Disposition of excess plutonium using ``off-spec`` MOX pellets as a sintered ceramic waste form

Conference · Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:212546

Armantrout, G A; Jardine, L J

The authors describe a potential strategy for the disposition of excess weapons plutonium in a way that minimizes (1) technological risks, (2) implementation costs and completion schedules, and (3) requirements for constructing and operating new or duplicative Pu disposition facilities. This is accomplished by an optimized combination of (1) using existing nuclear power reactors to ``burn`` relatively pure excess Pu inventories as mixed oxide (MOX) fuel and (2) using the same MOX fuel fabrication facilities to fabricate contaminated or impure excess Pu inventories into an ``off-spec`` MOX solid ceramic waste form for geologic disposition. Diversion protection for the SCWF to meet the ``spent fuel standard`` introduced by the National Academy of Sciences can be achieved in at least three ways. (1) One can utilize the radiation field from defense high-level nuclear waste by first packaging the SCWF pellets in 2- to 4-L cans that are subsequently encapsulated in radioactive glass in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) glass canisters (a ``can-in-canister`` approach). (2) One can add {sup 137}Cs (recovered from defense wastes at Hanford and currently stored as CsCl in capsules) to an encapsulating matrix such as cement for the SCWF pellets in a small hot-cell facility and thus fabricate large monolithic forms. (3) The SCWF can be fabricated into reactor fuel-like pellets and placed in tubes similar to fuel assemblies, which can then be mixed in sealed repository containers with irradiated spent nuclear fuel for geologic disposition.

• 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: 212546
• Report Number(s): UCRL-JC-121830; CONF-960212-70; ON: DE96008749; TRN: 96:010564
• Resource Relation: Conference: Waste management `96: HLW, LLW, mixed wastes and environmental restoration - working towards a cleaner environment, Tucson, AZ (United States), 25-29 Feb 1996; Other Information: PBD: Feb 1996
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
21 NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
PLUTONIUM
NUCLEAR MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
WATER COOLED REACTORS
NUCLEAR FUELS
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
MIXED OXIDE FUELS
MIXED OXIDE FUEL FABRICATION PLANTS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
WASTE FORMS
NUCLEAR MATERIALS DIVERSION
SAFEGUARDS
CESIUM 137
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
FISSILE MATERIALS
INVENTORIES