Plutonium-containing

The geologic aspects of waste disposal (24—26), proceedings of an annual conference on high level waste management (27), and one from an annual conference on all types of radioactive waste (28) are available. An alternative to burial is to store the spent fuel against a long-term future energy demand. Uranium and plutonium contained in the fuel would be readily extracted as needed. 

All reactor-produced plutonium contains a mixture of several plutonium isotopes. The continuous decay of 241pu (14.8 year half-life) is the source of 241/. jhis isotope decays by alpha emission with the simultaneous emission of 60 kilovolt gamma rays in 80% abundance. In order to minimize personnel exposure, this element is removed from the metal prior to fabrication. 

From spectrophotometric studies on 0.5 M HCl solutions of plutonium containing Pu(V), Connick attempted to investigate the disproportionation reaction of this species... 

The research programme of the European Institute for Transuranium Elements was, from its very beginning, devoted to both basic research on advanced plutonium containing fuel and to fundamental research on actinide elements. Non-fuel actinide research in Europe started more than 20 years ago with the reprocessing of irradiated actinide samples. Since the first isolation and purification of transplutonium elements, actinide research developed steadily in close contact and cooperation with specialised laboratories in Western Europe and in the United States. 

Aloy, A. S., Iskhakova, O. A., Koltsova, T. I., Trofimenko, A. V. Jardine, L. J. 2001. Development and characterization of borosilicate glasses for immobilization of plutonium-containing sludges. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, 663, 189-198. 

The problem of recovering the plutonium contained in the Pu/Al target dissolution solutions is trivial in comparison with the difficulties discussed above. The strong affinity exhibited by tertiary amine nitrates (TLA or T0A) for Pu(IV) was exploited to develop the following processes ... 

An optimum molten salt extraction process at Rocky Flats would use the minimum amount of salt required to obtain (1) a desired removal of americium, (2) a minimum transfer of plutonium to the salt, and (3) a minimum take-up of magnesium by the plutonium metal product. The product salt must be compatible with subsequent chemical processes for the recovery of americium and plutonium contained in the salt. To minimize the number of glove-box operations, time in the gloves, and operator radiation exposure, the operations must be simple and easy to conduct. By using the minimum amount of salt feed, a minimum amount of waste will be generated that ultimately must be sent to long-term storage. 

Six plutonium containing particles stemming from soil (Marshall Island) were characterized by SIMS, SEM-EDX-WDX and sychrotron radiation by Jernstrom et al. AU the particles were identified as nuclear fuel fragments of exploded weapons components. Since they contained plutonium with a low °Pu/ Pu atomic ratio (less than 0.065), which corresponds to weapons grade plutonium or a detonation with low fission yield, the particles were identified as originating from the safety test and low yield tests conducted on Runit Island. ... 

Nuclear material that can be used for the manufacture of nuclear explosive components without transmutation or further enrichment, such as plutonium containing less than 80% plutonium-238, uranium enriched to 20% uranium-235 and uranium-233 or more any chemical compound or mixture of the foregoing. Plutonium, uranium-233 and uranium enriched to less than 20% uranium-235 contained in irradiated fuel do not fall into this category. 

Interest in the so-called sol-gel process for the remote-controlled manufacture of plutonium-containing fuel rods is increasing due to its high safety. In this process a filter cake of freshly precipitated uranium(IV) oxide is converted ultrasonically into a U02-gel, which after drying is fired at 1150°C. The resulting microspheres, 40 to 60 t,m in diameter, are then poured into casing tubes using vibratory techniques. 

The zinc distillation process consists of four basic operations to coprocess and recover uranium and plutonium containing fission products from spent FBR mixed-oxide fuels. These operations are ... 

Plutonium Dioxide in Molten Equimolar Sodium-Potassium Nitrate. The behavior of plutonium dioxide in molten alkali metal nitrates is an area of major concern. Claims that alkali metal plutonates are formed (1, 2, 3, 5, 6) are not substantiated by definitive analytical results. In some cases (5, 6), sodium peroxide was added as an oxidant to either an alkali metal nitrate melt (6) or to an alkali metal hydroxide melt (5). If the temperature is great enough, for example above 700°C, thermal decomposition of the nitrate melt produces peroxide species. Other studies (4, , 12, 17) do not claim formation of a plutonate species, but only state that an insoluble plutonium-containing compound exists. However, in all the references cited, the results were given for mixed uranium-plutonium dioxide definitive analytical results were not given. 

The scraps which arise during the fabrication of plutonium-containing nuclear fuels are collected and stored for some time before they are processed to recover the plutonium. Due to the decay of Pu-241, considerable amounts of Am-241 may build up in the stored material. At the Alkem company, plutonium is recovered from the scrap by anion exchange the americium which is not sorbed on the resin is collected in the combined effluents from the loading and wash steps. The effluents are concentrated by evaporation besides americium, the concentrated effluents contain major amounts of uranium, plutonium, corrosion products, and residues from chemical reagents. A typical composition is given below ... 

Americium was obtained by allowing plutonium containing 241pu to decay. This isotope beta decays to 241/ m. The Am was separated from the Pu by ion exchange or solvent extraction procedures. 

The net plutonium production of this LMFBR is 265.2 kg/year. This plutonium contains... 

Pu. The isotope Pu results from neutron capture in followed by two beta decays. It is the principal isotopic constituent of plutonium formed by the irradiation of low-enrichment uranium. It is the principal flssile corrstituent in plutonium fuel used in thermal and fast reactors. Pu alpha decays, with a half-life of 24,400 years, to form the U parent of the An+3 decay series discussed in Chap. 5. Relatively pure Pu can be made by the short-term low-exposure inadiation of natural uranium. Plutonium containing more than 99 percent Pu results from the irradiation of uranium at fuel exposures of less than 0.7 MWd/kg [K2]. Because of the hi ... 

Figure 10.35 Subcritical limits for individual cylinders and slabs of homogeneous water-reflected and moderated plutonium containing at least 5 w/o °Pu and Pu > Pu.

Shielded transport is also required for solidified high level waste, hulls, plutonium containing material, and for some intermediate and a-active waste. Special containers are used for each type. As an exanqile, in the United Kingdom plutonium containers made of wood and cadmium are limited to carrying 10 kg Pu the container weighs 175 kg, is 1.3 m high, and 0.8 m in diameter. 

Anthropogenic (man-made) releases of plutonium are the primary sources of plutonium to the atmosphere. Atmospheric testing, fires involving plutonium-containing materials, and routine releases due to normal activities at processing and generating plants are all potential sources of airborne plutonium. Resuspension of plutonium sorbed to contaminated surface soils via fugitive dust emissions is an indirect pathway by which plutonium may be re-released into the atmosphere (Harley 1980). 

This situation should force the pursuit of only those installation designs that do not require excessive expenditures for decommissioning. This important provision will be strictly enforced by the Russian Federation Gosatomnadzor when permits are issued for the design and construction of new installations. This provision is especially important for installations that will process plutonium-containing nuclear materials. 

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