Hazardous waste canister with dual lid
AssigneeDeep Isolation, Inc.
InventorRichard A. Muller
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hazardous material storage system includes a drillhole extending into the Earth and including an entry at least proximate a terranean surface. The drillhole includes a substantially vertical portion, a curved portion, and a horizontal portion that includes a hazardous waste repository formed within a first portion of the horizontal portion of the drillhole, the hazardous waste repository vertically isolated, by a rock formation, from a subterranean zone that includes mobile water, and a safety runway formed within a second portion of the horizontal portion exclusive of the hazardous waste repository and adjacent the curved portion, the safety runway defined by a particular length.
Claims27
A nuclear waste canister, comprising:
- a housing that comprises a closed end and an open end opposite the closed end, the housing defines an inner volume sized to hold at least one nuclear waste portion and configured to store nuclear waste in a human-unoccupiable directional drillhole;
- a first lid attachable to the housing between the closed end and the open end to create a first seal of the inner volume, the first lid configured to mechanically attach to the housing with a threaded connection that comprises a first threaded portion formed on an outer radial edge of the first lid and a second threaded portion formed on an inner radial surface of the housing engageable with the first threaded portion, the second threaded portion greater in length than the first threaded portion;
- a second lid attachable to the housing at or near the open end to create a second seal of the inner volume;
- and
- a gap between the first seal of the inner volume and the second seal of the inner volume, wherein
- the gap is formed between a top surface of the first lid and a bottom surface of the second lid, and
- a dimension of the gap is a difference between a length of the second threaded portion and a length of the first threaded portion.
A method for containing nuclear waste, comprising:
- identifying a nuclear waste canister that comprises:
- a housing that comprises a closed end and an open end opposite the closed end, the housing defining an inner volume sized to hold at least one nuclear waste portion and configured to store nuclear waste in a human-unoccupiable directional drillhole;
- a first lid attachable the housing between the closed end and the open end;
- and
- a second lid attachable to the housing at or near the open end;
- placing the at least one nuclear waste portion into the inner volume of the housing of the nuclear waste canister through the open end;
- attaching the first lid to the housing between the closed end and the open end to create a first seal of the inner volume by engaging a first threaded portion formed on an outer radial edge of the first lid with a second threaded portion formed on an inner radial surface of the housing, the second threaded portion greater in length than the first threaded portion;
- and
- attaching the second lid to the housing at or near the open end to create a second seal of the inner volume to form a gap between the first seal of the inner volume and the second seal of the inner volume, wherein
- the gap is formed between a top surface of the first lid and a bottom surface of the second lid, and
- a dimension of the gap is a difference between a length of the seconded threaded portion and a length of the first threaded portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.