News archive :: Year 2006

23-08-2006 09:55

Experiment on Radioactive Waste Utilization

Scientists from the Institute for Nuclear Physics (INP) of the National Nuclear Center of Kazakhstan intend to carry out the experiment on radioactive waste utilization from one of the cavities at the former "Lira" test site (West-Kazakhstan region), reports Interfax agency.

Currently, Karachaganak oil-gas condensate field - one of the largest in the world - is being mined at the test site.

The cavities at the Lira objects were formed as a result of nuclear explosions. Total of 6 nuclear explosions were conducted within the period from 1983 to 1984. The yield of each explosion was up to 15 kiloton.

The experiment is to be carried out in the cavity TK-5, as Tatyana Ageeva, Chief of Aksay Branch of INP, informed at "Interfax-Kazakhstan" agency interview.

It is known, that a number of cavities were used as buffer storage reservoir and were one of the component parts of process flow diagram for field exploitation. Currently, underground condensate storages, technologically equipped and partially filled by hydrocarbon material, are out of operation and stay under pressure of 50 atm.

"There is no cleaning technique for such objects in the world practice. But something should be done with them. Equipment can not be perpetually used. Equipment should be changed or it is required to bleed the gas. Currently we are investigating whether the cavities could stay without pressure. They are quite likely to stay. We began to investigate condensate and salts, containing radionuclides", - said agency's interviewee.

"We perform different observations, control the situation. Now we have a stable situation. But as it is an engineering structure and it is a metal, thus it can be impacted by corrosion. That means it will go out of order", - says T. Ageeva, explaining the necessity of cavities cleaning.

T. Ageeva emphasizes that there is no methodology for such inactive cavities liquidation; therefore specialists of the institute determine the main technical solutions for underground cavities liquidation or their return to the process flow diagram of field development. For the purpose a number of subcommercial experiments on separate technological processes is being carried out. Investigations are performed for sorbing properties of filling materials, including industrial waste of the Oil and Gas complex. The technology is being worked out for granular materials feed into the cavities.

"We are dealing with feasibility study for all operations. In case if they are applied, a lot of money will be required, we should calculate everything and to study the issue carefully", - marked T. Ageeva.

Karachaganak field is the largest oil-gas condensate field all over the world, it's supplies are estimated as more than 1.2 billions ton of oil and condensate and 1.35 trillions cubic meters of gas.

The information is prepared by N.Zhdanova