NON-LWR AND SPECIAL LWR SPENT FUELS: CHARACTERISTICS AND CRITICALITY ASPECTS OF PACKAGING AND DISPOSAL

Two important categories of potential repository wastes, non-LWR spent fuels and special LWR spent fuels, were evaluated regarding their future quantities and packaging requirements, including criticality aspects. Assuming that canisters similar to those planned for vitrified high-level waste and conventional LWR fuel assemblies prove to be acceptable for these fuels, it is estimated that about 1400 such canisters will be needed for the non-LWR and special LWR spent fuels on hand and projected through the year 2020. Approximately half of these canisters are for HTGR spent fuel (Peach Bottom-1 and Fort St. Vrain), a quarter are for TMI-2 spent fuel and core debris, and the balance are for fuels from a score of diverse sources. About two thirds of these spent fuels can be accommodated in extended vitrified HLW-size cansiters (24-in. OD x 12 ft long), and the remainder will fit into canisters 28-in. OD x 15 ft long, which are about the sams size as the "hybrid" BWR-PWR canisters (28-in. OD x 15 ft 7.5 in. long) proposed for use in a tuff repository. Since many of these fuels are of higher enrichment and/or lower burnup than standard LWR spent fuel, estimation of the number of fuel assemblies that could be safely placed in a canister required preliminary calculations of neutron multiplication factors to ensure non-criticality. These estimates showed that the canister configurations used would provide more than adequate volume for the neutron poisons needed for this purpose. Thermal outputs per canister were estimated for Fort St. Vrain, TRIGA, and Pulstar fuels; the results showed that these fuels had thermal outputs per canister much lower than those of standard LWR spent fuels and vitrified HLW.

• Corporate Authors:

  Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  P. O. Box 2008
  Oak Ridge, TN  United States  37831
• Authors:
  • SALMON, R
  • Notz, K J
• Publication Date: 1990-1

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 98 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Packaging; Radioactive waste disposal; Spent reactor fuels; Waste disposal
• Subject Areas: Energy; Freight Transportation; Highways; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00492003
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: ORNL/TM-11016
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 31 1990 12:00AM