This handbook is concerned with developing principles and standards for the safe disposal of solid radioactive wastes by burial deep in the Earth''s crust. Radioactive wastes have focussed thinking on long-term environmental protection issues in an unprecedented way. Consequently, the way in which principles and standards are set, and the thinking behind this, is of wider interest than to the nuclear field alone. The issues are not just technical and scientific. There is also a much wider philosophical context to the debate, centering on ethics, human values and the expectations of society.In this handbook it is intended that all theses issues are brought together, suggesting appropriate ways forward in each area, culminating in a proposed structure for safety regulations. It also aims to provide a detailed discussion of some of the most difficult logical an ethical issues facing those wishing to dispose of long-lived radioactive wastes.

Many countries are currently exploring the option to dispose of highly radioactive solid wastes deep underground in purpose built, engineered repositories. A number of surface and shallow repositories for less radioactive wastes are already in operation. One of the challenges facing the nuclear industry is to demonstrate confidently that a repository will contain wastes for so long that any releases that might take place in the future will pose no significant health or environmental risk.One method for building confidence in the long-term future safety of a repository is to look at the physical and chemical processes which operate in natural and archaeological systems, and to draw appropriate parallels with the repository. For example, to understand why some uranium orebodies have remained isolated underground for billions of years. Such studies are called ''natural analogues''.This book investigates the concept of geological disposal and examines the wide range of natural analogues which have been studied. Lessons learnt from studies of archaeological and natural systems can be used to improve our capabilities for assessing the future safety of a radioactive waste repository.

The first purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive review of the state of development of natural analogue studies with emphasis on those studies which are relevant to the following repository designs: Nagra (Switzerland) disposal concepts for high-level waste/low and intermediate-level waste; SKB (Sweden) disposal concepts for spent fuel/low and intermediate-level waste; and Nirex (UK) disposal concept for low and intermediate-level waste.The book''s second aim is to discuss the expanding application of natural analogues for non-performance assessment purposes, especially their potential for presenting the concept of geological disposal to various interested audiences in a coherent, understandable and scientifically legitimate manner.Much of the discussion of the book is relevant to concepts for geological disposal of radioactive wastes by other countries, and is concerned only with those physico-chemical processes which control the release of radionuclides from the near-field, and their subsequent retardation and transport in the geosphere.

Louis P. Hammett Mitchill Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Columbia University My interest in linear free energy relationships began when, just out of graduate school, I read in 1924 the article by Bmnsted and Pedersen which for the first time reported the existence of such a relationship. That interest continues to be an active one and, to judge merely by the extensive biblio­ graphies contained in the present volume, it is widely shared. To my mind a particularly happy aspect of the existence of linear free energy relationships has been the proof it supplies that one need not suppose that the behavior of nature is hopelessly complicated merely because one cannot find a theoretical reason for supposing it to be otherwise. The effect of a substituent in an organic molecule on rate or equilibrium of reaction involves a fourfold difference between relatively large quantities, a situation which always makes for difficult theory. Yet systematic organic chemistry could hardly have existed were it not true that like changes in structure lead to like changes in reactivity. Linear free energy relationships constitute the quantitative specialisation of this fundamental principle, and they stand indeed more in the office of teacher to theory than in that of learner from it.

Louis P. Hammett Mitchill Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Columbia University My interest in linear free energy relationships began when, just out of graduate school, I read in 1924 the article by Bmnsted and Pedersen which for the first time reported the existence of such a relationship. That interest continues to be an active one and, to judge merely by the extensive biblio­ graphies contained in the present volume, it is widely shared. To my mind a particularly happy aspect of the existence of linear free energy relationships has been the proof it supplies that one need not suppose that the behavior of nature is hopelessly complicated merely because one cannot find a theoretical reason for supposing it to be otherwise. The effect of a substituent in an organic molecule on rate or equilibrium of reaction involves a fourfold difference between relatively large quantities, a situation which always makes for difficult theory. Yet systematic organic chemistry could hardly have existed were it not true that like changes in structure lead to like changes in reactivity. Linear free energy relationships constitute the quantitative specialisation of this fundamental principle, and they stand indeed more in the office of teacher to theory than in that of learner from it.

This book, Correlation Analysis in Chemistry: Recent Advances, is a sequel to our Advances in Linear Free Energy Relationships. t The change in the title is designed to reflect more accurately the nature of the field and the contents of the volume. The term LFER is still widely used, but it is often applied rather loosely to correlation equations that are not LFER in the restricted sense of a relationship involving logarithms of rate or equili­ brium constants on each side of the equation. The term "correlation analysis" seems to us more appropriate for the whole subject. The use of this term has compelled us also to introduce "chemistry" into the title; we have preferred not to prefix this with "organic" on the grounds that several areas of interest are not "organic chemistry" as usually understood, al­ though, of course, traditional applications of the basic relationships asso­ ciated with the names of Hammett and of Taft continue to be of interest. In the first volume we sought through our authors to provide a series of general articles covering the various aspects of the field as they seemed to us. Since the book was the first international research monograph in its field, each chapter, while giving prominence to recent developments, did not neglect earlier work, so that each article presented a comprehensive account of its own area.

This handbook is concerned with developing principles and standards for the safe disposal of solid radioactive wastes by burial deep in the Earth''s crust. Radioactive wastes have focussed thinking on long-term environmental protection issues in an unprecedented way. Consequently, the way in which principles and standards are set, and the thinking behind this, is of wider interest than to the nuclear field alone. The issues are not just technical and scientific. There is also a much wider philosophical context to the debate, centering on ethics, human values and the expectations of society.In this handbook it is intended that all theses issues are brought together, suggesting appropriate ways forward in each area, culminating in a proposed structure for safety regulations. It also aims to provide a detailed discussion of some of the most difficult logical an ethical issues facing those wishing to dispose of long-lived radioactive wastes.

Many countries are currently exploring the option to dispose of highly radioactive solid wastes deep underground in purpose built, engineered repositories. A number of surface and shallow repositories for less radioactive wastes are already in operation. One of the challenges facing the nuclear industry is to demonstrate confidently that a repository will contain wastes for so long that any releases that might take place in the future will pose no significant health or environmental risk.One method for building confidence in the long-term future safety of a repository is to look at the physical and chemical processes which operate in natural and archaeological systems, and to draw appropriate parallels with the repository. For example, to understand why some uranium orebodies have remained isolated underground for billions of years. Such studies are called ''natural analogues''.This book investigates the concept of geological disposal and examines the wide range of natural analogues which have been studied. Lessons learnt from studies of archaeological and natural systems can be used to improve our capabilities for assessing the future safety of a radioactive waste repository.

The first purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive review of the state of development of natural analogue studies with emphasis on those studies which are relevant to the following repository designs: Nagra (Switzerland) disposal concepts for high-level waste/low and intermediate-level waste; SKB (Sweden) disposal concepts for spent fuel/low and intermediate-level waste; and Nirex (UK) disposal concept for low and intermediate-level waste.The book''s second aim is to discuss the expanding application of natural analogues for non-performance assessment purposes, especially their potential for presenting the concept of geological disposal to various interested audiences in a coherent, understandable and scientifically legitimate manner.Much of the discussion of the book is relevant to concepts for geological disposal of radioactive wastes by other countries, and is concerned only with those physico-chemical processes which control the release of radionuclides from the near-field, and their subsequent retardation and transport in the geosphere.

Louis P. Hammett Mitchill Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Columbia University My interest in linear free energy relationships began when, just out of graduate school, I read in 1924 the article by Bmnsted and Pedersen which for the first time reported the existence of such a relationship. That interest continues to be an active one and, to judge merely by the extensive biblio­ graphies contained in the present volume, it is widely shared. To my mind a particularly happy aspect of the existence of linear free energy relationships has been the proof it supplies that one need not suppose that the behavior of nature is hopelessly complicated merely because one cannot find a theoretical reason for supposing it to be otherwise. The effect of a substituent in an organic molecule on rate or equilibrium of reaction involves a fourfold difference between relatively large quantities, a situation which always makes for difficult theory. Yet systematic organic chemistry could hardly have existed were it not true that like changes in structure lead to like changes in reactivity. Linear free energy relationships constitute the quantitative specialisation of this fundamental principle, and they stand indeed more in the office of teacher to theory than in that of learner from it.

Louis P. Hammett Mitchill Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Columbia University My interest in linear free energy relationships began when, just out of graduate school, I read in 1924 the article by Bmnsted and Pedersen which for the first time reported the existence of such a relationship. That interest continues to be an active one and, to judge merely by the extensive biblio­ graphies contained in the present volume, it is widely shared. To my mind a particularly happy aspect of the existence of linear free energy relationships has been the proof it supplies that one need not suppose that the behavior of nature is hopelessly complicated merely because one cannot find a theoretical reason for supposing it to be otherwise. The effect of a substituent in an organic molecule on rate or equilibrium of reaction involves a fourfold difference between relatively large quantities, a situation which always makes for difficult theory. Yet systematic organic chemistry could hardly have existed were it not true that like changes in structure lead to like changes in reactivity. Linear free energy relationships constitute the quantitative specialisation of this fundamental principle, and they stand indeed more in the office of teacher to theory than in that of learner from it.

This book, Correlation Analysis in Chemistry: Recent Advances, is a sequel to our Advances in Linear Free Energy Relationships. t The change in the title is designed to reflect more accurately the nature of the field and the contents of the volume. The term LFER is still widely used, but it is often applied rather loosely to correlation equations that are not LFER in the restricted sense of a relationship involving logarithms of rate or equili­ brium constants on each side of the equation. The term "correlation analysis" seems to us more appropriate for the whole subject. The use of this term has compelled us also to introduce "chemistry" into the title; we have preferred not to prefix this with "organic" on the grounds that several areas of interest are not "organic chemistry" as usually understood, al­ though, of course, traditional applications of the basic relationships asso­ ciated with the names of Hammett and of Taft continue to be of interest. In the first volume we sought through our authors to provide a series of general articles covering the various aspects of the field as they seemed to us. Since the book was the first international research monograph in its field, each chapter, while giving prominence to recent developments, did not neglect earlier work, so that each article presented a comprehensive account of its own area.