Correlation of radioactive waste treatment costs and the environmental impact of waste effluents in the nuclear fuel cycle: conversion of yellow cake to uranium hexafluoride. Part I. The fluorination-fractionation process
A cost/benefit study was made to determine the cost and effectiveness of radioactive waste (radwaste) treatment systems for decreasing the release of radioactive materials and chemicals from a model uranium hexafluoride (UF/sub 6/) production plant using the fluorination-fractionation (dry hydrofluor) process, and to evaluate the radiological impact (dose commitment) of the released materials on the environment. This study is designed to assist in defining the term as low as is reasonably achievable (ALARA) in relation to limiting the release of radioactive materials from nuclear facilities. The model plant processes 10,000 metric tons of uranium per year. Base-case waste treatment is the minimum necessary to operate the process. Effluents meet the radiological requirements listed in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 10, Part 20 (10 CFR 20), Appendix B, Table II, but may not be acceptable chemically at all sites. Additional radwaste treatment techniques are applied to the base-case plant in a series of case studies to decrease the amounts of radioactive materials released and to reduce the radiological dose commitment to the population in the surrounding area. The costs for the added waste treatment operations and the corresponding dose commitment are calculated for each case. In the final analysis, radiological dose is plotted vs the annual cost for treatment of the radwastes. The status of the radwaste treatment methods used in the case studies is discussed. Much of the technology used in the advanced cases will require development and demonstration or else is proprietary and unavailable for immediate use. The methodology and assumptions for the radiological doses are found in ORNL-4992.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-26
- OSTI ID:
- 5315515
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/NUREG/TM-7; TRN: 78-001394
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
FEED MATERIALS PLANTS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
HUMAN POPULATIONS
RADIATION DOSES
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
URANIUM HEXAFLUORIDE
PRODUCTION
URANIUM OXIDES U3O8
FLUORINATION
FRACTIONATION
FUEL CYCLE
NUCLEAR FUELS
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DOSES
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUORIDES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
FUELS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HALOGENATION
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
MANAGEMENT
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POPULATIONS
POWER PLANTS
PROCESSING
REACTOR MATERIALS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
URANIUM COMPOUNDS
URANIUM FLUORIDES
URANIUM OXIDES
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
052001* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Processing
053000 - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects
054000 - Nuclear Fuels- Health & Safety