TRANSURANIC WASTES FROM LWR CYCLE 97 



The general-operations wastes from the fuel reprocessing plant are described in 

 Table 4. The three categories of solid and Uquid general-operations waste include all the 

 miscellaneous wastes; the volumes and activities can vary widely depending on plant 

 operation. The wastes are all packaged and transported to off-site geologic isolation after 

 treatment. Combustible wastes are incinerated to ensure that the treated wastes sent to 

 the geologic repository are nonflammable. High-efficiency particulate aerosol (HEPA) 

 filters are included in the "compactible trash and combustible wastes" category. The 

 filter cartridges are punched out and packaged with compaction; the combustible filter 

 frames are incinerated. The incinerator ashes are immobilized cement, as are all 

 concentrated Uquids, wet wastes, and particulate soUds. The remaining failed equipment 

 and noncompactible, noncombustible wastes are disassembled and packaged. Large 

 equipment is disassembled to fit into boxes 1.2 by 1.8 by 1.8 m. All remaining 

 general-operations wastes are packaged in 55- or 80-gal drums. 



High-level liquid waste is described in Table 5. Although of relatively small volume, 

 particularly after treatment, high-level liquid waste initially contains over 100 times more 

 radioactivity than the rest of the wastes combined. The first solvent-extraction battery in 

 the Purex process separates plutonium and uranium from the remaining radionuclides. 

 The plutonium and uranium are extracted into an immiscible organic fluid and separated 

 from the starting aqueous solution, which still contains over 99% of the nonvolatile 

 fission products and actinides other than plutonium and uranium. After concentration 

 this aqueous solution becomes high-level liquid waste. Since the extraction of plutonium 

 and uranium is not perfect, some is left behind as "waste losses." The amount of 

 plutonium and uranium present in high-level liquid waste can vary owing to waste loss. It 

 is assumed that 0.5% of the plutonium and uranium in the spent fuel ends up in the 

 high-level liquid waste. 



The reference treatment for high-level liquid waste used for Table 5 calculations is 

 vitrification. This treatment encapsulates the waste in a durable, temperature- and 

 radiation-resistant glass that is cast in stainless-steel canisters. The canisters are 

 hermetically sealed before they leave the fuel reprocessing plant. 



The second most radioactive waste from the fuel reprocessing plant includes the hulls 

 and assembly hardware (Table 6). This soUd waste results from the feed-preparation step 

 in the fuel reprocessing plant. In the feed-preparation step, the fuel assemblies are 

 mechanically chopped to expose the fuel so that it can be dissolved in nitric acid. The 

 hulls are the chopped segments of Zircaloy tubing from which the UO2 fuel has been 

 dissolved. The assembly hardware consists mainly of the fuel-assembly end fittings, which 

 are removed before the fuel is dissolved. 



The activity in hulls and assembly hardware wastes is from (1) neutron activation of 

 Zircaloy and stainless steel; (2) neutron activation of trace materials, such as uranium in 

 the cladding metal; and (3) residual fission products and actinides, which were either not 

 dissolved or had diffused into the metal surfaces so that they could not be dissolved. 



Gaseous streams originating in a fuels reprocessing plant must be treated to remove 

 airborne radioactive materials before they are discharged to the atmosphere. The principal 

 gas streams include dissolver offgas, process vessel off-gases, ventilation air, vaporized 

 excess water, and off-gases from the uranium fluorination process. The transuranic 

 elements contained in the untreated gaseous streams are a small fraction of the airborne 

 radioactive materials, and most are transported by entrainment. 



Estimated transuranic activities discharged to the atmosphere following two different 

 treatments are given in Table 7. The treatment in case 1 (Fig. 1) consists of directing the 



