in the substances in question being distributed with the currents or finding their way into the ground water. The intention of the present invention is to keep water away from these harmful substances and in this way to prevent their distribution. The store can be used as a temporary store until such time as reliable process technology has been developed, or as a final store, which, after it has been sealed, does not require any further maintenance or supervision.
Stores of the kind described above are previously disclosed in, for example, SE, B, No. 8305025-2 and GB, A, No. 2,166,282. The store in accordance with the Swedish invention requires pumps, etc., in order, amongst other things, to solve the problem associated with drainage. The construction of the storage space of said store for holding the substances concerned, which it is wished to store enclosed by rock, is an extremely complicated procedure, as is also the case with the store previously disclosed in the aforementioned British invention.
The principal object of the present invention is thus to make available a store which, amongst other things, solves the above-mentioned problems associated with the provision of a so-called "dry store" for the storage of harmful substances such as harmful toxic and nuclear materials, for example the waste from nuclear power stations and the like.
Said object is achieved by means of a store in accordance with the present invention, which is characterized essentially in that holding cavities for storage are formed by drilled vertical holes which extend down to a level situated above a subjacent drainage and ventilation zone, and in that the hydraulic barrier, which is displaced laterally in relation to the storage boreholes, and the ventilation holes situated to the side are connected to a subjacent drainage and ventilation zone.
The invention is described below as a preferred illustrative embodiment, in conjunction with which reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates in diagrammatic form a first illustrative embodiment of a store in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates in diagrammatic form a second example of a store;
FIG. 3 illustrates a preferred capsule for the enclosure of environmentally harmful substances;
FIG. 4 illustrates a store in cross-section;
FIG. 5 illustrates a part of the intended pattern of construction of the store;
FIG. 6 illustrates a further example of a store in cross-section.
The present invention relates to a store 1, in which harmful substances 2 such as stable toxic or long-lived nuclear materials can be stored. The holding store, which consists of a storage area 3, 3.sup.1, 3.sup.2, is preferably contained within a rock formation 4, which rises above an adjacent syncline. An outlet tunnel 5 with an incline X of a few degrees, preferably in excess of 3.degree., is blasted from the syncline upwards into the rock formation 4. The height and level of the storage area can be a
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Eggert Uwe
Johansson Alf
Kvamsdal Ole M.
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