The use of muon radiography in safeguarding geological repositories
2021
Abstract. Muon radiography is a technique that harnesses naturally occurring cosmic
radiation to noninvasively determine the density of an object of interest. The
technique has many similarities to that of medical X-ray examinations and can
supply detailed density maps of the object. We propose the application of muon
radiography to aspects of the long-term monitoring of nuclear waste. In
particular, muon radiography would provide valuable information on the
overburden of a prospective underground geological repository and would be
able to identify unknown features, such as undocumented underground
passages. Similarly, muon tomography is capable of confirming that containers
that have nominally been emptied are in fact empty. Such safeguard measures
are important to maintain continuity of knowledge and to develop robust
deterrent strategies against the removal of monitored nuclear material. The presentation focuses on the results of simulations that address some of
these questions. Details of assumptions regarding the detector requirements
and run times necessary to perform the imaging are discussed and results from
the various removal and misuse scenarios are presented.
Keywords:
- Correction
- Source
- Cite
- Save
- Machine Reading By IdeaReader
0
References
0
Citations
NaN
KQI