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Management of Commercially Generated Radioactive Waste - U.S. ...

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Response<br />

150<br />

WASTE MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS<br />

While wastes from spent fuel cleaning operations would indeed be expected to be radio-<br />

active, they are not expected to contain sufficient transuranic radioactivity to require<br />

consideration as transuranic waste. Since the Statement is not concerned with treatment <strong>of</strong><br />

nontransuranic wastes, these wastes were not included in the table.<br />

Draft pp. 3.1.84 and 3.1.186<br />

Issue<br />

Table 3.1.4 compares volumes <strong>of</strong> wastes from four possible fuel cycles. Text should<br />

note that volumes differ by no more than a factor <strong>of</strong> three. The footnote to the table and<br />

the assumption on p. 3.1.186 which indicates that 38 MTHM <strong>of</strong> reference spent fuel and<br />

7.6 MTHM MOX fuel produced per GWe-yr is 50% too high. (154)<br />

Response<br />

DOE agrees that the volume ratio <strong>of</strong> 3:1 is a valid observation. See Section 3.4.6.<br />

38 MTHM per GWe-yr is correct. The average fuel exposure for the reference fuel is<br />

approximately 29,000 MWD/MT. Thus:<br />

365 D/yr x 1,000 MW/GW = 38 MTHM/GWe-yr<br />

29,000 MWD/MT x 0.33 MWe/MWTh<br />

The author <strong>of</strong> the comment probably had in mind the amount <strong>of</strong> fuel discharged from a<br />

1,000 MWe plant which, because it operates at say 70% <strong>of</strong> capacity over the period <strong>of</strong> a<br />

year, produces 0.7 GWe-yr <strong>of</strong> electricity and discharges about 0.7 x 38 = 27 MTHM. Each<br />

metric ton <strong>of</strong> spent fuel can provide plutonium for approximately 0.2 metric tons <strong>of</strong> MOX<br />

fuel thus 7.6 MTHM MOX fuel per GWe-yr.<br />

Draft p. 3.1.87<br />

Issue<br />

One commenter questioned why plutonium would be partially purified before blending<br />

with the high-level liquid waste (in one <strong>of</strong> the uranium-only recycle cases considered in<br />

the draft Statement). (181) Another commenter suggested that it may be done for reasons<br />

<strong>of</strong> criticality. (154.)<br />

Response<br />

There is no criticality reason requiring the partial purification <strong>of</strong> plutonium prior<br />

to putting it back into the high leveT waste; DOE did not intend the wording would be taken<br />

to suggest the opposite. What was meant is that liquid high-level waste containing all <strong>of</strong>

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