New technologies for radioactive waste monitoring: Results and perspectives from recent experience

Finocchiaro, P. and Cosentino, L. and Poma, G. E. and Longhitano, F. and Amaducci, S. and Vecchio, G. (2023) New technologies for radioactive waste monitoring: Results and perspectives from recent experience. Il nuovo cimento C, 46 (2). pp. 1-10. ISSN 1826-9885

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Abstract

With the initial support of the INFN-Energy committee throughout the last ten years a few activities have been pursued aimed at the improvement of radioactive waste management. Nowadays new technologies make possible the development of low-cost systems capable of monitoring the radioactivity coming out of (spent) nuclear fuel casks or radwaste drums. Simple, compact and effective radiation counters were developed at INFN for the detection of gamma rays and neutrons, suitable to be deployed as a distributed network for the real time monitoring of radioactive waste from the very low up to the highest level, and possibly preluding to a mass deployment benefitting both safety and security. Indeed, in such a framework any change in counting rates, or even a sensor blackout, could be interpreted as a possible safety or security breach. Techniques for sorting and segregating the radioactive waste have also been studied and a dedicated prototype for the gamma/visible imaging with spectroscopic features is currently being developed. On top of the new interesting technical features accessible by means of distributed networks of devices, one should also focus on the psychological impact they could have on the general public acceptability of a finely monitored repository. Tests performed on radioactive waste of all categories, including spent fuel, showed quite promising results.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: 500 Scienze naturali e Matematica > 530 Fisica
Depositing User: Marina Spanti
Date Deposited: 13 Dec 2023 03:14
Last Modified: 13 Dec 2023 03:14
URI: http://eprints.bice.rm.cnr.it/id/eprint/22567

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