Impact of long-lived radionuclides on waste classification for fusion
A major goal for commercial applications of fusion reactors is to minimize radioactive wastes and to dispose of them by near-surface burial. There currently are no regulations specifically applicable to fusion wastes but those in force for fission wastes furnish a framework for expected fusion regulations. This paper recommends that all nuclides with half-lives greater than five years be assigned concentration limits as done in 10CFR61 for fission wastes. The paper gives approximate limits for all the significant long half-life sources of gamma radiation in the currently known periodic table. In the absence of working fusion reactors, computer models must be used to estimate the expected actual concentrations of radioactive nuclides. These estimates are needed to guide design parameters to achieve minimum radioactivity in fusion reactors. It is believed that the computer models and nuclear reaction libraries must be much more comprehensive than ordinarily used today to do activation calculations.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 5580746
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-91885; CONF-850610-30; ON: DE85013205
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Annual meeting of the American Nuclear Society, Boston, MA, USA, 9 Jun 1985
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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