Summary of national and international fuel cycle and radioactive waste management programs, 1984
Worldwide activities related to nuclear fuel cycle and radioactive waste management programs are summarized. Several trends have developed in waste management strategy: All countries having to dispose of reprocessing wastes plan on conversion of the high-level waste (HLW) stream to a borosilicate glass and eventual emplacement of the glass logs, suitably packaged, in a deep geologic repository. Countries that must deal with plutonium-contaminated waste emphasize pluonium recovery, volume reduction and fixation in cement or bitumen in their treatment plans and expect to use deep geologic repositories for final disposal. Commercially available, classical engineering processing are being used worldwide to treat and immobilize low- and intermediate-level wastes (LLW, ILW); disposal to surface structures, shallow-land burial and deep-underground repositories, such as played-out mines, is being done widely with no obvious technical problems. Many countries have established extensive programs to prepare for construction and operation of geologic repositories. Geologic media being studied fall into three main classes: argillites (clay or shale); crystalline rock (granite, basalt, gneiss or gabbro); and evaporates (salt formations). Most nations plan to allow 30 years or longer between discharge of fuel from the reactor and emplacement of HLW or spent fuel is a repository to permit thermal and radioactive decay. Most repository designs are based on the mined-gallery concept, placing waste or spent fuel packages into shallow holes in the floor of the gallery. Many countries have established extensive and costly programs of site evaluation, repository development and safety assessment. Two other waste management problems are the subject of major R and D programs in several countries: stabilization of uranium mill tailing piles; and immobilization or disposal of contaminated nuclear facilities, namely reactors, fuel cycle plants and R and D laboratories.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 6649181
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-5138; ON: DE84016426
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
ARGENTINA
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
AUSTRALIA
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
BELGIUM
BRAZIL
CANADA
CHINA
COMECON
DENMARK
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY
FINLAND
FRANCE
INDIA
ITALY
JAPAN
MEXICO
NETHERLANDS
PAKISTAN
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
SOUTH AFRICA
SPAIN
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND
TAIWAN
UNITED KINGDOM
USA
USSR
ARGILLITE
BASALT
BOROSILICATE GLASS
GABBROS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GNEISSES
GRANITES
INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SALT DEPOSITS
SOLIDIFICATION
VITRIFICATION
AFRICA
ASIA
AUSTRALASIA
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
EASTERN EUROPE
EUROPE
GLASS
IGNEOUS ROCKS
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
ISLANDS
LATIN AMERICA
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
NORTH AMERICA
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PLUTONIC ROCKS
PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
ROCKS
SCANDINAVIA
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SHALES
SOUTH AMERICA
VOLCANIC ROCKS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES
WESTERN EUROPE
052002* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
052001 - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Processing
290600 - Energy Planning & Policy- Nuclear Energy