Environment and Radwaste Management
Radioactive waste management should be recognized as an issue that is significant not only to the fusion community, but also to the global environment. As fusion energy becomes a contributor to the world's energy supply by the mid 21st century, managing the many thousand cubic meters of active materials after plant decommissioning represents a real challenge to the fusion industry and cannot be relegated to the back-end as only a disposal issue. Scenarios for radwaste management include disposal in geological repositories, recycling and reuse within the nuclear industry, and clearance or release to the commercial market if the materials contain traces of radioactivity. Most fusion plants generate Class-C low-level waste, requiring near-surface burial.
The wealth of experience accumulated over the past 30-40 years of fusion power plant studies must be forged in a new strategy to reshape all aspects of handling the continual stream of radioactive materials during operation and after plant decommissioning. With tighter environmental controls and the political difficulty of building new repositories worldwide, the disposal option should be replaced with more environmentally attractive scenarios, such as:
- Recycle and reuse within the nuclear industry
- Clear or release to the commercial market if materials contain traces of radioactivity.
There is a growing international effort in support of this new trend. The introduction of the clearance category for slightly radioactive materials is an important recent development to accommodate most decommissioned waste at a cost much lower than that for traditional low-level waste produced by the majority of U.S. power plants.
In the late 1990s, we introduced the clearance option to various design concepts. The majority of the in-vessel components cannot be cleared from regulatory control even after an extended storage of 100-500 y, according to the clearance guidelines by the IAEA and the U.S. NRC. The bioshield, cryostat, and individual magnet constituents qualify for clearance. Representing 75-80% of the total waste volume, the cleared materials save a substantial disposal cost and, more importantly, free ample space in the repositories for other radwaste.
Just recently, we applied the recycling approach to the non-clearable in-vessel components (blanket, shield, and vacuum vessel). All components can potentially be recycled using conventional and advanced remote handling equipment. The online removal of specific radionuclides during recycling prolongs the reusability of materials. Transmutation of these byproducts in fusion devices is one of the means being explored to avoid their geological burial.
As an important goal for U.S. power plant studies, the national ARIES project is committed to radwaste minimization. The focus on compact devices with radwaste reduction mechanisms (such as blanket segmentation and well-optimized components) contributed most significantly to the factor of 2-4 difference in radwaste volume between recent ARIES plants and previous designs developed prior to 1995.
To make fusion a viable energy source with minimal environmental impact, we highly recommend minimizing the radwaste by design, and recycling/clearing all fusion components, if economically and technologically feasible, avoiding the disposal approach, meaning no long-term radwaste burden on future generations.
Our recent activity placed UW as the leading U.S. institute for radwaste
management assessments. This activity drew the attention of our colleagues
in Europe, Russia, Japan, and S. Korea,
requesting collaboration with UW in this unique area of research.
Publications
UWFDM-691 The Impact of D-3He Fusion Reactors on Waste Disposal; W.F. Vogelsang and H.Y Khater, May 1987 [published in Fusion Engineering and Design 5 (1998) 367-377]. (13 pages, 734 kB)
UWFDM-641 Waste Disposal of Candidate Structural Materials in Fusion Reactors Utilizing Different Fuel Cycles; H.M. Attaya, M.E. Sawan, G.L. Kulcinski, April 1991 [published in Fusion Technology 22 (August 1992), pp. 115-123]. (12 pages, 728 kB)
UWFDM-925 Activation and Waste Disposal of the ARIES-II Tokamak Fusion Power Reactor; H.Y. Khater, October 1993 [presented at 15th IEEE/NPSS Symposium on Fusion Engineering, 11-14 October 1993, Hyannis MA]. (7 pages, 816 kB)
UWFDM-1131 Nuclear Power Without Radioactive Waste - The Promise of Lunar Helium-3; G.L. Kulcinski and H.H. Schmitt, July 2000 [presented at the Second Annual Lunar Development Conference, ``Return to the Moon II'', 20-21 July 2000, Las Vegas NV]. (9 pages, 228 kB)
UWFDM-1140 Clearance Issues for Advanced Fusion Power Plants; L. El-Guebaly, D. Henderson, A. Abdou, P. Wilson, and the ARIES Team, October 2000 [presented at the 14th Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy, October 15-19, 2000, Park City UT; published in Fusion Technology, 39 (2001) 986-990]. (7 pages, 182 kB)
UWFDM-1147 Activation, Decay Heat, and Waste Disposal Analyses for the ARIES-AT Power Plant; D. Henderson, L. El-Guebaly, P. Wilson, A. Abdou, and the ARIES Team, October 2000 [presented at the 14th Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy, October 15-19, 2000, Park City UT]. (7 pages, 190 kB)
Target Recycling: Problem Definition and Preliminary Analysis for ARIES-IFE-HIB; L. El-Guebaly, October 2001 [ARIES E-Meeting, 24 October 2001].
(16 pages, 221 kB)
UWFDM-1154 Activation of Target Coatings/Hohlraums and Influence on Waste Management of IFE Chambers; L.A. El-Guebaly, D.L. Henderson, P.P.H. Wilson, A.E. Abdou and the ARIES Team, November 2001. (17 pages, 259 kB)
UWFDM-1174 Comparison of Radwaste Volume and Hazard in Liquid Wall and Conventional Solid Wall Concepts; M.Z. Youssef, M.E. Sawan, H.Y. Khater, January 2002 [Presented at the 19th IEEE/NPSS Symposium on Fusion Engineering (SOFE), 22-25 January 2002, Atlantic City NJ]. (7 pages, 724 kB)
UWFDM-1196 Component Lifetime Comparison and Waste Volume in CLiFF Sn/Flibe and Sn/LiPb Blankets; M. Youssef and M. Sawan, April 2002 [presented at the 6th International Symposium on Fusion Nuclear Technology, 7-12 April 2002, San Diego CA; published in Fusion Engineering and Design, vol. 63-64, pp. 277-283 (2002)].
UWFDM-1195 Radwaste Volume in Lithium and Flibe Thick Liquid Wall and Comparison to Conventional SW Concepts; M. Youssef and M. Sawan, April 2002 [presented at the 6th International Symposium on Fusion Nuclear Technology, 7-12 April 2002, San Diego CA; published in Fusion Engineering and Design, vol. 63-64, pp. 263-269 (2002)].
UWFDM-1155 Need for Special Burning Module in Fusion Devices to Transmute Fusion High-Level Waste; L.A. El-Guebaly, June 2002. (14 pages, 337 kB)
UWFDM-1182 Activation Assessment for IFE Thin Liquid Wall Materials and Proposed Variations for Liquid Waste Minimization; L. El-Guebaly, P. Wilson, D. Henderson, L. Waganer, R. Raffray and the ARIES Team, November 2002. (18 pages, 1.3 MB)
UWFDM-1183 Recycling of IFE Target Materials versus One-Shot Use Scenario: Key Issues and Preferred Option; L.A. El-Guebaly, P. Wilson, D. Henderson, A. Varuttamaseni and the ARIES Team, November 2002. (24 pages, 978 kB)
UWFDM-1219 Feasibility of Target Material Recycling as Waste Management Alternative; L. El-Guebaly, P. Wilson, D. Henderson, A. Varuttamaseni, and the ARIES Team, October 2003 [published in Fusion Science and Technology 46, No. 3, 506 (2004)]. (24 pages, 903 kB)
UWFDM-1227 Radiological Impacts of IFE Target and RTL Recycling Option: A Comparative Study; L. El-Guebaly, P. Wilson, M. Sawan, D. Henderson, A. Varuttamaseni and the ARIES and Z-Pinch Teams, July 2004. (19 pages, 788 kB)
UWFDM-1232 Recycling Issues Facing Target and RTL Materials of Inertial Fusion Designs; L. El-Guebaly, P. Wilson, M. Sawan, D. Henderson, A. Varuttamaseni and the ARIES and Z-Pinch Teams, July 2004 [presented at the 15th International Symposium on Heavy Ion Inertial Fusion, 7-11 June 2004, Princeton, NJ; Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Journal, Section A, 544 (2005) 104-110]. (12 pages, 652 kB)
UWFDM-1231 Status of US, EU, and IAEA Clearance Standards and Estimates of Fusion Radwaste Classifications; L. El-Guebaly, P. Wilson, D. Paige, and the ARIES and Z-Pinch Teams, December 2004. (18 pages, 907 kB)
UWFDM-1270 Managing Fusion High Level Waste - A Strategy for Burning the Long-Lived Products in Fusion Devices; L.A. El-Guebaly, May 2005 [presented at the Seventh International Symposium on Fusion Nuclear Technology, May 22-27, 2005, Tokyo, Japan; Fusion Engineering and Design, 81 (2006) 1321-1326]. (13 pages, 632 kB)
UWFDM-1271 Evolution of Clearance Standards and Implications for Radwaste Management of Fusion Power Plants; L.A. El-Guebaly, P. Wilson, D. Paige, and the ARIES and Z-Pinch Teams, July 2005 (revised August 2005) [ Fusion Science and Technology, 49 (2006) 62-73]. (29 pages, 1.1 MB)
UWFDM-1279 Assessment of the Activation, Decay Heat, and Waste Disposal of a Dual Coolant Lithium Lead Test Blanket Module for ITER; M.Z. Youssef and M.E. Sawan, September 2005 [presented at the 21st IEEE/NPSS Symposium on Fusion Engineering (SOFE), 26-29 September 2005, Knoxville TN]. (8 pages, 1.2 MB)
UWFDM-1284 Recycling and Clearance of the Slightly Activated RTLs of the 2005 Z-Pinch Design; L.A. El-Guebaly, P. Wilson, M.E. Sawan, October 2005. (10 pages, 725 kB)
UWFDM-1285 Current Challenges Facing Recycling and Clearance of Fusion Radioactive Materials; L.A. El-Guebaly, R.A. Forrest, T.D. Marshall, N.P. Taylor, K. Tobita, M. Zucchetti, November 2005. (20 pages, 1.3 MB)
UWFDM-1286 The Feasibility of Recycling and Clearance of Active Materials from Fusion Power Plants; M. Zucchetti, L.A. El-Guebaly, R.A. Forrest, T.D. Marshall, N.P. Taylor, K. Tobita, November 2005 [submitted to the 12th International Conference on Fusion Reactor Materials, 4-9 December 2005, Santa Barbara CA; published in J. Nucl. Matls. 367-370 (2007) 1355-1360]. (12 pages, 1.2 MB)
UWFDM-1294 Clearance Considerations for Slightly-Irradiated Components of Fusion Power Plants; L. El-Guebaly, R. Pampin, M. Zucchetti, July 2006 [presented at the 8th IAEA Technical Meeting on Fusion Power Plant Safety, Vienna, Austria, 10-13 July 2006; published in Nuclear Fusion 47 (2007) 480-484]. (10 pages, 707 kB)
UWFDM-1293 Evaluation of Disposal, Recycling, and Clearance Scenarios for Managing ARIES Radwaste after Plant Decommissioning; L. El-Guebaly, July 2006 [presented at the 8th IAEA Technical Meeting on Fusion Power Plant Safety, Vienna, Austria, 10-13 July 2006; published in Nuclear Fusion 47 (2007) 485-488]. (9 pages, 574 kB)
UWFDM-1292 Insights from Clearance Assessments of Fusion Power Plants: ARIES and PPCS; L. El-Guebaly, R. Pampin, M. Zucchetti, July 2006. (20 pages, 970 kB)
Clearance Considerations for Slightly-Irradiated Components of Fusion Power Plants; L. El-Guebaly, R. Pampin, and M. Zucchetti, July 10-13, 2006 [8th IAEA TM on Fusion Power Plant Safety].