Storage, nuclear waste

The great majority of nuclear shipments are very small in size [less than 0.45 kg (1 lb) per shipment] and total nearly 2.8 million shipments per year (an average of 7656 shipments per day) (51). Spent fuel shipments (material only) typically weigh 0.5-1.0 metric tons for truck shipments and up to 10 metric tons for rail shipments. 

TABLE 3.22 Volume of Low-Level Waste Received at US Disposal Facilities 

In addition, the protective lead shipping casks for containment of the spent fuel weigh many more additional tons. Corrosion is not an issue in the transportation of nuclear waste because of the stringent package requirements and the short duration of the transport however, corrosion is an important problem in the design of casks used for permanent storage. Table 3.22 shows the volume of low-level waste received at US disposal facilities in the 10-year period between 1985 and 1994 (52). 

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In consumer appHcations, titanium is used in golf club heads, jewelry, eyeglass frames, and watches. The Japanese have promoted the use of titanium in roofing and monuments. Other appHcation areas include nuclear-waste storage canisters, pacemaker castings, medical implants, high performance automotive appHcations, and ordnance armor. 

Address the challenges of long-term nuclear-waste storage how to reduce the radiotoxicity of the final waste to be disposed of in underground repositories ... 

K) -1690 10 kJ mol 1. The preparation and properties of this and other actinide (IV) complex oxides are described and are compared with other perovskites BaM03. The relative stabilities of tetravalent and hexavalent uranium in various environments are compared in terms of the oxidation-reduction behavior of uranium in geological nuclear waste storage media in perovskite, uranium(IV) is very unstable in comparison with uranium(VI). ... 

It will not be possible for the nuclear industry to be developed unless it is guaranteed a sufficient period of stability and solving nuclear waste storage problems. 

The nuclear lobbies were also successful in obtaining 25 billion in loans, which are fully guaranteed by the government for building new nuclear power plants, and 2 billion for a uranium enrichment plant. On the other hand, the problems of nuclear waste storage, security, and decommissioning have not been solved. The nuclear industry is planning to build 28 new reactors at about 5 billion each. 

Evidence gathered in 1997 at the Hanford facility for nuclear waste storage shows some leaking into the surrounding soil. On the other hand, the most potent nuclear waste products (plutonium, cesium, and strontium) do not move far (they become adsorbed on soil), although technetium (with a half-life of 250,000 years) has reached the water table. 

In most applications, this would be considered outstanding corrosion resistance, but for a nuclear waste storage vessel needing 100,000 years of service, the corrosion allowance would need to be at least 10 cm. 

INTERA (1983) Geochemical models suitable for performance assessment of nuclear waste storage comparison of PHREEQE and EQ3/EQ6. INTERA Environmental Consultants, Inc., ONWI-473, 114pp. 

All methods of producing electricity have serious environmental impacts. The main objections to nuclear power plants are the fear of possible accidents, the unresolved problem of nuclear waste storage, and the possibility of plutonium diversion for weapons production by a terrorist group. The issue of waste storage becomes particularly emotional because leakage from a waste depository could contaminate ground water. Chemical dump sites have leaked in the past, so there is distrust of all hazardous wastes. 

Presentations by D. Meisel, G. Hug and J. LaVeme, underscored the relationship between fundamental research in radiation mechanisms and the emerging uses in applied technology.. Investigations into the concerns over hydrogen gas evolution and other by-products involved in nuclear waste storage were found to shed light on mechanisms found in commercially viable uses of radiation processing. 

THERMO-MECHANICAL MODELING OF A SUBSURFACE INTERIM NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE BEHAVIOR IN WORKING CONDITIONS... 

Explosion in nuclear waste storage facility at Kyshtym (Chelyabinsk), USSR, with... 

Usually one distinguishes between "near field" and "far field" effects of radioactivity releases. Near field effects are observed close to the release source, as for example the nuclear power plant or nuclear waste storage facility. The dissolution of nuclear waste by rain or ground water is a typical near field problem. As the source is known, it can be controlled and its environment monitored. If the radioactivity exceeds permitted levels, access to the contaminated area can be restricted. Far field effects involve the behavior of radionuclides which have spread out of such a restricted area, caused either by nuclear power accidents and weapons tests or by leakage from nuclear power plants. 

In 1957 an explosion occurred in a nuclear waste storage facility (probably due to reactions betwe organic matter and nitrate) at Kyshtym south of Sverdlovsk, USSR, leading to the contamination of approximately 1600 km of land by 8 X 10 Bq fission products, causing local contaminations exceeding 10 Bq/m (2 X 10 Sr and Cs). The area is still uninhabitable, see also 21.10. 

The ABEC resins are also now being marketed by ElChrom for the analysis of technetium in alkaline solution. This same resin, in a larger bead size, is currently being tested for the removal of technetium from alkaline nuclear waste storage tanks. 

One of EPA s responsibilities has been to develop public health and safety standards for the two major U.S. nuclear waste storage and disposal facilities. The Wa.ste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico stores transuranic wastes. They range from slightly contaminated clothing to barrels of waste so radioactive that it can only be handled with remote control equipment. The proposed Yucca Mountain repository is designed to store high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. 

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