ABSTRACT
During the excavation of shafts and galleries in the deep subsurface for disposing of high-level radioactive waste, an excavation disturbed zone (EdZ) or excavation damaged zone (EDZ) is developed around the shafts and galleries. Such zones could influence the transfer behavior of radioactive nuclides, and it is therefore important to understand the mechanical and hydraulic behavior of the EdZ or EDZ. We performed in situ experiments such as seismic and electrical resistivity tomography and so on before, during, and after gallery excavation in galleries of 140 and 250 m in depth in an area of soft sedimentary rock in Japan. The results demonstrate that the extent of fractures induced by the gallery excavation related with EDZ was confined to about 0.45 m from the gallery wall in the 140 m gallery and to about 1 m from the gallery wall in the 250 m gallery. The extent of the unsaturated zone related with EdZ was about 1 m in the 140 m gallery, but an unsaturated zone did not appear in the 250 m gallery.
