60 BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ATOMIC RADIATION 



In over-all power reactor operations, a major technological waste problem results from 

 the chemical processing of irradiated reactor fuels. Present plans call for transportation of 

 irradiated fuel elements from power reactor locations to AEC reprocessing facilities. Sub- 

 sequently, the resulting highly radioactive wastes would be directed to underground tank 

 storage. 



The advancement of power reactor technology and more widespread geographical 

 distribution of reactors may require further development of engineering criteria for the design, 

 construction and operation of radioactive waste treatment systems for these facilities. Oper- 

 ating data for one year for the Shippingport station indicates that the waste treatment plant 

 design and performance are such that only" 1 / 10 to 1 / 100 of the quantity of radioactivity con- 

 sidered safe for dispersal to the environment is being discharged. Other power reactor waste 

 treatment systems now under design and/or under construction are equally conservative. 

 This point is further exemplified by the fact that neither ground disposal nor utilization of 

 possible dilution capacity of receiving streams is presently planned for disposal of liquid wastes 

 at large U. S. power reactor sites. 



6. Rapid growth in the use of radionuclides in the fields of medicine, industry, agricul- 

 ture, and research continues. During the past three years, the number of institutions using 

 by-product (isotope) material has increased from 3200 to 4500, an increase of approximately 

 40 percent. In evaluating the potential or actual waste problems associated with the use of 

 radionuclides, it should be noted that the bulk of the activity shipped from Oak Ridge Na- 

 tional Laboratory is in sealed, essentially non-dispersable sources. Other laboratory uses of 

 radionuclides involve experimental work utilizing microcurie or low millicurie amounts of 

 material. In addition, radioisotopes are used extensively in medical diagnosis and therapy. 

 The wastes resulting from these applications are generally of a "low-level" nature and disposal 

 under the AEC regulatory program is carried out in accordance with established Federal 

 regulations. Sealed sources that have decayed to a level of radioactivity that limits their 

 further usefulness generally are disposed of by land burial at AEC installations. 



III. Problem Areas Now Under Investigation 



1. As previously indicated, the ultimate disposal of high-level liquid wastes associated 

 with chemical reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel constitutes a major technological prob- 

 lem to be resolved in the waste disposal field. It appears, however, that during the next 5 to 10 

 years this problem will be restricted to a relatively few (probably less than five) AEC loca- 

 tions. Chemical reprocessing of power reactor fuels is currently under study by private or- 

 ganizations. The handling of the associated highly radioactive wastes will require detailed 

 technical and administrative consideration. While tank storage represents an interim answer 

 to the problem for the present and immediate future, it is the general consensus that such 

 storage is not the practical, long term solution from an engineering standpoint. It is expected 

 that waste volumes will be reduced with the development of new and improved chemical 

 processing and waste treatment systems. Currently, major research and development efforts 

 in the waste disposal field are directed toward investigation of several promising solutions to 

 the problem and a program for demonstrating engineering feasibility by pilot plant and field 

 scale testing. 



The following approaches are among those being pursued in the AEC's waste disposal 

 development program: (1) the fixation or immobilization of fission products in a solid form. 



