Development of groundwater management technology report

日本原子力研究開発機構東濃地科学センターの瑞浪超深地層研究所(以下、研究所)では、研究所の研究坑道内に湧出した地下水(湧水)には天然の状態でふっ素, ほう素が含まれており、地上の排水処理設備において放流先河川の環境基準が達成できるようにこれらを除去した後に河川に放流している。また、近年、公共工事において自然由来の重金属等を含む土壌や湧水が発生し、その対策が求められている。このため、排水処理も含めた地下水管理技術は、大規模地下施設の建設や維持管理におけるコスト低減の観点で重要な課題の一つである。このため、「地下水管理技術の開発」として、排水処理等に関する最新の技術的知見を調査し、研究所の湧水処理への適用可能性について考察するとともに、自然由来の地下水汚染や土壌汚染の対策事例を取りまとめた。その結果、環境基準まで除去可能な処理技術は、ふっ素は吸着法や共沈法、ほう素は吸着法であることを確認した。しかし、研究所の湧水は天然の地下水を主体としているものの、掘削工事による浮遊状粒子物質(SS)の発生や坑道安定化のためにセメントを使用しているとともに、地下水中のふっ素とほう素の濃度の違いにより除去率が異なる等、一般的な工業排水等の処理と異なる点があるため、研究所の現行の湧水処理方法である、前工程として凝集沈殿処理によるふっ素及びSSの除去やpH調整後に、ほう素を吸着法により除去する方法は適切であると判断された。
The Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory (MIU) project is being pursued by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to enhance the reliability of geological disposal technologies through investigations of the deep geological environment in the crystalline host rock (granite) at Mizunami City in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan. The three remaining important issues have been carrying out on the MIU project. This report focuses on "Development of groundwater management technology" for "Development of countermeasure technologies for reducing groundwater inflow", which is one of those important issues. The concentrations of naturally occurring fluorine and boron dissolved in groundwater pumped from shafts and horizontal tunnels at MIU, are reduced to the levels below the environmental standards at a water treatment facility. The development of groundwater management technologies including such groundwater treatment is one key issue for large-scale underground facility construction. With this background, literature survey related to investigations on the latest treatment technologies for removing fluorine and boron from waste water were conducted and applicability of the technologies to MIU were reviewed. Additionally, the countermeasures against rocks, soils and groundwater containing naturally occurring heavy metals were summarized. The literature survey results indicated that the adsorbent was able to remove fluorine and boron, and the coprecipitation was able to remove fluorine to the levels below their respective environmental standards. However, the ground water at MIU contains suspended solids and cement due to excavation, its removal rates of fluorine and boron are different from the ones of general waste water. From this point, it concluded that the present groundwater treatment method performed at MIU: coagulation treatment for removal of fluorine and control of pH primary, and adsorbent treatment for removed boron is appropriated.