Decontamination factors nuclear fuel reprocessing

One possible scenario includes the start of reprocessing about the year 19W at about 1500 MTU y over a 2 to 3 year period. Capacity would probably remain at 1500 MTU y" until new friel reprocessing plants were constructed at the end of the century. About 15,000 MTU of spent fuel could be processed by the year 2000 in such a scenario. This amount of fuel would contain 600 Ci of I. At a decontamination factor of 500,1.2 Ci of would have been released to the atmosphere by the year 2000 at an average rate of about 0.12 Ci per year between the year 1990 and 2000. For a population distribution around U.S. nuclear fuel reprocessing plants similar to that presented above, the total dose equivalent commitment to the population within 80 km (50 miles) of the plant would be about 43 person-thyroid rem in the year 2000. Since the in the soil adds about 1 perceht per year to the dose, the 1.2 curies accumulated to the year 2000 would add about another 4.3 person-thyroid-rem. The total collective dose commitment then would be 47 person-thyroid-rem during the year 2000. 

Simplified PUREX reprocessing with a relatively low decontamination factor is introduced and hence, MOX fuel would have higher concentration of radioactive materials than the current LWR MOX fuel. Even fresh MOX fuel for the reactor has a higher radioactivity than UO2 fuel or the current LWR MOX fresh fuel and this facilitates nuclear material accounting and verification. 

The estimated total accumulated amount of I that will be produced in U.S. nuclear power reactor fuels through the year 2000 is about 2500 curies. If reprocessing resumes and decontamination factors of 500 exist for gaseous effluent treatment systems, only about 5 Ci of this total will have been released to the environment from fuel reprocessing plants. The remainder will be incorporated into solid wastes appropriately isolated from the biosphere. 

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