Technology for commercial radioactive waste management

Technical Report · Tue May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1979

OSTI ID:6053037

A general analysis of transportation requirements for postfission radioactive wastes that are produced from the commercial light water reactor (LWR) fuel cycle and that are assumed to require Federal custody for storage or disposal is given. Possible radioactive wastes for which transportation requirements are described include: spent fuel, solidified high-level waste, fuel residues (cladding wastes), plutonium, and non-high-level transuranic (TRU) wastes. Transportation is described for wastes generated in three fuel cycle options: once-through fuel cycle, uranium recycle only, and recycle of uranium and plutonium. The geologic considerations essential for repository selection, the nature of geologic formations that are potential repository media, the thermal criteria for waste placement in geologic repositories, and conceptual repositories in four different geologic media are described. The media are salt deposits, granite, shale, and basalt. Possible alternatives for managing retired facilities and procedures for decommissioning are reviewed. A qualitative comparison is made of wastes generated by the uranium fuel cycle and the thorium fuel cycle. This study presents data characterizing wastes from prebreeder light water breeder reactors using thorium and slightly enriched uranium-235. The prebreeder LWBRs are essentially LWRs using thorium. The operation of HTGR and LWBR cycles are conceptually designed, and wastes produced in these cycles are compared for potential differences.

• Research Organization: Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-C-06-1830
• OSTI ID: 6053037
• Report Number(s): DOE/ET-0028(Vol.4)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050900* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Transport
Handling
& Storage
052002 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
054000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
210200 -- Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Nonboiling Water Cooled
ACTINIDES
BASALT
DECOMMISSIONING
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FUEL CYCLE
FUEL FABRICATION PLANTS
FUEL REPROCESSING PLANTS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GRANITES
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
IGNEOUS ROCKS
LAND TRANSPORT
MANAGEMENT
METALS
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
MIXED OXIDE FUEL FABRICATION PLANTS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR FUELS
PLUTONIUM
PWR TYPE REACTORS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RAIL TRANSPORT
REACTOR DECOMMISSIONING
REACTOR MATERIALS
REACTORS
REPROCESSING
ROCKS
SALT DEPOSITS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SHALES
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
SPENT FUELS
STORAGE FACILITIES
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
THORIUM CYCLE
TRANSPORT
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE TRANSPORTATION
WASTES
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS