VOLUME 19 (Supplement)

Preliminary site suitability screening for a potential radioactive waste facility in the Philippines

The Philippines is advancing its Nuclear Energy Program to meet future energy demand, targeting an operational nuclear power plant (NPP) by 2032. This will require the country to have a radioactive waste management system to handle the low-level waste (LLW), intermediate-level waste (ILW), and high-level waste (HLW) generated by an active NPP. However, the country currently has insufficient facilities to manage future waste, especially HLW. This study localized the criteria developed by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) to provide a preliminary nationwide screening map of scientific features relevant for deep geological repository (DGR) in the Philippines, given the geological similarities between Japan and the Philippines as tectonically active, archipelagic countries along the Pacific Ring of Fire. Using Geographic Information System (GIS), the localized criteria for relevant features such as volcanism, active faults, geothermal activity, uplift and erosion, unconsolidated sediments, coastal proximity and mineral resources were spatially analyzed to delineate the unfavorable and favorable areas for the DGR siting. Following a rule-based (unweighted) overlay classification, areas were classified based on the presence of relevant geological features which rendered an area unfavorable, preferred, and favorable. Areas with identified mineral resources were classified as unfavorable from the viewpoint of future human intrusion, whereas the presence of identified geological features such as volcanism, active faults, geothermal activity, uplift and erosion, and unconsolidated sediments has rendered an area unfavorable from the viewpoint of long-term stability. Additionally, areas within 20 km of the coast are identified as preferred from the viewpoint of safe waste transportation. Lastly, all the remaining areas are classified as favorable by the absence of the identified geological features. The resulting nationwide screening map shows that a substantial area of the country is affected by geological conditions that pose potential challenges for deep geological repository, while also identifying areas that may warrant further investigation. The resulting map is a preliminary, unvalidated, first-stage desktop screening intended to narrow down the suitable area for further studies and the next stage of the siting process. The map is also intended to support the objectives of the Nuclear Energy Program-Inter-Agency Committee (NEP-IAC) Subcommittee 6 (SC6) and future policy development for the sustainable implementation of the Nuclear Energy Program in the country.