DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTEGRATED TRANSURANIC WASTE MANAGEMENT-SYSTEM FOR A LARGE RESEARCH FACILITY - NUCEF

The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Safety Engineering Research Facility (NUCEF) is a large complex of research facilities where transuranic (TRU) elemen ts are used. Liquid and solid waste containing TRU elements is generat ed mainly in the treatment of fuel for critical experiments and in the research of reprocessing and TRU waste management in hot cells and gl ove boxes. The rational management of TRU wastes is a very important i ssue not only for NUCEF but also for Japan. An integrated TRU waste ma nagement system is being developed with NUCEF as the test bed. The bas ic policy for establishing the system is to classify wastes by TRU con centration, to reduce waste volume, and to maximize reuse of TRU eleme nts. The principal approach of the development program is to apply the outcomes of the research carried out in NUCEF. Key technologies are T RU measurement for classification of solid wastes and TRU separation a nd volume reduction for organic and aqueous wastes. Some technologies required for treating the wastes specific to the research activities i n NUCEF need further development. Specifically, the separation and sta bilization technologies for americium recovery from concentrated aqueo us waste, which is generated in dissolution of mixed oxide when prepar ing fuel for critical experiments, needs further research.