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

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Response<br />

397<br />

ALTERNATIVE DISPOSAL CONCEPTS<br />

The factors enumerated certainly would need to be considered in evaluating partition-<br />

ing and transmutation. If the long-lived actinides could be fully eliminated in a reason-<br />

able time period, the approach might be worth the cost. It does not appear, however, that<br />

we can achieve that goal.<br />

Draft Section 3.9.2<br />

Issue<br />

The last sentence in the first paragraph should be changed to read "may require." The<br />

certainty <strong>of</strong> the statement depends on potential uses <strong>of</strong> transmuted wastes. Future reqire-<br />

ments may not have been adequately analyzed at this time. (124)<br />

Response<br />

The certainty <strong>of</strong> the original statement still seems appropriate, since the residual<br />

product <strong>of</strong> actinide transmutation remains a mixture <strong>of</strong> fission products. Although some <strong>of</strong><br />

these may find uses in the future, the bulk <strong>of</strong> them will have to be isolated securely from<br />

the environment.<br />

Draft Section 3.9.3<br />

Issue<br />

It is difficult to verify that decommissioning and disposal <strong>of</strong> hazardous reagents<br />

create additional complicated radionuclide logistics. Keeping programs in perspective, decommissioning<br />

impacts for reference fuel cycles are highly speculative, and thus to discuss<br />

nuclear waste streams as being a disadvantage is highly speculative (from a decommissioning<br />

standpoint) and should be omitted. (124)<br />

Response<br />

It is agreed that little practical experience exists for decommissioning <strong>of</strong> fuel cycle<br />

facilities. However, the intent <strong>of</strong> the statement was to point out, at least indirectly,<br />

that an effective transmutation program requires a considerable number <strong>of</strong> reactor recycles<br />

to completely transmute the candidate radionuclides, since only 5 to 7 percent are trans-<br />

muted in a typical cycle. Thus the number <strong>of</strong> fuel cycle facilities which must ultimately'<br />

be decommissioned is considered larger than other concepts. Also since the chemical proces-<br />

ses used-for separation (partition) <strong>of</strong> nuclides prior to re-cycle are complex, an increased<br />

volume <strong>of</strong> contaminated reagents, relative to most other processes will be generated. Simi-<br />

larly, different waste systems are introduced by the processing complexity.

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