ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT. The radioactive waste disposal facilities in Japan which are con structed based on the current design concept, have several problems which are to be improved. One of the problems is the characteristic of concrete which is used as the artificial barriers, namely durability and permeability. In the beginning of its paper, the current design concept which is considered in Japan, is introduced, and the problems in the current design concept are pointed out. Then experimental work which measure the variation of density in the radioactive waste solution transferring through a width passing crack and analytical works in terms of the durability and the relationship be tween the permeability and width of crack were carried out. Further the crack criteria of concrete using as an artificial barrier has been shown. Finally, the improvement of the current design concept was shown.
