Reprocessing spent fuel from nuclear power stations and liquid radioactive waste at the mayak processing center

Atomic Energy ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 904-909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu. V. Glagolenko ◽  
E. G. Dzekun ◽  
G. M. Medvedev ◽  
S. I. Povnyi ◽  
V. P. Ufimtsev ◽  
...  
2000 ◽  
Vol 663 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.P. Poluektov ◽  
L.P. Soukhanov ◽  
M.I. Zhicharev

ABSTRACTA method is suggested to assess the tolerable salt content of the evaporator bottoms from the data on solubility in salt systems taken as simplified models of liquid radioactive waste (LRW) arising from nuclear power plants (NPP) with boiling reactors. It has been demonstrated that the degree of evaporation may be substantially increased by implementing the process in nitric acid. Equations have been derived that allow the calculation of the minimum needed acidity of the solution to allow maximum evaporation.


2002 ◽  
Vol 757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feodor A. Lifanov ◽  
Michael I. Ojovan ◽  
Sergey V. Stefanovsky ◽  
Rudolf Burcl

ABSTRACTOperational radioactive waste is generated during routine operation of nuclear power plants (NPP). This waste must be solidified in order to ensure safe conditions of storage and disposal. Vitrification of NPP operational waste is a relative new solidification option being developed for last years. The vitrification technology comprises a few stages, starting with evaporation of excess water from liquid radioactive waste, followed by batch preparation, glass melting, and ending with vitrified waste blocks and some relative small amounts of secondary waste. Application of induction high frequency cold crucible type melters facilitates the melting process and significantly reduces the generation of secondary waste. Two types of glasses were designed in order to vitrify operational waste depending on the reactor type at the NPP. For the NPP with RBMK-type reactors the glass 16.2Na2O 0.5K2O 15.5CaO 2.5 Al2O3 1.7Fe2O3 7.5B2O3 48.2SiO2 1.1 Na2SO4 1.2NaCl (5.7 others) was produced. For NPP with WWER reactors the glass 24.0Na2O 1.9K2O 6.2CaO 4.3Al2O3 1.8Fe2O3 9.0B2O3 46.8SiO2 0.8Na2SO4 0.9NaCl (4.3 others) was produced. The melting temperatures of both glass formulations were 1200–1250 C, specific power consumption was 5.2 ± 0.8 kW h/kg, 137Cs loss was within the range 3 - 4 %. The specific radioactivity of glass reached 7.0 MBq/kg. Glass blocks obtained were studied both in laboratory and field conditions. Long-term studies revealed that vitrified NPP operational waste has the minimal impact onto environment. Since the glass has excellent resistance to corrosion it gives the basic possibility of maximal simplification of engineered barrier systems in a disposal facility. The simplest disposal option for vitrified NPP waste is to locate the packages directly into earthen trenches provided the host rock has the necessary sorption and confinement properties.


Author(s):  
Borys Ya. Oskolkov ◽  
Yuri A. Neretin ◽  
Valeryi P. Saliy ◽  
Valeryi A. Seyda ◽  
Vyascheslav V. Fomin

According to the assessments the overall amount of radioactive waste (RAW) to be reprocessed and buried at the Chornobyl NPP site amounts to 1,696,738 m3 (without regard for reactor metal structures, dismantling of building structures and plan constructions, and the Unit Shelter building). The overall activity of radioactive waste are evaluated at 1,640,504.64 ΤBq. The RAW management activities are implemented at the Chornoby1 NPP within the frame of several programs of different hierarchy including the State Comprehensive Program for RAW Management in Ukraine, Integrated Program of RAW Management at the Chornoby1 NPP Shutdown Stage and Transformation of the Unit Shelter into an Ecologically Safe System. At the present time a number of key RAW management facilities are being constructed within the frame of the international aid to Ukraine. They are the Liquid Radioactive Waste Plant and Solid Radioactive Waste Reprocessing Complex. As of now, the issues concerning RAW utilization at the Unit Shelter are resolved at a conceptual level. There has not practical decision in relation to a geologic facility. The complexity and scale of ChNPP RAW management problems will require significant efforts of both Ukraine and the whole world community to solve these issues. The task related to removal and final burial of accumulated and generating radioactive waste is one of the main aspects of decommissioning activities at any nuclear power plant. RAW management work is the most important and complicated work performed at the Chornoby1 NPP. The specific features of ChNPP RAW management are as follows: • Variety of RAW generation sources, their types, physical and chemical properties. • Large amount of radioactive wastes which already exist and those generated in the decommissioning process. • Presence of disorganized RAW characterized by wide spatial distribution within the Unit Shelter and at the plant site. • Need to apply a very wide spectrum of various RAW management techniques depending on their location and type. • Need in developing unique techniques to manage special types of RAW located at the site (fuel containing masses of the Unit Shelter). • Large amount and variety of facilities required for RAW final storage. • Absence of reliable and serviceable instrumental procedures and necessary equipment to define RAW properties for RAW separation and classification. • Ecological peculiarities of RAW management within the Chornoby1 zone. • Multiphase decontamination and restoration processes resulting in RAW formation. • Need in integrating RAW management problems at the ChNPP and within the Chornoby1 Exclusion Zone taken as whole. • Long time period required for implementing the whole program of RAW management at the ChNPP. • Large quantity of people involved in RAW management process (local and foreign participants, different organization operated by various departments).


Author(s):  
О. Кочетков ◽  
O. Kochetkov ◽  
Е. Иванов ◽  
E. Ivanov ◽  
Д. Шаров ◽  
...  

Purpose: The prospects and scale of the further development of nuclear energy depend to a large extent on the solution of the radioactive waste management (RW) problem. Special attention is given to management of the liquid radioactive waste (LRW), which poses the main potential hazard to the public and the environment, since LRW storage can lead to leaks into the environment. The purpose of the paper is to examine the radiological aspects of LRW management from nuclear power plants (NPPs) operation and to study the influence of the list of radionuclides controlled in RW on the evaluation of the efficiency of LRW treatment technology and on the validity of radioactive waste characterization and classification. Material and methods: The work is based on analysis of public materials (scientific publications, legal documents, international standards, recommendations of international organizations) in the area of LRW treatment and conditioning technologies, and methods of radioactive waste characterization, including information about accepted lists of controlled radionuclides. Results: It is shown that an unreasonable reduction of the list of controlled radionuclides can lead to a significant underestimation of the radiological hazard of RW packages transferred for disposal. In order to optimize the volume of RW radiation control, the radionuclide vector technology was proposed. It is stated that the technology is not universal and its application in each specific case requires additional justification. It is shown that the correctness of accounting for the radiological characteristics of radioactive waste can significantly influence the evaluation of the efficiency of the radioactive waste treatment technology. A possible approach to determining the acceptability of LRW treatment technology based on the characteristics of the final products formed is suggested. Conclusions: There is no universal approach to solve the problems of LRW treatment at the moment. A survey of the characteristics of LRW (chemical, physical, radiation) accumulated and formed during the operation of NPP with various types of reactors (VVER, RBMK, BN) should be performed to determine the initial requirements for LRW treatment technologies. A comprehensive analysis of the efficiency of LRW treatment technologies at all Russian NPPs is of interest with taking into account radionuclides that determine the radiological hazard of radioactive waste after the final disposal.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 172988141983054
Author(s):  
Yang Luo ◽  
Jianguo Tao ◽  
Hao Sun ◽  
Zhuang Hao ◽  
Hao Li ◽  
...  

In this article, a novel localization approach incorporating attitude and heading reference system and underwater altimeters is presented to accurately localize the underwater welding vehicles in spent fuel pools of the nuclear power stations. Different from the conventional underwater localization technologies, the presented localization approach is a more suitable approach in cases of confined structured water areas. Firstly, a multi-regions division localization algorithm is proposed for calculating the coordinate of the underwater welding vehicle through data from sensors. Also, considering the attitude errors of the underwater welding vehicle, the beam angle of the altimeters, and the boundary effects of cross-regions, an optimized multi-regions division localization algorithm is introduced for general applicability of the multi-regions division localization. Then, computer simulations are employed to evaluate the validity and the performance of multi-regions division localization and optimized multi-regions division localization. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed approach is confirmed via system experiments. The experimental results are consistent with simulation results which further indicate that the presented approach holds great potential in effective underwater vehicles localization for confined structured water scenarios.


Author(s):  
Bo Yang ◽  
He-xi Wu ◽  
Yi-bao Liu

With the sustained and rapid development of the nuclear power plants, the spent fuel which is produced by the nuclear power plants will be rapidly rising. Spent fuel is High-level radioactive waste and should be disposed safely, which is important for the environment of land, public safety and health of the nuclear industry, the major issues of sustainable development and it is also necessary part for the nuclear industry activities. It is important to study and resolve the high-level radioactive waste repository problem. Spent nuclear fuel is an important component in the radioactive waste, The KBS-3 canister for geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel in Sweden consists of a ductile cast iron insert and a copper shielding. The ductile cast iron insert provides the mechanical strength whereas the copper protects the canister from corrosion. The canister inserts material were referred to as I24, I25 and I26, Spent nuclear fuel make the repository in high radiant intensity. The radiation analysis of canister insert is important in canister transport, the dose analysis of repository and groundwater radiolysis. Groundwater radiolysis, which produces oxidants (H2O2 and O2), will break the deep repository for spent nuclear fuel. The dose distribution of canister surface with different kinds of canister inserts (I24, I25 and I26) is calculated by MCNP (Ref. 1). Analysing the calculation results, we offer a reference for selecting canister inserts material.


2016 ◽  
Vol 722 ◽  
pp. 59-65
Author(s):  
Markéta Kočová ◽  
Zdeňka Říhová ◽  
Jan Zatloukal

Nowadays manipulation and depositing of high-level radioactive waste has become the most important issue, which needs to be solved. High-level radioactive waste consists mainly of spent fuel elements from nuclear power plants, which cannot be deposited for long time in surface repositories in the same way as it is possible in case of low and medium level radioactive waste. The most effective and safe solution in longer time horizon seems to be deep geological repository of high level waste. In this process of deposition, large amount of specific conditions needs to be taken into account while designing the whole underground complex, because the materials and structures must fulfil all necessary requirements. Then adequate safety will be ensured.


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