2009 APS April Meeting
Volume 54, Number 4
Saturday–Tuesday, May 2–5, 2009;
Denver, Colorado
Session H7: Managing Nuclear Fuels: An International Perspective
10:45 AM–12:33 PM,
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Room: Governor's Square 12
Sponsoring
Units:
FIP FPS
Chair: Noemie Benczer-Koller, Rutgers University
Abstract ID: BAPS.2009.APR.H7.2
Abstract: H7.00002 : Radioactive Waste Management, its Global Implication on Societies, and Political Impact
11:21 AM–11:57 AM
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
Kazuaki Matsui
(Institute for Applied Energy)
Reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Japan is under commissioning at
the end
of 2008, and it starts soon to reprocess about 800 Mt of spent
fuel per
annum, which have been stored at each nuclear power plant sites in
Japan. Fission products together with minor actinides separated from
uranium and plutonium in the spent fuel contain almost all
radioactivity
of it and will be vitrified with glass matrix, which then will
fill the
canisters. The canisters with the high level radioactive waste
(HLW) are
so hot in both thermal and radiological meanings that they have
to be
cooled off for decades before bringing out to any destination.
Where is the final destination for HLW in Japan, which is located
at the
rim of the Pacific Ocean with volcanoes? Although geological
formation
in Japan is not so static and rather active as the other parts of
the
planet, experts concluded with some intensive studies and researches
that there will be a lot of variety of geological formations even in
Japan which can host the HLW for so long times of more than million
years. Then an organization to implement HLW disposal program was
set up
and started to campaign for volunteers to accept the survey on
geological suitability for HLW disposal. Some local governments
wanted
to apply, but were crashed down by local and neighbor governments
and
residents.
The above development is not peculiar only to Japan, but generally
speaking more or less common for those with radioactive waste
programs.
This is why the radioactive waste management is not any more
science and
technology issue but socio-political one. It does not mean
further R\&D
on geological disposal is not any more necessary, but rather we,
each of
us, should face much more sincerely the societal and political
issues
caused by the development of the science and technology.
Second topic might be how effective partitioning and transformation
technology may be to reduce the burden of waste disposal and
denature
the waste toxicity?
The third one might be the proposal of international nuclear fuel
centers which supply nuclear fuel to the nuclear power plants in the
region and take back spent fuel which will be reprocessed to recover
useful energy resources of uranium and plutonium. This may help non
proliferation issue due to world nuclear development beyond
renaissance.
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2009.APR.H7.2