Research Reactor Aluminum Spent Fuel Treatment Options for Disposal (1998) / Chapter Skim
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During the next four decades, Savannah River will be responsible for receiving and storing approximately 42 MTHM2 of aluminum spent fuel at the site, processing it as necessary to put it into "road-ready" forms for eventual shipment to a repository, and providing for interim storage of the road-ready product until a repository is ready to accept it. In 1995, the Office of Spent Fuel Management of DOE established the Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel Task Team, or "Task Team," to help develop a technical strategy for disposal of this aluminum spent fuel.
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The Task Team used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to screen and rank the alternative treatment options, and it performed a sensitivity analysis of the results. The objective of this exercise was to eliminate from further consideration those options that were less likely to be implemented successfully because of technical, cost, or scheduling difficulties.
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. The statement of task for this study involved the examination of He following aspects of DOE's program for selecting and implementing a treatment option for aluminum spent filet: · examination of the set of technologies chosen by DOE and identification of other alternatives that DOE might consider; · examination of Me waste-package performance criteria developed by DOE to meet anticipated waste acceptance criteria for disposal of aluminum spent filet and identification of other factors Cat DOE might consider; and · to the extent possible given the schedule for this project, an assessment of He cost and timing aspects associated with implementation of each spent nuclear fuel treatment technology.
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FINDINGS RELATED TO THE SELECTION OF ALUMINUM SPENT FUEL TREATMENT OPTIONS The first charge of the statement of task involves the examination of the set of technologies chosen by DOE for treatment of aluminum spent fuel and the identification of other alternatives that DOE might consider. The first charge of the statement of task is addressed in Chapter 2 through a discussion of four questions, as summarized below: 1.
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The affirmative answer to this question is qualified because neither the Task Team nor over parts of DOE have developed a complete set of process requirements, particularly waste form requirements and other waste acceptance criteria for repository disposal, that would allow a detailed assessment of the treatment options to be made. Most significantly, there appears to be some uncertainty about whether HEU
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From page 6... ...
All of the technologies needed to make this system function successfully have been used in other applications, and it should be a relatively straightforward exercise to bring them together for aluminum spent fuel treatment. Melt and dilute treatment is worth pursuing despite the additional development and infrastructure requirements because it allows more control over waste form composition and performance characteristics than does direct codisposal.
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DOE should have given more careful consideration to the conventional reprocessing option for treating aluminum spent filet. There appear to be several technical advantages to this option over the others considered by the Task Team.9 This treatment option has been demonstrated to work for aluminum spent filet from production reactors, the costs and risks are well known, the necessary facilities are currently in operation at Savannah River, and the waste form (borosilicate glass)
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From page 8... ...
DOE-Savannah River also appears to have access to the draft documents being prepared by DOE-Yucca Mountain that could affect the acceptability of aluminum spent fuel for disposal at the repository. The answer is qualified because many of the waste acceptance criteria are preliminary and could change significantly as waste package and repository designs are refined.
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Specifically, the criterion that sets limits for plastic deformation of the aluminum spent fuel in the disposable canister seems overly restrictive and potentially costly. The justification given for this requirement is that it will provide for ready removal of the fuel from the canister, but it is not clear why DOE-Savannah River would ever want to remove spent file]
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a single treatment option may not be suitable for all types of aluminum spent fuel; (2) the aluminum spent filet program will have to maintain flexibility in selecting treatment options until there is more complete information on the WAC and other repository requirements; and (3)
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Do the cost estimates account for all of the major cost factors in the aluminum spent fuel treatment program? The answer to this question is "yes." The major cost factors of the system for receiving, treating, handling, storing, and disposing of aluminum spent filet for each of the treatment options were identified in the Task Team report, and systematic cost estimates for these major cost factors were developed in the alternative cost study report.
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However, spent fuel treatment is just one component of a much larger and complex aluminum spent fuel disposal
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Several parties have responsibilities for activities that take place in this program, and the decisions made by one party can have significant impacts on costs, schedules, and current or planned operations elsewhere in the program. DOE-Savannah River must select one or more treatment options for aluminum spent fuel Mat will meet repository waste acceptance criteria, which have yet to be finalized; design treatment and storage facilities that are sized appropriately to waste streams, which are subject to fixture change; and provide for interim storage of the processed waste until the repository, which is yet to be designed, licensed, or constructed, is able to accept it.
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As part of the phased decision strategy on the treatment option for aluminum spent filet, Me filet receipt sand storage schedule will have to be considered, and one of We important programmatic factors on this schedule is Me high cost of time. The prompt shipment of all aluminum spent file!
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From page 15... ...
The alternative cost study prepared by Westinghouse Savannah River Company suggested that conventional reprocessing was a costeffective treatment option when compared with direct co-disposal and melt and dilute treatment, the two primary treatment alternatives considered by the Task Team. However, the cost estimates for these three treatment alternatives have not been independently validated in this or any other study.
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The Highly Enriched Uranium Task Force noted in its predecisional draft report that the need for reprocessing for long-term DOE spent fuel management was unclear at present and that DOE should evaluate the near-term operational requirements to bring its facilities to a condition for transfer to the Office of Environmental Management for potential future operations. Indeed, as noted elsewhere in this report, DOE has or plans to reprocess some of its aluminum spent fuel in the Canyons at Savannah River because of safety concerns.
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From page 17... ...
As part of this decision strategy, it is recommended that DOE-Savannah River conduct a complete systems review to identify and understand the relationships among the various components of the aluminum spent filet disposal program. DOE-Savannah River also is encouraged to apply a phased strategy for selecting and implementing a treatment option for aluminum spent final that takes into account the considerations discussed above.
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