Justification of an innovative system for the complete burial of solid, high-level radioactive waste (HLW) in spent open-pit mines

The object of research is the spent open-pit mines themselves where the proposed system could be applied. The primary reason for this studying is the following circumstance: up to the present time period, in all countries of the world, no methods of HLW disposal in a storage facility has been identified that is absolutely safe for any length of time, taking into account the impact of catastrophic natural emergencies and man-made emergencies. The research was conducted to address the problem of safely managing and storing HLW, leveraging the unique characteristics of spent open-pit mines, such as their large volume and geological stability, to prevent environmental contamination and ensure long-term safety. In the article has been justified a novel approach to the burial of sarcophagus containers with solid HLW in exhausted mining pits and studied the usabilities of the basalt sarcofagous container. Robust materials and advanced robotic systems proposed in the article aims to address the challenges associated with long-term radioactive waste disposal effectively. The robotic systems transfer the basalt container with HLW, ensuring personnel safety by minimizing human presence near radioactive materials. In the article have been established the distribution of temperature into the multi-layered composite structure of the basalt sarcophagous with HLW from 300 °C into the inner space to 50 °C onto on the its outer suffer where the thickness of each layers (from inner to outer radius) was respectively: for lead matrix: from r1=0.1 m to r2=0.2 m; for clay layer: from r2=0.2 m to r3=0.3 m; for basalt block: from r3=0.3 m to r4=0.4 m. The findings on temperature distribution are crucial as they directly affect the performance and longevity of the basalt containment system