Nuclear Back-end and Transmutation Technology for Waste Disposal: Beyond the Fukushima Accident

331 Pages·2015·13.54 MB·English

by  Ken Nakajima (eds.)

Ken Nakajima Editor
Nuclear Back-end
and Transmutation
Technology for
Waste Disposal
Beyond the Fukushima Accident
Nuclear Back-end and Transmutation
Technology for Waste Disposal

Ken Nakajima
Editor
Nuclear Back-end
and Transmutation
Technology for Waste
Disposal
Beyond the Fukushima Accident
Editor
KenNakajima
ResearchReactorInstitute
KyotoUniversity
Sennan-gun,Osaka
Japan
ISBN978-4-431-55110-2 ISBN978-4-431-55111-9(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-4-431-55111-9
SpringerTokyoHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
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Foreword
On March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake and the resultant tsunami struck the
Tohoku area of Japan, causing serious damage to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
PowerPlant(NPP)andthereleaseofasignificantquantityofradionuclidesintothe
surrounding environment. This accident underlined the necessity of establishing
morecomprehensivescientificresearchforpromotingsafetyinnucleartechnology.
In this situation, the Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute (KURRI)
establishedanewresearchprogramcalledthe“KURResearchProgramforScien-
tificBasisofNuclearSafety”in2012.
Nuclear safety study includes not only the prevention of nuclear accidents but
also the safety measures after the accident from a wider point of view ensuring
thesafetyofresidents.Alongtimeisneededfortheimprovementofthesituation,
but the social needs for the reinforcement of nuclear safety increases rapidly.
The advancement of disaster prevention technology for natural disasters such as
earthquakesandtsunamis,thereinforcementofmeasurestocountertheeffectsof
accidents, and the reinforcement of the safety management of spent fuels and
radioactive wastes are demanded, not to mention the reinforcement of nuclear
reactor safety. Also required are the underlying mechanism investigation and
accurate assessment for the effect of radiation on the human body and life.
As with all such premises, detailed inspection and analysis of the accident are
indispensable.
In the Research Program for the Scientific Basis of Nuclear Safety, an annual
seriesofinternationalsymposiawasplannedalongwithspecificresearchactivities.
The first in the series of symposia, entitled “The International Symposium on
Environmental Monitoring and Dose Estimation of Residents after Accident of
TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Stations”, was held on December
14, 2012, concerning the radiological effects of the accident on the public, and
covering a wide range of monitoring and dose assessment activities after the
accident.Althoughtheproceedingsofthesymposiumhadbeenpublished,amore
comprehensiveandconclusivebookwaspublishedwithopenaccessattherequests
ofmanypeopleincludingresidentsneartheaccidentsite.
v
vi Foreword
Followingthefirstone,thesecondannualsymposiuminthisserieswasheldon
November 28, 2013, dealing with nuclear back-end issues and the role of nuclear
transmutation technology after the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi NPP.
Theaccidenthascalleduponustofocusourattentiononthelargeamountofspent
nuclearfuelsstoredinNPPsaswellasontheimpactsoftheaccident.Infact,public
anxietyregardingthetreatmentanddisposalofhigh-levelradioactivewasteswhich
require long-term control is now growing, while the government policy on the
back-endofthenuclearfuelcycleisunpredictableintheaftermathoftheaccident.
The issues are not simply technical, they are critically important not only for
dealing with the accident but also for pursuing nuclear energy production in the
world.
This publication summarizes the current status of the back-end issues and of
research and development on nuclear transmutation technology for radioactive
wastemanagement.Itisexpectedtocontributetobetterunderstandingandfurther
discussionoftheissues.
OnbehalfofKURRI,Iwishtothankallthecontributorstothisbookaswellas
thereviewers.KURRIhopesthatthispublicationwillpromotefurtherprogressin
nuclearsafetyresearchandwillcontributetothereductionofpublicanxietyafter
theaccident.
KyotoUniversityResearchReactorInstitute HirotakeMoriyama
Kyoto,Japan
Preface
TheaccidentattheFukushimaDaiichiNuclearPowerPlant(NPP),whichoccurred
onMarch11,2011,hascausedustofocusourattentiononalargeamountofspent
nuclearfuelsstoredinNPPs.Inaddition,publicanxietyregardingthetreatmentand
disposalofhigh-levelradioactivewastesthatrequirelong-termcontrolisgrowing.
TheJapanesepolicyontheback-endofthenuclearfuelcycleisstillunpredictable
intheaftermathoftheaccident;moreover,theseback-endissuesareinevitableas
longasnuclearenergyisused.Therefore,researchanddevelopmentforenhancing
the safety of various processes involved in nuclear energy production is being
activelypursuedworldwide.Inparticular,thenucleartransmutationtechnology—
employedforreducingthetoxicityofhighlyradioactivewastes—hasbeendrawing
significantattention.
IntheKURResearchProgramforScientificBasisofNuclearSafety,theKyoto
University Research Reactor Institute organized an international symposium
“Nuclear back-end issues and the role of nuclear transmutation technology after
theaccidentofTEPCO’sFukushimaDaiichiNuclearPowerStations”inNovember
28th,2013.Undersuchcircumstancesinwhichnuclearback-endissuesandtherole
of nuclear transmutation technology after the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima
Daiichi NPP is gaining greater concern, this timely publication highlights the
following topics: (1) Development of accelerator-driven systems (ADS), which is
a brand-new reactor concept for transmutation of highly radioactive wastes;
(2)Nuclearreactorsystemsfromthepointofviewofthenuclearfuelcycle.How
toreducenuclearwastesorhowtotreatthemincludingthedebrisfromTEPCO’s
Fukushimanuclearpowerstationsisdiscussed;and(3)Environmentalradioactiv-
ity,radioactivewastetreatment,andgeologicaldisposalpolicy.
State-of-the-arttechnologiesforoverallback-endissuesofthenuclearfuelcycle
aswellasthetechnologiesoftransmutationarepresentedhere.Thechapterauthors
are actively involved in the development of ADSs and transmutation-related
vii
viii Preface
technologies.Thefutureoftheback-endissuesisveryuncertainaftertheaccident
in Fukushima Daiichi NPP, and this book provides an opportunity for readers to
considerthefuturedirectionofthoseissues.
Sennan-gun,Osaka,Japan KenNakajima
Cooperators
Jun-ichiKatakura NagaokaUniversityofTechnology,Nagaoka,Japan
Tomohiko TohokuUniversity,Sendai,Japan
Iwasaki
AkioYamamoto NagoyaUniversity,Nagoya,Japan
KengoHashimoto KinkiUniversity,Osaka,Japan
KenKurosaki OsakaUniversity,Osaka,Japan
Kazufumi JapanAtomicEnergyAgency,Ibaraki,Japan
Tsujimoto
KazuyaIdemitsu KyusyuUniversity,Fukuoka,Japan
YoshihiroIshi ResearchReactorInstitute,KyotoUniversity,Osaka,Japan
YasushiSaito ResearchReactorInstitute,KyotoUniversity,Osaka,Japan
CheolHoPyeon ResearchReactorInstitute,KyotoUniversity,Osaka,Japan
ToshiyukiFujii ResearchReactorInstitute,KyotoUniversity,Osaka,Japan
Toshihiro ResearchReactorInstitute,KyotoUniversity,Osaka,Japan
Yamamoto
JoonhongAnh UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley,CA,USA
HamidA¨ıt StudiecentrumvoorKernenergie—Centred’e´tudede
Abderrahim l’EnergieNucle´aire,Mol,Belgium
ThierryDujardin OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment/
NuclearEnergyAgency,ParisFrance
ix