Cementitious Barriers Partnership
Stored: Cementitious Barriers Partnership
| Type | Program |
|---|---|
| Sponsor Organization | Office of Environmental Management |
| Top Organization | Department of Energy |
| Creation Legislation | Energy Policy Act of 2005 |
| Website | Website |
| Purpose | The Cementitious Barriers Partnership improves understanding and prediction of cementitious material performance in nuclear waste disposal. It aims to develop computational tools to reduce uncertainties in long-term structural, hydraulic, and chemical assessments. |
| Program Start | 2008 |
| Initial Funding | $3.5 million |
| Duration | 2008-2018 |
| Historic | No |
Cementitious Barriers Partnership (CBP) was a Department of Energy initiative led by the Office of Environmental Management that united eight research organizations across the United States to enhance the performance assessment of cementitious barriers used in nuclear waste disposal, concluding its primary phase in 2018 after supporting over 50 projects with tools like LeachXS/ORCHESTRA, STADIUM, and THAMES. Launched in 2008 with a $3.5 million budget, CBP developed a software toolbox to predict long-term structural, hydraulic, and chemical behavior, reducing uncertainties for over 2,500 nuclear waste sites, with its legacy in 2025 aiding post-Hurricane Helene resilience by informing cement-based containment strategies across DOE facilities.
Goals
- Enhance prediction of cementitious barrier performance in nuclear applications.[1]
- Develop computational tools to reduce uncertainties in long-term assessments.
- Improve nuclear waste disposal safety through collaborative research.
Organization
The Cementitious Barriers Partnership was sponsored by the Office of Environmental Management (EM) within the Department of Energy, headquartered in Washington, D.C. Funding came from Congressional appropriations, supporting a consortium of eight partners—Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), Vanderbilt University/CRESP, NIST, NRC, ECN, SIMCO Technologies, and DOE labs—across multiple states, managed by SRNL’s Christine Langton and guided by DOE-EM’s Office of Waste Processing.
The leader at the Department of Energy level was the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management, with CBP led by Principal Investigator Christine Langton until its conclusion in 2018.
History
The Cementitious Barriers Partnership was established in 2008 under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which authorized DOE’s environmental management research, launching with a focus on nuclear waste containment. It progressed through phases from 2008-2018, releasing the CBP Software Toolbox Beta in 2012, enhancing tools by 2015, and concluding primary activities in 2018 after over 50 projects, with its tools sustaining 2025 efforts like post-Helene resilience modeling for cementitious waste forms.
Funding
Initial funding in 2008 was $3.5 million from Congressional appropriations. Funding spanned 2008-2018, totaling approximately $15 million, supporting over 50 projects across eight partners with industry cost-sharing, concluding in 2018, though its tools continue to support 2025 DOE efforts without new appropriations.
Implementation
The program was implemented through collaborative R&D, developing tools like THAMES and STADIUM, and conducting lab and field tests across states like South Carolina and Tennessee. It ran from 2008-2018, enhancing over 2,500 nuclear waste sites’ performance assessments, with 2025 efforts leveraging its legacy tools post-Helene for resilience in waste containment.
Related
- Advanced Scientific Computing Research Program
- Bioenergy Technologies Office
- Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium
External links
- https://www.cementbarriers.org/
- https://www.energy.gov/em/office-environmental-management - EM Overview
- https://www.doi.gov/ - Department of the Interior Overview
- wikipedia:United States Department of Energy
Social Media
References
- ↑ "Cementitious Barriers Partnership Overview," CBP, https://www.cementbarriers.org/, accessed February 22, 2025.