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Criticality of mixtures of plutonium, Nevada tuff, and water

Journal Article · · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society
OSTI ID:426436
; ;  [1]
  1. Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM (United States)
Several recent papers have postulated that if excess weapons-grade Plutonium is vitrified into silicate logs and buried underground, a self-sustaining neutron chain reaction may develop, given sufficient time and interaction with the burial medium. Moreover, the referenced papers state that nuclear explosions could occur with kiloton yields or yields equivalent to hundreds of tons of TNT. The objectives of this study are to identify those configurations that may be unstable or {open_quotes}autocatalytic{close_quotes} and to determine the neutronic temperature coefficient for these systems.
OSTI ID:
426436
Report Number(s):
CONF-961103--
Journal Information:
Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society Vol. 75; ISSN 0003-018X; ISSN TANSAO
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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