Geological Isolation Research and Development

QUALITY is a research facility for obtaining basic data concerning the chemical properties and migration behavior of radionuclides from an underground repository under simulated underground conditions. The data are used to support implementing radioactive waste disposal and to assure safe isolation of such HLW for long period of time.

The facility has atomospheric–controlled chambers for recreating the chemical conditions of the deep underground environment. It also has high–resolution analytical equipment for analyzing rocks and measuring radionuclide tracers, solutions with radioactive materials dissolved in them, and so forth.

This is one of the few such facilities available worldwide, and is expected to play an important role in collaborative research with organizations in Japan and overseas.

Main specifications of the building

• Number of stories: One under and two above the ground
• Base area: About 1200m²
• Total floor area: About 3600m²
• Structure: Reinforced concrete

History

• January 22, 1998: Construction started.
• July 30, 1999: Construction completed.
• August 18, 1999: Tests started.

Viewpoints of Experimental Research

Groundwater in deep underground environment contains little dissolved oxygen and has very different features from surface water and groundwater at shallow depths. To ascertain the safety of geological disposal, it is necessary to identify the chemical properties of radioactive materials and the migration behavior in deep underground environments, including:

• the extent to which radioactive materials in high–level radioactive waste can dissolve into groundwater (solubility limits),
• the extent to which engineered barriers and rocks (natural barriers) can sorb the radioactive materials dissolved in groundwater, and
• the extent to which engineered barriers and rocks (natural barriers) can retard the spread of radioactive materials dissolved in groundwater