| Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management
- Fact Sheet
China’s Radioactive Waste Management Program
Low-level radioactive waste
Near surface and above ground disposal have been adopted
for low-level radioactive waste management in China. Since
nuclear facilities and producers of radioactive waste
are distributed in several regions of the country, China
sends its radioactive wastes to regional disposal locations.
Four or five repositories for low-level radioactive waste
will be constructed in order to dispose of accumulated
wastes from the nuclear industry, the decommissioning
of nuclear facilities, and from nuclear power plant operation.
These wastes will be delivered to the facilities after
a five-year interim storage period.
Reprocessing spent nuclear fuel
Water storage pools at Chinese reactors will cool spent
nuclear fuel for 15 years. After removal, the spent nuclear
fuel will be sent to other storage pools located away
from the reactors before being reprocessed. Liquid radioactive
wastes will be vitrified (solidified).
Deep geologic disposal plans
China is unique in that its repository plans are being
developed concurrently with the early stages of nuclear
power plant construction. Current plans call for conducting
feasibility studies between 2010 and 2020, followed by
site licensing. Repository operation will begin no earlier
than 2040.
China carried out site screening from 1985-1986, concentrating on
social, environmental, and geographical issues. The country is evaluating
five potential repository sites, including its proposed underground
research laboratory (URL) site in the Gobi Desert. This URL is planned
to become operational around the year 2030. Field investigations are
under way at the Beishan granite site in the Gansu province of the
Gobi Desert in northwest China. The Gobi Desert is sparsely populated,
has a low precipitation rate, a high evaporation rate, and a shallow
water table.
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management
Yucca Mountain Project
1551 Hillshire Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89134
1-800-225-6972
http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov
DOE/YMP-0409
June 2001 |