CURE: Clean use of reactor energy
This paper presents the results of a joint Westinghouse Hanford Company (Westinghouse Hanford)-Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) study that considered the feasibility of treating radioactive waste before disposal to reduce the inventory of long-lived radionuclides, making the waste more suitable for geologic disposal. The treatment considered here is one in which waste would be chemically separated so that long-lived radionuclides can be treated using specific processes appropriate for the nuclide. The technical feasibility of enhancing repository performance by this type of treatment is considered in this report. A joint Westinghouse Hanford-PNL study group developed a concept called the Clean Use of Reactor Energy (CURE), and evaluated the potential of current technology to reduce the long-lived radionuclide content in waste from the nuclear power industry. The CURE process consists of three components: chemical separation of elements that have significant quantities of long-lived radioisotopes in the waste, exposure in a neutron flux to transmute the radioisotopes to stable nuclides, and packaging of radionuclides that cannot be transmuted easily for storage or geologic disposal. 76 refs., 32 figs., 24 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Westinghouse Hanford Co., Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-87RL10930
- OSTI ID:
- 137762
- Report Number(s):
- WHC-EP-0268; ON: DE90013614
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: May 1990
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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SPENT FUELS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
WASTE FORMS
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
YUCCA MOUNTAIN
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
SEPARATION PROCESSES
US NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
NEUTRON FLUX
PACKAGING
Yucca Mountain Project