1. The UK's policy for the long-term management of higher activity radioactive waste (HAW) is disposal in a deep underground geological disposal facility (GDF).
2. A multi-layered engineered barrier system will provide the defence-in-depth that is required to give the public confidence in the long-term performance of the GDF.
3. This paper identifies the significant role each engineered barrier or “layer” plays in ensuring that long-lived radionuclides remain isolated from the biosphere and receptors within the vicinity of a GDF.
The article provides an overview of the important role and performance of engineered barriers in a UK geological disposal facility for higher activity radioactive waste. The article is well written and provides a comprehensive overview of the topic, including an explanation of how engineered barriers can serve multiple roles such as backfill, redox control, pH buffering etc., and how these roles are critical to ensuring radionuclide release is minimised. The article also explores potential candidate materials for use in UK GDFs, as well as their lifetime under conditions pertinent to each proposed geological setting.
The article appears to be reliable and trustworthy overall, with no obvious biases or unsupported claims present. All claims made are supported by evidence from relevant sources such as research papers and reports from organisations such as NDA RWMD and EN CEC. Furthermore, all possible risks associated with using engineered barriers are noted throughout the article, providing readers with a balanced view on this topic.
In conclusion, this article appears to be reliable and trustworthy overall, providing readers with an accurate overview of this topic without any obvious biases or unsupported claims present.