An approach for the limitation of fissile material resulting from criticality safety analysis of a waste repository

Journal Article · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1993 · Waste Management; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0956-053X(93)90008-K· OSTI ID:6158114

Berg, H P ^[1]; Gmal, B ^[2]

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1. Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz, Salzgitter (Germany)
2. Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit, Muenchen (Germany)

The Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz (BfS), Germany's Federal Office of Radiation Protection, intends to dispose of non-heat-generating radioactive waste, which may contain residual quantities of fissile materials like U 235 or Pu 239 in solid form, in the planned German Konrad repository. Within the framework of a comprehensive safety analysis, criticality safety for both the operational phase and the post-operational phase of the repository has been investigated. The performed analysis and the investigated scenarios as well as the calculation methods are described. As a result of the criticality safety considerations, limitations of fissionable materials are derived. These limitations restrict on the one hand the admissible mass concentration of fissile materials in the waste form and--on the other hand--the admissible mass of these materials in the cross section of an emplacement room, leading at the end to admissible masses per waste package. The mass limitations are determined separately for four radionuclides. In practice, a mixture of these radionuclides in a waste package has to be taken into account. Therefore, a summation criterion has been derived in order to ensure a high flexibility for the conditioning of the waste. This flexibility option does not result in a lower safety level of the repository.

• OSTI ID: 6158114
• Journal Information: Waste Management; (United States), Vol. 13:2; ISSN 0956-053X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
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MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
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052002* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
054000 - Nuclear Fuels- Health & Safety