Disposal of nuclear waste

N. A. Chapman and I. G. McKinley, The Geological Disposal of Nuclear Waste, John Wiley Sons, Ltd., Chichester, U.K., 1987. 

The main drawback to nuclear power is the production of radioactive waste. Spent fuel from a nuclear reactor is considered a high-level radioactive waste, and remains radioactive for a veiy long time. Spent fuel consists of fission products from the U-235 and Pu-239 fission process, and also from unspent U-238, Pu-240, and other heavy metals produced during the fuel cycle. That is why special programs exist for the handling and disposal of nuclear waste. 

Hermetic waste / from the writings of Paracelsus, 1493-1541, from the writings of Hildegard of Bingen, 1098-1179, from a fact sheet on the disposal of nuclear waste. London Gefn Press, 1986. [16] leaves... 

Technology exists to dispose of nuclear waste safely. 

I have just returned from an International Conference on Geologic Repositories hosted by Secretary Richardson. The joint declaration from this conference committed to continued international cooperation on waste issues and the viability of geologic repositories as one of the preferred options for disposal of nuclear waste. 

Nuclear reactors are useful in the production of electricity, but they are not without their problems. These problems include disposal of nuclear wastes, accidents, and sabotage. The eventual answer may lie in nuclear fusion. 

To facilitate near-surface disposal of nuclear wastes, efficient removal of the ty = 30 year fission product °Sr is desirable. The SREX process [60]... 

Deep geological disposal is the most favored solution for the permanent disposal of nuclear wastes with long half-lives. Although the locations of the burial places are selected with outmost care to avoid migration of the wastes in nature over a very long period of time, no barrier can be safe forever, so, numerous studies are in progress to determine the main factors that could cause leaks of radioactive nuclides. Soluble compounds in ground water are likely to play a major role in the release of actinides. 

The examples for radioactive labeling by phosphorus-32 ( P) and iodine-125 ( 1) in this chapter were chosen for two reasons on one hand, they are relatively easy to do, and on the other hand, the measurement of radioactivity is simple. is counted in water in a liquid scintillation counter by measuring the Cerenkov radiation and is measured in a gamma counter. Both isotopes may be detected also by autoradiography. A further advantage of both isotopes is their short half-life, which eases the disposal of nuclear waste. 

In the course of time it has been unambiguously demonstrated that humic- and fulvic acids interact with metal cations by forming rather stable, and often soluble complexes(1 2). The increasing awareness of a possible pollution of the environment, e.g. in connection with the disposal of nuclear waste, emphasizes the need for additional knowledge about the interaction between relevant metal ions, e.g. radionuclides commonly present in nuclear waste, and humic substances. The possible presence of soluble and rather stable complexes may play an important role in determining the migration behavior of the metal ions under shallow land burial conditions. The influence of humic- and fulvic acids on the migration behavior of metal ions has been discussed previously (2-6),... 

The disposal of nuclear waste presents many difficulties. Some proposals suggest burying the waste in glass or ceramic containers deep in the earth. 

Figure 2 Ingestion toxicity for HLW as a function of decay time (Campbell et al. (1978) reproduced by permission of Nuclear Regulatory Commission from Risk Methodology for Geologic Disposal of Nuclear Waste, 1978).

Most regulations focus on the time period up to 10" yr and 10 yr after emplacement when radioactivity is dominated by the decay of americium, neptunium, and plutonium. Disposal of nuclear waste in the US is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). There are several classes of nuclear waste each type is regulated by specific environmental regulations and each has a preferred disposal option, as described below. 

The following section provides detailed information concerning the transport of radionuclides associated with two very different field analogues the Chernobyl reactor accident and the Oklo Natural Reactor. These examples span wide temporal and spatial scales and include the rapid geochemical and physical processes important to nuclear reactor accidents or industrial discharges as well as the slower processes important to the geologic disposal of nuclear waste. 

Campbell J. E., Dillon R. T., Tierney M. S., Davis H. T., McGrath P. E., Pearson E. J. J., Shaw H. R., Helton J. C., and Donath E. A. (1978) Risk Methodology for Geologic Disposal of Nuclear Waste Interim Report, NUREG/ CR-0458 SAND78-0029. Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM. 

Pedersen K. (1996) Investigations of subterranean bacteria in deep crystalline bedrock and their importance for the disposal of nuclear waste. Can. J. Microbiol. 42, 382-400. 

Management and disposal of nuclear waste depends mainly on its type. For example, LLW and ILW are often treated (volume reduction) and/or conditioned (waste immobilization) prior to disposal. This area of LLW and ILW waste management, having been established and proven over past years, is considered to be quite... 

Research and evaluate environmental issues regarding the storage, containment, and disposal of nuclear wastes. 

In total, the book provides an overview of the structural features of more than two thousand actinide compounds and contains about fifteen hundred references. We are well aware that the reviews gathered in this book do not cover all aspects of research concerning the structures of inorganic actinide compounds. However, we hope that it will be useful for those seeking detailed and updated basic research data concerning actinide compounds as well as those who are seeking a clue in the solution of some important practical problems such as immobilization of radionuchdes, utilization of depleted uranium, and safe disposal of nuclear waste. 

Used to recover important fission products Used to dispose of nuclear waste safely... 

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