President Carter's 1980 declaration of a state of emergency at Love Canal, New York, recognized that residents' health had been affected by nearby chemical waste sites. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, enacted in 1976, ushered in a new era of waste management disposal designed to protect the public from harm. It required that modern waste containment systems use "engineered" barriers designed to isolate hazardous and toxic wastes and prevent them from seeping into the environment. These containment systems are now employed at thousands of waste sites around the United States, and their effectiveness must be continually monitored. Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers assesses the performance of waste containment barriers to date. Existing data suggest that waste containment systems with liners and covers, when constructed and maintained in accordance with current regulations, are performing well thus far. However, they have not been in existence long enough to assess long-term (postclosure) performance, which may extend for hundreds of years. The book makes recommendations on how to improve future assessments and increase confidence in predictions of barrier system performance which will be of interest to policy makers, environmental interest groups, industrial waste producers, and industrial waste management industry.

President Carter's 1980 declaration of a state of emergency at Love Canal, New York, recognized that residents' health had been affected by nearby chemical waste sites. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, enacted in 1976, ushered in a new era of waste management disposal designed to protect the public from harm. It required that modern waste containment systems use "engineered" barriers designed to isolate hazardous and toxic wastes and prevent them from seeping into the environment. These containment systems are now employed at thousands of waste sites around the United States, and their effectiveness must be continually monitored. Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers assesses the performance of waste containment barriers to date. Existing data suggest that waste containment systems with liners and covers, when constructed and maintained in accordance with current regulations, are performing well thus far. However, they have not been in existence long enough to assess long-term (postclosure) performance, which may extend for hundreds of years. The book makes recommendations on how to improve future assessments and increase confidence in predictions of barrier system performance which will be of interest to policy makers, environmental interest groups, industrial waste producers, and industrial waste management industry.

The main outcomes of RILEM TC-226-CNM are summarized in this book. Key input was provided by researchers from countries that are main contributors in the R&D, design, construction, operation, and regulation of waste nuclear reinforced concrete facilities. Nuclear power plants and many of the facilities and structures used for the management of radioactive waste materials generated by the fuel cycle use concrete in their construction. RILEM TC 226 CNM covered several areas including functional and performance requirements for concrete structures; degradation processes; phenomenological modelling, field experiences, tests approaches, instrumentation and monitoring methods dedicated to performance assessments; service-life models; aging Management of Nuclear Power Plants, repair techniques; codes and standards specific to radioactive waste facilities.

Proceedings of a symposium, Hannover, Germany, 3-7 March 1986. The purpose was to review advances made in the area of siting, design and construction of underground repositories for radioactive wastes and to consider developments of future importance. Forty-nine papers were presented, covering general approaches and regulatory aspects, disposal in shallow ground and rock cavities, disposal in deep geological formations and safety assessments.