Download or read book Managing the Plutonium Surplus Applications and Technical Options written by Richard L. Garwin and published by Springer. This book was released on 1994-12-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The surplus of plutonium in the world is both an important security issue, and a fact with implications for nuclear energy and environmental policy internationally. The two perspectives are inextricably intertwined in considering options for dealing with the plutonium surplus. It was for this reason that two research programmes at the Royal Institute of International Affairs - respectively on Energy and Environment, and on International Security - jointly approached NATO with a view to organising a work shop on the issue. It was most welcome then to learn that the NATO Science Programe was already supporting plans for a workshop on the issue, initiated by Richard Garwin, and we were pleased to accept the resulting invitation to host that workshop. DrGarwin prepared the initial agenda and established contacts and initial approaches to many of the participants; we were able to develop the agenda further and extend participation in some complementary ways. The result was a most lively and broad-ranging internation al and inter-disciplinary discussion. As the hosts, the RIIA was also given lead responsibility for producing the pro ceedings of the workshop as a publication for NATO. Many of the papers to the work shop are more technical than usually involved in a workshop at the Royal Institute. Yet this is an area in which the policy options are unusually dependent upon a good under standing of the technical issues. which themselves are often a matter of dispute.
Download or read book Managing the Plutonium Surplus Applications and Technical Options written by Richard L. Garwin and published by Springer. This book was released on 1994-11-30 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on `Managing the Plutonium Surplus: Applications and Options', London, U.K., January 24--25, 1994
Download or read book Review of the Department of Energy s Plans for Disposal of Surplus Plutonium in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2020-06-01 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2018, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine issued an Interim Report evaluating the general viability of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration's (DOE-NNSA's) conceptual plans for disposing of 34 metric tons (MT) of surplus plutonium in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a deep geologic repository near Carlsbad, New Mexico. It provided a preliminary assessment of the general viability of DOE-NNSA's conceptual plans, focused on some of the barriers to their implementation. This final report addresses the remaining issues and echoes the recommendations from the interim study.
Download or read book Disposal of Weapon Plutonium written by E.R. Merz and published by Springer. This book was released on 2011-10-01 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Disposal of Weapons Plutonium is a follow-up event to two preceding workshops, each dealing with a special subject within the overall disarmament issue: "Disposition of Weapon Plutonium", sponsored by the NATO Science Committee. The first workshop of this series was held at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London on 24-25 January 1994, entitled "Managing the Plutonium Surplus, Applications, and Options". Its over all goal was to clarify the current situation with respect to pluto nium characteristics and availability, the technical options for use or disposal, and their main technical, environmental, and economic constraints. In the immediate term, plutonium recovered from dismantled nuclear warheads will have to be stored securely, and under international safeguards if possible. In the intermediate term, the principal alter natives for disposition of this plutonium are: irradiation in mixed oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies in existing commercial light-water reac tors or in specially adapted light-water reactors capable of operation with full cores of MOX fuel .and irradiation in future fast reactors. Another option is to blend plutonium with high-level waste as it is vitrified for final disposal in a geologic repository. In both cases, the high radioactivity of the resulting products provides "self shielding" and prevents separation of plutonium without already developed and available sophisticated technology. The so-called "spent fuel standard" as an effective protection barrier is - quired in either case.
Download or read book Disposal of Weapon Plutonium written by E.R. Merz and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 1995-12-31 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Disposal of Weapons Plutonium is a follow-up event to two preceding workshops, each dealing with a special subject within the overall disarmament issue: "Disposition of Weapon Plutonium", sponsored by the NATO Science Committee. The first workshop of this series was held at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London on 24-25 January 1994, entitled "Managing the Plutonium Surplus, Applications, and Options". Its over all goal was to clarify the current situation with respect to pluto nium characteristics and availability, the technical options for use or disposal, and their main technical, environmental, and economic constraints. In the immediate term, plutonium recovered from dismantled nuclear warheads will have to be stored securely, and under international safeguards if possible. In the intermediate term, the principal alter natives for disposition of this plutonium are: irradiation in mixed oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies in existing commercial light-water reac tors or in specially adapted light-water reactors capable of operation with full cores of MOX fuel .and irradiation in future fast reactors. Another option is to blend plutonium with high-level waste as it is vitrified for final disposal in a geologic repository. In both cases, the high radioactivity of the resulting products provides "self shielding" and prevents separation of plutonium without already developed and available sophisticated technology. The so-called "spent fuel standard" as an effective protection barrier is - quired in either case.
Download or read book Global Plutonium Management written by and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The US surplus plutonium disposition program was created to reduce the proliferation risk posed by the fissile material from thousands of retired nuclear weapons. The Department of Energy has decided to process its Put into a form as secure as Pu in civilian spent fuel. While implementation issues have been considered, a major one (Russian reciprocity) remains unresolved. Russia has made disposition action conditional on extracting the fuel value of its Pu but lacks the infrastructure to do so. Assistance in the construction of the required facilities would conflict with official US policy opposing the development of a Pu fuel cycle. The resulting stagnation provides impetus for a reevaluation of US nonproliferation objectives and Pu disposition options. A strategy for satisfying Russian fuel value concerns and reducing the proliferation risk posed by surplus weapons-grade plutonium (WGPu) is proposed. The effectiveness of material alteration (e.g., isotopic, chemical, etc.{hor_ellipsis}) at reducing the desire, ability and opportunity for proliferation is assessed. Virtually all the security benefits attainable by material processing can be obtained by immobilizing Pu in large unit size/mass monoliths without a radiation barrier. Russia would be allowed to extract the Pu at a future date for use as fuel in a verifiable manner. Remote tracking capability, if proven feasible, would further improve safeguarding capability. As an alternate approach, the US could compensate Russia for its Pu, allowing it to be disposed of or processed elsewhere. A market based method for pricing Pu is proposed. Surplus Pu could represent access to nuclear fuel at a fixed price at a future date. This position can be replicated in the uranium market and priced using derivative theory. The proposed strategy attempts to meet nonproliferation objectives by recognizing technical limitations and satisfying political constraints.
Download or read book Management and Disposition of Excess Weapons Plutonium written by National Academy of Sciences and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1995-08-06 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Within the next decade, many thousands of U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons are slated to be retired as a result of nuclear arms reduction treaties and unilateral pledges. Hundreds of tons of plutonium and highly enriched uranium will no longer be needed for weapons purposes and will pose urgent challenges to international security. This is the supporting volume to a study by the Committee on International Security and Arms Control which dealt with all phases of the management and disposition of these materials. This technical study concentrates on the option for the disposition of plutonium, looking in detail at the different types of reactors in which weapons plutonium could be burned and at the vitrification of plutonium, and comparing them using economic, security and environmental criteria.
Download or read book Disposition of High Level Radioactive Waste Through Geological Isolation written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1999-10-07 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the next several years, decisions are expected to be made in several countries on the further development and implementation of the geological disposition option. The Board on Radioactive Waste Management (BRWM) of the U.S. National Academies believes that informed and reasoned discussion of relevant scientific, engineering and social issues can-and should-play a constructive role in the decision process by providing information to decision makers on relevant technical and policy issues. A BRWM-initiated project including a workshop at Irvine, California on November 4-5, 1999, and subsequent National Academies' report to be published in spring, 2000, are intended to provide such information to national policy makers both in the U.S. and abroad. To inform national policies, it is essential that experts from the physical, geological, and engineering sciences, and experts from the policy and social science communities work together. Some national programs have involved social science and policy experts from the beginning, while other programs have only recently recognized the importance of this collaboration. An important goal of the November workshop is to facilitate dialogue between these communities, as well as to encourage the sharing of experiences from many national programs. The workshop steering committee has prepared this discussion for participants at the workshop. It should elicit critical comments and help identify topics requiring in-depth discussion at the workshop. It is not intended as a statement of findings, conclusions, or recommendations. It is rather intended as a vehicle for stimulating dialogue among the workshop participants. Out of that dialogue will emerge the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the National Academies' report.
Download or read book Prospects and Strategies for Nuclear Power written by Peter Beck and published by Earthscan. This book was released on 1994 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining the global strategic energy issues raised by the use of nuclear power, this study argues that uncertainties about future electricity needs and constraints make the option of nuclear power a clear necessity. However, the author points out the problems posed by existing stockpiles of waste and plutonium, as well as the dismantling of old power stations, and states that a new generation of technologies must be produced to reduce these problems.
Download or read book Advanced Nuclear Systems Consuming Excess Plutonium written by E.R. Merz and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A survey of recent developments in the field of plutonium disposal by the application of advanced nuclear systems, both critical and subcritical. Current national R&D plans are summarized. The actinide-fuelled critical reactors are associated with control problems, since they tend to have a small delayed neutron fraction coupled with a small Doppler effect and a positive void coefficient. Current thinking is turning to accelerator-driven subcritical systems for the transmutation of actinides. The book's conclusion is that the various systems proposed are technically feasible, even though not yet technically mature. The book presents a unique summary and evaluation of all relevant possibilities for burning surplus plutonium, presented by experts from a variety of different disciplines and interests, including the defence establishment. The obvious issue - the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons - is vital, but the matter represents a complex technological challenge that also requires an assessment in economic terms.
Download or read book Mixed Oxide Fuel Mox Exploitation and Destruction in Power Reactors written by E.R. Merz and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-29 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: MOX fuel, a mixture of weapon-grade plutonium and natural or depleted uranium, may be used to deplete a portion of the world's surplus of weapon-grade plutonium. A number of reactors currently operate in Europe with one-third MOX cores, and others are scheduled to begin using MOX fuels in both Europe and Japan in the near future. While Russia has laboratory-scale MOX fabrication facilities, the technology remains under study. No fuels containing plutonium are used in the U.S. The 25 presentations in this book give an impressive overview of MOX technology. The following issues are covered: an up to date report on the disposition of ex-weapons Pu in Russia; an analysis of safety features of MOX fuel configurations of different reactor concepts and their operating and control measures; an exchange of information on the status of MOX utilisation in existing power plants, the fabrication technology of various MOX fuels and their behaviour in practice; a discussion of the typical national approaches by Russia and the western countries to the utilisation of Pu as MOX fuel; an introduction to new ideas, enhancing the disposition option of MOX fuel exploitation and destruction in existing and future advanced reactor systems; and the identification of common research areas where defined tasks can be initiated in cooperative partnership.
Download or read book Nuclear Methods For Transmutation Of Nuclear Waste Problems Perspectives Cooperative Research Proceedings Of The International Workshop written by Mikhail Kh Khankhasayev and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 1996-12-11 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Long-lived radioactive materials from the operation of nuclear power plants and from the maintenance and decommissioning of nuclear weapons pose environmental and security risks. Technologies that would counter such risks are under intense study worldwide. One such technology, transmutation by nuclear means into shorter-lived materials, was the subject of an international workshop in Russia, where the need for a viable solution of this problem is particularly strong.Current problems of that technology and future perspectives and cooperative research possibilities involving Russian and East European facilities are discussed by scientists from Russia, the United States and seven other countries representing basic research institutes, former nuclear weapons laboratories and nuclear industries. Computer modeling, data bases and experimental investigations needed for the conceptualization of demonstration, prototype and production facilities are treated in detail. Progress on the planning and construction of the first demonstration facilities is also described.From these proceedings it becomes evident that the problems inherent in radioactive waste accumulation can be solved only by international cooperation in which conventional methods are supplemented by new technologies, and that such a solution may require a sustained effort comparable to the Manhattan Project and the analogous project in the former USSR at the beginning of the nuclear era.
Download or read book Nuclear Wastes written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1996-02-23 with total page 590 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Disposal of radioactive waste from nuclear weapons production and power generation has caused public outcry and political consternation. Nuclear Wastes presents a critical review of some waste management and disposal alternatives to the current national policy of direct disposal of light water reactor spent fuel. The book offers clearcut conclusions for what the nation should do today and what solutions should be explored for tomorrow. The committee examines the currently used "once-through" fuel cycle versus different alternatives of separations and transmutation technology systems, by which hazardous radionuclides are converted to nuclides that are either stable or radioactive with short half-lives. The volume provides detailed findings and conclusions about the status and feasibility of plutonium extraction and more advanced separations technologies, as well as three principal transmutation concepts for commercial reactor spent fuel. The book discusses nuclear proliferation; the U.S. nuclear regulatory structure; issues of health, safety and transportation; the proposed sale of electrical energy as a means of paying for the transmutation system; and other key issues.
Download or read book Improving the Scientific Basis for Managing DOE s Excess Nuclear Materials and Spent Nuclear Fuel written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2003-06-09 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The production of nuclear materials for the national defense was an intense, nationwide effort that began with the Manhattan Project and continued throughout the Cold War. Now many of these product materials, by-products, and precursors, such as irradiated nuclear fuels and targets, have been declared as excess by the Department of Energy (DOE). Most of this excess inventory has been, or will be, turned over to DOE's Office of Environmental Management (EM), which is responsible for cleaning up the former production sites. Recognizing the scientific and technical challenges facing EM, Congress in 1995 established the EM Science Program (EMSP) to develop and fund directed, long-term research that could substantially enhance the knowledge base available for new cleanup technologies and decision making. The EMSP has previously asked the National Academies' National Research Council for advice for developing research agendas in subsurface contamination, facility deactivation and decommissioning, high-level waste, and mixed and transuranic waste. For this study the committee was tasked to provide recommendations for a research agenda to improve the scientific basis for DOE's management of its high-cost, high-volume, or high-risk excess nuclear materials and spent nuclear fuels. To address its task, the committee focused its attention on DOE's excess plutonium-239, spent nuclear fuels, cesium-137 and strontium-90 capsules, depleted uranium, and higher actinide isotopes.
Download or read book Dismantling the Bomb and Managing the Nuclear Materials written by United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment and published by Congress. This book was released on 1993 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Radioactive Waste Management and Contaminated Site Clean Up written by William E Lee and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2013-10-31 with total page 925 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Radioactive waste management and contaminated site clean-up reviews radioactive waste management processes, technologies, and international experiences. Part one explores the fundamentals of radioactive waste including sources, characterisation, and processing strategies. International safety standards, risk assessment of radioactive wastes and remediation of contaminated sites and irradiated nuclear fuel management are also reviewed. Part two highlights the current international situation across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. The experience in Japan, with a specific chapter on Fukushima, is also covered. Finally, part three explores the clean-up of sites contaminated by weapons programmes including the USA and former USSR. Radioactive waste management and contaminated site clean-up is a comprehensive resource for professionals, researchers, scientists and academics in radioactive waste management, governmental and other regulatory bodies and the nuclear power industry. Explores the fundamentals of radioactive waste including sources, characterisation, and processing strategies Reviews international safety standards, risk assessment of radioactive wastes and remediation of contaminated sites and irradiated nuclear fuel management Highlights the current international situation across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America specifically including a chapter on the experience in Fukushima, Japan
