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

6.135
TABLE 6.1.28. Operating Costs For Partitioning Facilities
(Millions of 1980 Dollars)
Colocated With Colocated With
Reprocessing Plant Fuel Fabrication Plant
Process Chemicals 16.0 1.4
Utilities 6.2 2.2
Labor 8.2 5.8
Equipment Replacement 3.8 1.0
Property Tax and Insurance 26.0 11.1
NRC License and Inspection 0.2 0.2
Decommissioning
Total 60.4 21.7
Decommissioning costs associated with the partitioning facilities were estimated to be 12
percent of the capital costs for the partitioning facilities, i.e., $105 million for the
facility colocated with the reprocessing plant or $45 million for the facility colocated with
the fuel fabrication plant.
6.1.7.7. Safeguard Requirements
The transmutation concept depends on processing of the spent fuel elements and the re-
cycle of transmutable materials. The extra processing and transportation, and the availabil-
ity of sensitive materials at all points in the back end of the fuel cycle would increase the
opportunity for diversion of these materials. In addition, because of the necessity to pro-
cess and recycle material eight or nine times to ensure full transmutation, the annual
throughput of sensitive materials would greatly increase. Material accountability would also
be more difficult because of the large quantities and high irradiation levels. Safeguards of
recycled plutonium would be simplified because of the higher concentration of 2 3 8 pu. Also,
recycled actinides containing 2 5 2 Cf and 2 4 5 /Cm would require shielding from neutrons that
should simplify safeguard requirements. Furthermore, because geologic disposal would be
required on the same scale as discussed in Chapter 5, all the safeguard requirements des-
cribed there would also be required for a fuel cycle using transmutation. See Section 4.10
for additional discussion of predisposal operation safeguard requirements.