A new approach for the treatment and conditioning of excess nuclear materials and implications for repository disposal

Kapuza, Ian and Iyer, Natraj (2023) A new approach for the treatment and conditioning of excess nuclear materials and implications for repository disposal. Il nuovo cimento C, 46 (2). pp. 1-7. ISSN 1826-9885

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Abstract

One of the most critical, and historically overlooked, considerations when employing nuclear materials is the treatment and conditioning strategy for their disposal. Selecting the correct strategy depends on a broad range of factors from the characteristics and size of the inventory, to the available resources and infrastructure. However, equally important as the product, is its compatibility with both interim and final disposal requirements. While with smaller or less exotic inventories there are numerous options available, those options become more limited and challenging as inventories become larger, more hazardous, more unusual, or more proliferation-attractive. This paper will review several of the “established” methods for the treatment and conditioning of nuclear material inventories, noting their relative advantages and disadvantages, and highlight a new approach which may provide a safer, simpler, versatile and more cost-effective process for treating materials to prepare for disposal including the proliferation-attractive inventories. Furthermore, the paper will highlight the importance of defining interim storage and final disposal requirements and how this new treatment approach provides the flexibility to tailor the product to the requirements for interim storage and geologic disposal, which are still evolving in most countries. The paper will conclude by reviewing the implications of this approach for countries and entities considering options for the management of known and potential inventories of excess nuclear materials.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: 500 Scienze naturali e Matematica > 530 Fisica
Depositing User: Marina Spanti
Date Deposited: 29 Jan 2024 11:59
Last Modified: 29 Jan 2024 11:59
URI: http://eprints.bice.rm.cnr.it/id/eprint/22588

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