Performance Assessment and Sensitivity Analyses of Disposal of Plutonium as Can-in-Canister Ceramic
The purpose of this analysis is to examine whether there is a justification for using high-level waste (HLW) as a surrogate for plutonium disposal in can-in-canister ceramic in the total-system performance assessment (TSPA) model for the Site Recommendation (SR). In the TSPA-SR model, the immobilized plutonium waste form is not explicitly represented, but is implicitly represented as an equal number of canisters of HLW. There are about 50 metric tons of plutonium in the U. S. Department of Energy inventory of surplus fissile material that could be disposed. Approximately 17 tons of this material contain significant quantities of impurities and are considered unsuitable for mixed-oxide (MOX) reactor fuel. This material has been designated for direct disposal by immobilization in a ceramic waste form and encapsulating this waste form in high-level waste (HLW). The remaining plutonium is suitable for incorporation into MOX fuel assemblies for commercial reactors (Shaw 1999, Section 2). In this analysis, two cases of immobilized plutonium disposal are analyzed, the 17-ton case and the 13-ton case (Shaw et al. 2001, Section 2.2). The MOX spent-fuel disposal is not analyzed in this report. In the TSPA-VA (CRWMS M&O 1998a, Appendix B, Section B-4), the calculated dose release from immobilized plutonium waste form (can-in-canister ceramic) did not exceed that from an equivalent amount of HLW glass. This indicates that the HLW could be used as a surrogate for the plutonium can-in-canister ceramic. Representation of can-in-canister ceramic as a surrogate is necessary to reduce the number of waste forms in the TSPA model. This reduction reduces the complexity and running time of the TSPA model and makes the analyses tractable. This document was developed under a Technical Work Plan (CRWMS M&O 2000a), and is compliant with that plan. The application of the Quality Assurance (QA) program to the development of that plan (CRWMS M&O 2000a) and of this Analysis is described in Section 2. The document is intended to be a source of information for subsequent revisions of the TSPA-SR (CRWMS M&O 2000b).
- Research Organization:
- Yucca Mountain Project, Las Vegas, NV (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 790305
- Report Number(s):
- MOL.20011005.0154; ANL-WIS-PA-000003, Rev. 00, ICN 01, DC No. 28951; TRN: US0304286
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 25 Sep 2001
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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