Plutonium disposition via immobilization in ceramic or glass
The management of surplus weapons plutonium is an important and urgent task with profound environmental, national, and international security implications. In the aftermath of the Cold War, Presidential Policy Directive 13, and various analyses by renown scientific, technical, and international policy organizations have brought about a focused effort within the Department of Energy to identify and implement paths for the long term disposition of surplus weapons- usable plutonium. The central goal of this effort is to render surplus weapons plutonium as inaccessible and unattractive for reuse in nuclear weapons as the much larger and growing stock of plutonium contained in spent fuel from civilian reactors. One disposition option being considered for surplus plutonium is immobilization, in which the plutonium would be incorporated into a glass or ceramic material that would ultimately be entombed permanently in a geologic repository for high-level waste.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 324157
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JC-126837; CONF-970321-; ON: DE98050952; TRN: 99:003637
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: National spring meeting and petrochemical exposition of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and 2. plant operations and design conference, Houston, TX (United States), 10-13 Mar 1997; Other Information: PBD: 5 Mar 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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