Objectives of the Source Term Working Group

The Source Term Working Group was established to prepare a detailed inventory of and release rates for the radionuclides dumped at each Kara Sea disposal site. To this end, inventories were calculated for the spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and activated components at time of disposal and projected forward in time protective barriers, if any, were evaluated for their potential effect on radionuclide release and a number of model scenarios were developed to predict the potential release of the radionuclide inventory into the Kara Sea. 

This document summarizes the efforts of the Source Term Working Group to complete the tasked objectives under the lASAP. It presents a detailed discussion of the fission product, actinide, and activation product inventories at each Kara Sea disposal site and a detailed description, with assumptions, of the models used to predict potential release of the radionuclides into the Kara Sea. Results of the release scenario models, reliability of the model input parameters, and an analysis of the sensitivity of the results to changes in the protective barrier lifetimes and SNF corrosion rates are then presented. The potential for recriticality of the SNF bearing cores and considerations for potential remedial measures are next addressed. Finally, conclusions are drawn with respect to the radionuclide releases at each Kara Sea disposal site from the SNF and activated components. 

It should be noted that this document discusses only the estimates of the inventory and release of radionuclides associated with the marine reactors dumped in the Kara Sea. The low level liquid radioactive waste and low and intermediate level solid wastes discarded in the Barents and Kara Seas were not included in this study. 

---