The Department of Chemistry invites you to its upcoming departmental seminar on Monday, Sept. 21, at 4:10 p.m. in Fulmer Hall, room 201.
Dr. Horst Geckeis from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology will present, Safety of nuclear waste disposal – Radio/geochemistry research still needed?
Abstract: Programmes for the disposal of high-level nuclear waste in various countries such as Scandinavia, France and Switzerland are very much advanced. Finland and Sweden plan to take their repository into operation for waste emplacement within the next years. France and Switzerland have selected or are in a progressed state of selecting sites in clay rock. Other countries like Germany have started a new site selection procedure. The basis for respective analyses aiming to assess and demonstrate safety of disposal concepts is a sound and broad scientific knowledge foundation. In this context radio/geochemical research deals with processes finally leading to the possible release and retention of radionuclides in repository systems.
The present contribution shortly describes nuclear waste disposal programmes in Europe and discusses recent investigations related to
- Actinide-mineral interaction reactions under conditions relevant to near and far field of a nuclear waste repository,
- The impact of enhanced salinity on actinide sorption on mineral surfaces
- The application new spectroscopic and highly sensitive analytical tools to gain insight in actinide speciation
In view of the high relevance of nuclear waste disposal and remediation problems, the great attention that these topics receive in the public, and due to the significantly extended implementation time scales (usually decades), it is mandatory to continue and to develop respective research on a highest level.
Dr. Horst Geckeis is the current Head of the Institute for Nuclear Disposal (INE, Germany) and professor for Radiochemistry at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT, Germany) and faculty of Chemistry and Biosciences. His research focuses on colloid facilitated radionuclide migration, actinide solid-liquid interface reactions, and analytical chemistry of radionuclides.
