Radiological impact assessment for workers on treatment of radioactive spent resin from heavy water reactors.

In heavy water reactors, radionuclides are generated, then removed and treated by ion exchange resin. The disposal cost of spent resin is expected to increase because of the saturation of the existing storage capacity. In this study, a spent resin treatment process using microwaves is proposed, and a radiological safety assessment and cost evaluation of the spent resin treatment process are performed. A dose assessment was conducted by using the established exposure scenarios and the RESRAD-Build software. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify the main contributory radionuclide of the dose according to each exposure pathway because a spent resin consists of various radionuclides. The main exposure pathway was identified, and sensitivity analysis was applied to the working time and radioactivity concentrations of 14C, 60Co and 137Cs to confirm their effect on the dose. Finally, an optimal shielding system for a safe work environment was proposed. The disposal cost of the spent resin is reduced by lowering its radioactivity level via a treatment process using microwaves. The treatment process can reduce the radioactivity level through the desorption of 14C and can also recycle the 14C nuclide. These characteristics have great economic advantages from the viewpoint of the entire nuclear energy cycle. Thus, this study evaluates the radiological safety of the spent resin treatment process for actual application in a heavy water reactor power plant.

Specifying the Concept of Future Generations for Addressing Issues Related to High-Level Radioactive Waste.

The nuclear community frequently refers to the concept of "future generations" when discussing the management of high-level radioactive waste. However, this notion is generally not defined. In this context, we have to assume a wide definition of the concept of future generations, conceived as people who will live after the contemporary people are dead. This definition embraces thus each generation following ours, without any restriction in time. The aim of this paper is to show that, in the debate about nuclear waste, this broad notion should be further specified and to clarify the related implications for nuclear waste management policies. Therefore, we provide an ethical analysis of different management strategies for high-level waste in the light of two principles, protection of future generations-based on safety and security-and respect for their choice. This analysis shows that high-level waste management options have different ethical impacts across future generations, depending on whether the memory of the waste and its location is lost, or not. We suggest taking this distinction into account by introducing the notions of "close future generations" and "remote future generations", which has important implications on nuclear waste management policies insofar as it stresses that a retrievable disposal has fewer benefits than usually assumed.

Plasma filtering techniques for nuclear waste remediation.

Nuclear waste cleanup is challenged by the handling of feed stocks that are both unknown and complex. Plasma filtering, operating on dissociated elements, offers advantages over chemical methods in processing such wastes. The costs incurred by plasma mass filtering for nuclear waste pretreatment, before ultimate disposal, are similar to those for chemical pretreatment. However, significant savings might be achieved in minimizing the waste mass. This advantage may be realized over a large range of chemical waste compositions, thereby addressing the heterogeneity of legacy nuclear waste.

Modelling of nuclear power plant decommissioning financing.

Costs related to the decommissioning of nuclear power plants create a significant financial burden for nuclear power plant operators. This article discusses the various methodologies employed by selected European countries for financing of the liabilities related to the nuclear power plant decommissioning. The article also presents methodology of allocation of future decommissioning costs to the running costs of nuclear power plant in the form of fee imposed on each megawatt hour generated. The application of the methodology is presented in the form of a case study on a new nuclear power plant with installed capacity 1000 MW.

[Estimation of cost-saving for reducing radioactive waste from nuclear medicine facilities by implementing decay in storage (DIS) in Japan].

DIS has not yet been implemented in Japan as of 2011. Therefore, even if risk was negligible, medical institutions have to entrust radioactive temporal waste disposal to Japan Radio Isotopes Association (JRIA) in the current situation. To decide whether DIS should be implemented in Japan or not, cost-saving effect of DIS was estimated by comparing the cost that nuclear medical facilities pay. By implementing DIS, the total annual cost for all nuclear medical facilities in Japan is estimated to be decreased to 30 million yen or less from 710 million yen. DIS would save 680 million yen (96%) per year.

To recycle or not to recycle? An intergenerational approach to nuclear fuel cycles.

This paper approaches the choice between the open and closed nuclear fuel cycles as a matter of intergenerational justice, by revealing the value conflicts in the production of nuclear energy. The closed fuel cycle improve sustainability in terms of the supply certainty of uranium and involves less long-term radiological risks and proliferation concerns. However, it compromises short-term public health and safety and security, due to the separation of plutonium. The trade-offs in nuclear energy are reducible to a chief trade-off between the present and the future. To what extent should we take care of our produced nuclear waste and to what extent should we accept additional risks to the present generation, in order to diminish the exposure of future generation to those risks? The advocates of the open fuel cycle should explain why they are willing to transfer all the risks for a very long period of time (200,000 years) to future generations. In addition, supporters of the closed fuel cycle should underpin their acceptance of additional risks to the present generation and make the actual reduction of risk to the future plausible.

A tundra of sickness: the uneasy relationship between toxic waste, TEK, and cultural survival.

In 1992 an abandoned federal radioactive waste dump was discovered in Arctic Alaska. The discovery of this site, a byproduct of the Atomic Energy Commission program known as Project Chariot, sent shockwaves throughout Iñupiaq communities and ignited a heated controversy over the health effects of subsisting on a "tundra of sickness." Drawing on thirty months of ethnographic research in Arctic Alaska, this paper explores a host of environmental, social, and moral uncertainties sparked by toxic waste. Anthropological claims regarding the extent to which "traditional ecological knowledge" will empower local communities and foster self-determination are challenged. Ultimately the paper argues that TEK has been conceived in such restrictive terms that it misrepresents the dynamic, emerging, and at times contradictory responses to toxic waste in the Arctic today. Moreover, there is dire need for a more materialist, as opposed to discourse-based, approach that acknowledges the very real threat of toxic waste to physical, and therefore, cultural reproduction.

A security vulnerabilities assessment tool for interim storage facilities of low-level radioactive wastes.

Limited permanent low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) disposal capacity and correspondingly high disposal costs have resulted in the creation of numerous interim storage facilities for either decay-in-storage operations or longer term accumulation efforts. These facilities, which may be near the site of waste generation or in distal locations, often were not originally designed for the purpose of LLRW storage, particularly with regard to security. Facility security has become particularly important in light of the domestic terrorist acts of 2001, wherein LLRW, along with many other sources of radioactivity, became recognized commodities to those wishing to create disruption through the purposeful dissemination of radioactive materials. Since some LLRW materials may be in facilities that may exhibit varying degrees of security control sophistication, a security vulnerabilities assessment tool grounded in accepted criminal justice theory and security practice has been developed. The tool, which includes dedicated sections on general security, target hardening, criminalization benefits, and the presence of guardians, can be used by those not formally schooled in the security profession to assess the level of protection afforded to their respective facilities. The tool equips radiation safety practitioners with the ability to methodically and systematically assess the presence or relative status of various facility security aspects, many of which may not be considered by individuals from outside the security profession. For example, radiation safety professionals might not ordinarily consider facility lighting aspects, which is a staple for the security profession since it is widely known that crime disproportionately occurs more frequently at night or in poorly lit circumstances. Likewise, the means and associated time dimensions for detecting inventory discrepancies may not be commonly considered. The tool provides a simple means for radiation safety professionals to assess, and perhaps enhance in a reasonable fashion, the security of their interim storage operations. Aspects of the assessment tool can also be applied to other activities involving the protection of sources of radiation as well.

Cost-benefit of final radiological survey versus radioactive waste disposal.

A significant portion of the cost for D&D is related to low-level waste disposal, decontamination, and final radiological survey. For that reason, a careful cost-benefit analysis must be performed weighing the cost of decontaminating and radiologically surveying the building media for release against the cost of disposing of the material as radioactive waste. This cost-benefit analysis visibly came into play at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site during the recent D&D of two facilities.

Local and interregional economic analysis of large US Department of Energy waste management projects.

An economic simulation model was used to understand the local and interregional economic impacts of four alternative waste management technologies proposed for the US Department of Energy's Savannah River nuclear weapons site. The simulations of the four technologies, each of which will cost at least a billion dollars, were done for the period 2000-2015. The analyses show that differences in project costs are not directly reflected in local economic impacts because of differences among the technologies during the design, testing and construction phases; differences in locations where the design and pilot-testing would occur; and choices about how any of the technologies would be funded.

Evaluation and ranking of restoration strategies for radioactively contaminated sites.

An international project, whose aim was the development of a transparent and robust method for evaluating and ranking restoration strategies for radioactively contaminated sites (RESTRAT), was carried out under the Fourth Framework of the Nuclear Fission Safety Programme of the EU. The evaluation and ranking procedure used was based on the principles of justification and optimisation for radiation protection. A multi-attribute utility analysis was applied to allow for the inclusion of radiological health effects, economic costs and social factors. Values of these attributes were converted into utility values by applying linear utility functions and weighting factors, derived from scaling constants and expert judgement. The uncertainties and variabilities associated with these utility functions and weighting factors were dealt with by a probabilistic approach which utilised a Latin Hypercube Sampling technique. Potentially relevant restoration techniques were identified and their characteristics determined through a literature review. The methodology developed by this project has been illustrated by application to representative examples of different categories of contaminated sites; a waste disposal site, a uranium tailing site and a contaminated freshwater river.

Economic impact of accelerated cleanup on regions surrounding the U.S. DOE's major nuclear weapons sites.

The regional economic impacts of the U.S. Department of Energy's accelerated environmental cleanup plan are estimated for the major nuclear weapons sites in Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington. The analysis shows that the impact falls heavily on the three relatively rural regions around the Savannah River (SC), Hanford (WA), and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (ID) sites. A less aggressive phase-down of environmental management funds and separate funds to invest in education and infrastructure in the regions helps buffer the impacts on jobs, personal income, and gross regional product. Policy options open to the federal and state and local governments are discussed.

Radioactive materials in recycled metals--an update.

In April 1995, Health Physics published a review paper titled "Radioactive Materials in Recycled Metals." At that time, 35 accidental meltings of radioactive sources in metal mills were reported, including 22 in the U.S., along with 293 other events in the U.S. where radioactive material was found in metals for recycling. Since that date, there have been additional accidental meltings of radioactive sources in metal mills both in the U.S. and elsewhere. There also was an incident in Texas that involved stolen radioactive devices, which resulted in exposures of members of the general public. Also, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission took steps to address the underlying problem of inadequate control and accountability of radioactive materials licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Steel Manufacturers Association made available data collected by its members beginning in 1994 that expanded the database for radioactive materials found by the metal recycling industry in recycled metal scrap to over 2,300 reports as of 30 June 1997.