133. 



8.5 These high-level wastes , as produced by processing plants , have 

 concentrations varying from 0.5 gals, to 20 gals, per gram of U -* 

 burned. (^9) One figure used for calculations of waste volumes result- 

 ing from solvent extraction is 820 gals, per metric ton of fuel charged 

 to the reactor, which is equivalent, at 4000 mwd/ton, to 2 gals, of 

 waste per mwd of heat produced by a nuclear reactor. (30) 



8.6 The principal problems in connection with the transportation and 

 storage of radioactive waste arise from its chemical character, the 

 energy given off as heat, and radioactivity. The waste is produced as 

 an acid solution, and, unless neutralized by an alkali, such as sodium 

 hydroxide, is corrosive to processing equipment. The corrosion is 

 increased with high temperature and it may, therefore, be desirable 

 that the temperature of waste in metallic storage be moderate; below 

 120-150° F. is desirable. 



8.7 Depending upon the concentration of fission products in the waste, 

 the power produced per unit of fuel charged to the reactor, and the de- 

 cay cooling time, fission products in the waste will produce heat at 

 the rate of about 1 to 3 Btu/gal/hr.' ' This rate of heat production 

 would be sufficient to raise high-level waste above the boiling point in 

 a few days. In storage of waste underground in liquid form, it would 

 therefore be necessary to provide means for cooling the waste and re- 

 moving the heat, unless the waste were greatly diluted. 



8.8 The radioactivity of liquid waste from natural uranium is from 20 

 to 400 curies per gallon depending upon its chemical character . v^Z) 

 Adequate protection of personnel from this amount of energy requires 

 heavy shielding. The weight of the shielding adds greatly to the cost 

 of transportation. 



9. WASTE PRODUCTION IN NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS 



9.1 In a preceding paragraph it was assumed that the thermal capacity 

 of nuclear power plants would reach 700,000 mw by the year 2000, re- 

 quiring a feed of about 63,500 tons of natural uranium, or equivalent, 

 per year. Using a figure of 820 gallons of high-activity waste per metric 

 ton of fuel charged gives a total annual volume of waste of about 52 mil- 

 lion gallons, equivalent to 7,000,000 cu. ft. or about 160 acre-feet. If 

 this power were produced in 350 power plants, the amount of underground 

 space required annually for each power plant would be about 0.5 acre- 

 foot. 



