Disposition of Excess Fissile Materials in Deep Boreholes
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- US Department of Energy (USDOE), Washington DC (United States)
As a result of recent changes throughout the world, a substantial inventory of excess separated plutonium is expected to result from dismantlement of US nuclear weapons. The safe and secure management and eventual disposition of this plutonium, and of a similar inventory in Russia, is a high priority. A variety of options (both interim and permanent) are under consideration to manage this material. The permanent solutions can be categorized into two broad groups: direct disposal and utilization. Plutonium utilization options have in common the generation of high-level radioactive waste which will be disposed of in a mined geologic disposal system to be developed for spent reactor fuel and defense high level waste. Other final disposition forms, such as plutonium metal, plutonium oxide and plutonium immobilized without high-level radiation sources may be better suited to placement in a custom facility. This paper discusses a leading candidate for such a facility; deep (several kilometer) borehole disposition. Conceptual design studies have been prepared to serve as the basis for assessing the feasibility of deep borehole Pu disposition, and to allow comparison to other options in a systematic way. Issues of concern include the regulatory, statutory and policy status of such a facility, the availability of sites with desirable characteristics and the technologies required for drilling deep holes, characterizing them, emplacing excess plutonium and sealing the holes. Input data has been developed for a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS). This PEIS, along with the conceptual designs and analyses will serve as the basis for a decision on which concept(s) to pursue for plutonium disposition.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 178127
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950917; ISBN 0-7918-1219-7; TRN: 96:006640
- Resource Relation:
- Journal Volume: 1; Conference: 5. International Conference on Radioactive Waste Management and Environmental Remediation, Berlin (Germany), 3-9 Sep 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Fifth international conference on radioactive waste management and environmental remediation -- ICEM `95: Proceedings. Volume 1: Cross-cutting issues and management of high-level waste and spent fuel; Slate, S.; Feizollahi, F.; Creer, J. [eds.]; PB: 900 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
PLUTONIUM
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
NUCLEAR MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
DESIGN
NUCLEAR WEAPONS DISMANTLEMENT
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
WASTE FORMS
CRITICALITY
SAFETY ENGINEERING
LICENSING
Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
Excess Separated Plutonium
Dismantlement of US Nuclear Weapons
Russia
Direct Disposal
Utilization
Mined Geologic Disposal
Spent Reactor Fuel
Defense High Level Waste
Plutonium Metal
Plutonium Oxide
Plutonium Immobilized Without High-Level Radiation Sources