Beyond one million years : the intrinsic radiation hazard of high-level nuclear wastes

• Autorzy: Pescatore Claudio

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.2478/nuka-2024-0029

• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

This paper highlights the absence of quantitative estimates regarding the intrinsic radiation hazard of high-level nuclear wastes, namely, spent fuel (SF) and vitrified high-level wastes (VHLW), for periods exceeding one million years. Using available data, conducting scoping calculations of radiation doses, and comparing the results to radiation protection guidelines and natural background radiation, this paper shows that high-level wastes cannot be safely handled or left unprotected essentially indefinitely. By quantitatively evaluating the dose rates of unshielded SF and VHLW, this study identifies critical new insights, such as the roles of the Np-237 decay chain; the eventual, long-term dominance of the U-238 decay chain; and the interplay of three actinide decay chains, including the significant role of Bi-214. These findings fill a gap in the literature and emphasize the need for more detailed investigations in this as-yet-unexplored research area, which has a direct bearing on technical and societal decision-making for both waste disposal safety and the choice of the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Bi-214; geological disposal; high-level wastes; million years; Np-237; radiation hazard

• Wydawca: Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology
• Czasopismo: Nukleonika
• Rocznik: 2024
• Tom: Vol. 69, No. 4
• Strony: 215--224
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 25 poz., rys.

Twórcy

autor

Pescatore Claudio

• Research affi liate at the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden formerly Principal Administrator of Radioactive Waste Management and Decommissioning at the OECD

Bibliografia

• 1. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (January 2024). Backgrounder on radioactive waste. Available at https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML0501/ML050110277.pdf.
• 2. OECD. (2009). Considering timescales in the postclosure safety of geological disposal of radioactive waste. Paris: OECD Publishing. Retrieved June 2024, from https://www.oecd-nea.org/jcms/pl_14446/considering-timescales-in-the-post-closure-safety-ofgeological-disposal-of-radioactive-waste.
• 3. Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Canada. (2024). Radiation risk and safety. Retrieved June 2024, from https://www.nwmo.ca/canadas-usednuclear-fuel/radiation-risk-and-safety.
• 4. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (1995). Radioactive waste management in perspective. Paris: OECD Publishing. Retrieved June 2024, from https://www.oecd-nea.org/rwm/reports/1996/RWM%20Perspective%20142p%201996.pdf.
• 5. National Research Council. (1995). Protecting human health (Chapter 2). In: Technical bases for a Yucca Mountain standards. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Retrieved June 2024, from https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/4943/technicalbases-for-yucca-mountain-standards.
• 6. Hedin, A. (1997). Spent nuclear fuel – how dangerous is it? Swedish Spent Fuel Management Organization (SKB). (Report SKB-TR-97-13). Available at https://www.skb.com/publication/1360 7.
• 7. Agence Nationale Déchets Radioactifs. (June 2005). Dossier argile 2005 – Tome É valuation de sû rete Beyond one million years: The intrinsic radiation hazard of high-level nuclear wastes 223 du stockage gé ologique. Agence Nationale Déchets Radioactifs. Retrieved June 2024, from https://www.andra.fr/sites/default/files/2018-02/270.pdf.
• 8. Agence Nationale Déchets Radioactifs. (August 2000). Note technique C NT ASRE 00-89. Définition des colis types des dé chets C du MIP – version 2. Agence Nationale Déchets Radioactifs .
• 9. Agence Nationale Dechets Radioactifs. (2016). Dossier options de Sûreté – Partie Post-Fermeture. Retrieved June 2024, from https://www.andra.fr/sites/default/files/2018-04/dossier-options-surete-apres-fermeture_0.pdf.
• 10. Oettingen, M., & Cetnar, J. (2015). Comparative analysis between measured and calculated concentrations of major actinides using destructive assay data from Ohi-2 PWR. Nukleonika, 60(3), 571-580. DOI: 10.1515/nuka-2015-0102.
• 11. Cember, H., & Johnson, T. E. (2008). Introduction to health physics (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
• 12. International Commission on Radiological Protection. (1969). Radiological protection in geological disposal of long-lived solid radioactive waste. (ICRP Publication 12). Oxford: Pergamon Press. Available at https://www.icrp.org/publication.asp?id=ICRP%20Publication%20122.
• 13. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (n.d.). Dose standards and methods for protection. Protection against radiation and contamination. Rev 0603. USNRC Technical Training Center. Retrieved June 2024, from https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/students/for-educators/08.pdf.
• 14. Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Canada. (January 31, 2005). Background document NWMO Workshop on the nature of the hazard of used nuclear fuel – what needs to be managed, for how long and wh y. Retrieved June 2024, from https://www.nwmo.ca/-/media/Reports---Reports/850_10-BackgroundDocument.ashx?rev=924c84f75f054df5a0a86abcab45b513&sc_lang=en&hash=0B049AC7C072F9CB9B21295592ECEB22.
• 15. Japan Atomic Energy Agency. (n.d.). Nuclide information – Bi-214. Retrieved June 2024, from https://wwwndc.jaea.go.jp/cgi-bin/nuclinfo2014?83,21 4.
• 16. Japan Atomic Energy Agency. (n.d.). Nuclide information – Pb-214. Retrieved June 2024, from https://wwwndc.jaea.go.jp/cgi-bin/nuclinfo2014?82,21 4.
• 17. Japan Atomic Energy Agency. (n.d.). Nuclide information – Pa-233. Retrieved June 2024, from https://wwwndc.jaea.go.jp/cgi-bin/nuclinfo2014?91,233.
• 18. Japan Atomic Energy Agency. (n.d.). Nuclide information – Th-229. Retrieved June 2024, from https://wwwndc.jaea.go.jp/cgi-bin/nuclinfo2014?90,229.
• 19. Agence Nationale Dechets Radioactifs. (n.d.). Catalogue des familles des déchets. Retrieved June 2024, from https://inventaire.andra.fr/families/colis-dedechets-vitrifies-csd-v-oranola-hague.
• 20. Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique. (2018). Inventaire prospectif entre 2016 et 2100 des matières et des déchets radioactifs produits par le parc français selon différents scénarios d’évolution. Document technique. Retrieved June 2024, from https://www.asn.fr › Files › PNGMDR-2016-2018.
• 21. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (May 28, 2024). Exposures and dose rates. Available at https://www.epa.gov/radnet/about-exposure-and-dose-rates.
• 22. Allahverdi Pourfallah, T., Shabestani Monfared, A., Babapour, H., & Shahidi, M. (2013). Annual effective dose of high level natural radiation areas of Ramsar. IFMBE Proceedings, 39, 1241–1244. DOI:10.1007/978-3-642-29305-4_32 5.
• 23. Orano. (October 23, 2020). Version consultable de la spécification du 9 novembre 2016 – Spécification évoluée du colis standard de déchets vitrifies (csd-v) produits en pot de fusion a La Hague. Note Technique.https://www.asn.fr/content/download/178071/file/01_specifications%20du%20colis.pdf.
• 24. U.S. National Waste Technical Review Board. (2017). Vitrified high-level radioactive waste. Retrieved June 2024, from https://www.nwtrb.gov/docs/defaultsource/factssheets/vitrified_hlw.pdf?sfvrsn=16.
• 25. Vernaz, E., Gin, S., & Veyer, C. (2012). Waste glass. In: R. J. M. Konings (Ed.), Comprehensive nuclear materials (Vol. 5, pp. 451–483). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Uwagi

Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa nr POPUL/SP/0154/2024/02 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki II" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki (2025).