News from 2011

News Items

Human Health Issues Arising from the Disposal of Chemotoxic Substances in Radioactive Waste

21 Nov 2011

A recent paper published in the Journal of Radiological Protection provides an illustrative assessment of human health issues arising from the potential release of chemotoxic and radioactive substances from a generic geological disposal facility for radioactive waste. The paper summarises the resul…

Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste: Underpinning Science and Technology

20 Oct 2011

The underpinning science and technology for the geological disposal of radioactive was discussed at a conference at Loughborough University from the 18th to 20th October 2011 supported by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Radioactive Waste Management Directorate and a number of learned societie…

Developing a CCS Communications Framework for Japan

20 Oct 2011

In partnership with the Global CCS institute, JGC Corporation, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and McKinley Consulting, Quintessa staff in Japan have established and been running a knowledge sharing network amongst several of the Institute's Japanese members…

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Workshop

28 Sep 2011

Richard Metcalfe gave an invited presentation on risk assessment for CO2 storage projects, at a technical workshop on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) that was held in Abu Dhabi on 7-8 September 2011.The meeting was convened by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and…

Jenny Burrow joins Quintessa

30 Aug 2011

Jenny Burrow has joined Quintessa's Henley-on-Thames office, where she is a member of the maths and software team. Jenny studied for a MMath in Mathematics at the University of Oxford, followed by an MRes and PhD in Mathematical Ecology at the University of York. She has several years' experience i…

SwiBAC: Swiss Biosphere Assessment Code

12 Jul 2011

Quintessa provides post-closure radiological modelling support to the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra), the organisation responsible for preparing the technical and scientific basis for the safe, long-term management of radioactive waste in Switzerland.

Carbon Storage Risk Assessment Presented at UN Climate Change Conference

6 Jul 2011

Richard Metcalfe recently gave an invited presentation on carbon storage risk assessment at a side meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) talks held in Bonn from the 6th to 17th June 2011.

2-D Reactive Geochemical Transport Modelling of an EBS

1 Jul 2011

An essential activity in assessing the performance of Engineered Barrier Systems (EBSs) for disposal of radioactive waste is to demonstrate understanding of the long-term evolution of the construction materials and the neighbouring host rock, and to infer the consequences of any alteration to long-…

Coupled Modelling of Buffer Erosion and Copper Canister Corrosion

28 Jun 2011

Bentonite buffer erosion as a consequence of intrusion of dilute glacial meltwaters has been identified as a process that could lead to increased corrosion of copper canisters.

Long-term Cement Studies (LCS): Tournemire Analogue Modelling

23 Jun 2011

The LCS project is a collaboration between JAEA, Nagra, NDA, Posiva and SKB, aimed at increasing our understanding of the interactions of cement with other engineered barrier materials and with potential host rocks.

FORGE: Treatment of Gas in Performance Assessment

20 Jun 2011

FORGE is an EC research project considering issues associated with the generation, migration and fate of gases generated in radioactive waste disposal facilities.

Evidence Support Logic for Leak Mitigation

10 Jun 2011

Quintessa is currently working with Jacobs Engineering (UK) to provide decision support to the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo decommissioning project at Sellafield.The Magnox Swarf Storage Silo comprises a series of water-filled concrete waste silos, into which predominantly intermediate level wastes we…

NDA RWMD Research Services

5 Jun 2011

Quintessa is part of a consortium of 18 organisations led by Amec that has been awarded a framework agreement to supply the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Radioactive Waste Management Directorate (NDA RWMD) with research services in support of the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) programme.

ASSIST

1 Jun 2011

The Assist (ASSessment, Integration and Strategy Team) consortium consisting of Quintessa, Galson Sciences and AREVA RMC has been awarded a framework contract to supply the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Radioactive Waste Management Directorate (NDA RWMD) with assessment and support services for…

Biosphere Studies Supporting the NDA RWMD Disposal System Safety Case

19 May 2011

Over the past four years, Quintessa has been providing biosphere assessment support to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) Radioactive Waste Management Directorate (RWMD) safety case programme relating to geological disposal of the United Kingdom's higher activity radioactive wastes.

Postclosure Safety Assessment of Canadian DGR Published

10 May 2011

Quintessa Limited and its subcontractors, Geofirma Engineering Limited and SENES Consultants Limited, have recently completed the postclosure safety assessment of Ontario Power Generation's proposed Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) for Low and Intermediate Level Waste at the Bruce nuclear site in the…

Review of Bentonite Properties and Behaviour

24 Mar 2011

Quintessa and a number of its associates undertook a review for NDA RWMD on bentonite key properties, processes and issues for consideration in the UK context. Research and development programmes conducted in the UK and overseas have led to much technical knowledge being accumulated over the last…

RISCS: Potential Impacts of CO₂ Storage on Receptor Environments

18 Mar 2011

RISCS (Research into Impacts and Safety in CO2 Storage) is a 4-year EC and industry project, led by the British Geological Survey (BGS) that aims to improve understanding of the potential environmental impacts of geological storage of CO2, in the unlikely event that leakage occurs.