Regulatory Challenges in the Age of Nuclear Waste and Decommissioning
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Load more
Recommended publications
-
Tering Distributions Using MCNP Simulations of Critical Measurements and Simplified Calculation Benchmarks K.S
International Conference on Nuclear Data for Science and Technology 2007 DOI: Assessment of evaluated (n,d) energy-angle elastic scat- tering distributions using MCNP simulations of critical measurements and simplified calculation benchmarks K.S. Kozier Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Chalk River Laboratories, Chalk River, Ontario, Canada, K0J 1J0 Abstract. Different evaluated (n,d) energy-angle elastic scattering distributions produce k-effective differences in MCNP5 simulations of critical experiments involving heavy water (D2O) of sufficient magnitude to suggest a need for new (n,d) scattering measurements and/or distributions derived from modern theoretical nuclear models, especially at neutron energies below a few MeV. The present work focuses on the small reactivity change of <1 mk that is observed in the MCNP5 D2O coolant-void-reactivity calculation bias for simulations of two pairs of critical experiments performed in the ZED-2 reactor at the Chalk River Laboratories when different nuclear data libraries are used for deuterium. The deuterium data libraries tested include ENDF/B-VII.0, ENDF/B-VI.4, JENDL-3.3 and a new evaluation, labelled Bonn-B, which is based on recent theoretical nuclear-model calculations. Comparison calculations were also performed for a simplified, two-region, spherical model having an inner, 250-cm radius, homogeneous sphere of UO2, without and with deuterium, and an outer 20-cm-thick deuterium reflector. 1 Introduction The present work focuses on the sensitivity of the ZED-2 MCNP5 CVR calculation bias to -
Nuclear in Canada NUCLEAR ENERGY a KEY PART of CANADA’S CLEAN and LOW-CARBON ENERGY MIX Uranium Mining & Milling
Nuclear in Canada NUCLEAR ENERGY A KEY PART OF CANADA’S CLEAN AND LOW-CARBON ENERGY MIX Uranium Mining & Milling . Nuclear electricity in Canada displaces over 50 million tonnes of GHG emissions annually. Electricity from Canadian uranium offsets more than 300 million tonnes of GHG emissions worldwide. Uranium Processing – Re ning, Conversion, and Fuel Fabrication Yellowcake is re ned at Blind River, Ontario, PELLETS to produce uranium trioxide. At Port Hope, Ontario, Nuclear Power Generation and Nuclear Science & uranium trioxide is At plants in southern Technology TUBES converted. URANIUM DIOXIDE Ontario, fuel pellets are UO2 is used to fuel CANDU loaded into tubes and U O UO URANIUM Waste Management & Long-term Management 3 8 3 nuclear reactors. assembled into fuel YUKON TRIOXIDE UO2 Port Radium YELLOWCAKE REFINING URANIUM bundles for FUEL BUNDLE Shutdown or Decommissioned Sites TRIOXIDE UF is exported for 6 CANDU reactors. UO enrichment and use Rayrock NUNAVUT 3 CONVERSION UF Inactive or Decommissioned Uranium Mines and 6 in foreign light water NORTHWEST TERRITORIES Tailings Sites URANIUM HEXAFLUORIDE reactors. 25 cents 400 kg of COAL Beaverlodge, 2.6 barrels of OIL Gunnar, Lorado NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR McClean Lake = 3 Cluff Lake FUEL PELLET Rabbit Lake of the world’s 350 m of GAS BRITISH COLUMBIA Cigar Lake 20% McArthur River production of uranium is NVERSION Key Lake QUEBEC CO mined and milled in northern FU EL ALBERTA SASKATCHEWAN MANITOBA F Saskatchewan. AB G R University of IN IC ONTARIO P.E.I. IN A Saskatchewan The uranium mining F T E IO 19 CANDU reactors at Saskatchewan industry is the largest R N TRIUMF NEW BRUNSWICK Research Council NOVA SCOTIA private employer of Gentilly-1 & -2 Whiteshell Point Lepreau 4 nuclear power generating stations Rophton NPD Laboratories Indigenous people in CANDU REACTOR Chalk River Laboratories Saskatchewan. -
The AECL Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) Was Established in 1944 In
WM’05 Conference, February 27 – March 3, 2005, Tucson, AZ STORED LIQUID WASTE REMEDIATION PROGRAM, PHASE 1, AT CHALK RIVER LABORATORIES R.P. Denault, P. Heeney, E. Plaice, K. Schruder, Waste Remediation & Enhancement Projects Division D. Wilder, Site Engineering & Project Management Division W. Graham, Components & Systems Division AECL, Chalk River Laboratories, MS #E4 Chalk River, ON, Canada K0J 1J0 [email protected] ABSTRACT Liquid intermediate- and high-level radioactive wastes presently stored in 21 tanks at the Chalk River Laboratories are being retrieved, conditioned and consolidated into a new storage system. The Liquid Waste Transfer and Storage project is responsible for designing, constructing and commissioning the storage system, specifying and procuring retrieval and transfer equipment and developing operating, maintenance and training procedures and materials. The project has characterized the existing wastes and completed an inspection of the present storage tanks and vaults. The conceptual design has progressed to include a criticality safety assessment, a safeguards analysis, selection of retrieval and transfer technologies and conceptual design of the new storage system. The transfer and collection of wastes from these 21 tanks will be a step forward in the goal of achieving a long-term management solution for the wastes. This paper provides an overview of the development of the conceptual design, including the new storage system, the retrieval system and the transfer systems, the laboratory program that supports the blending sequence and waste conditioning and the tank and vault inspection. INTRODUCTION Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) is a Federal Crown Corporation charged with leading the development of peaceful applications of nuclear technology in Canada. -
Stable Isotopes of Niobium Properties of Niobium
Stable Isotopes of Niobium Isotope Z(p) N(n) Atomic Mass Natural Abundance Nuclear Spin Nb-93 41 52 92.906376 100% 9/2+ Niobium was discovered in 1801 by Charles Hatchett. Its name comes from the Greek name Niobe, meaning “daughter of Tantalus” (tantalum is closely related to niobium in the periodic table of elements). Because the niobium was discovered in an ore called columbite, it was known temporarily as columbium. Niobium, a gray or silvery soft metal, is ductile and very malleable at room temperature and does not tarnish or oxidize at room temperature. It only reacts with oxygen and halogens when heated. It is less corrosion- resistant than tantalum is at high temperatures. Niobium is not attacked by nitric acid up to 100 °C but is vigorously attacked by the mixture of nitric and hydrofluoric acids. It is unaffected at room temperature by most acids and by aqua regia. It is attacked by alkaline solutions, to some extent, at all temperatures. Niobium becomes a superconductor at 9.15 °K. It is insoluble in water, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and aqua regia; soluble in hydrofluoric acid; and soluble in fused alkali hydroxide. At ordinary temperatures niobium does not react with most chemicals; however, the metal is slowly attacked by hydrofluoric acid and dissolves and is attacked by hydrogen fluoride and fluorine gases, forming niobium pentafluoride. Niobium is oxidized by air at 350 ºC, first forming a pale yellow oxide film of increasing thickness, which changes its color to blue. On further heating to 400 ºC, it converts to a black film of niobium dioxide. -
Chalk River Laboratories
Canada’s Nuclear Sacrifice Area Considerations related to the relicensing of the Chalk River Laboratories a brief submitted to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission by the Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County prepared by Gordon Edwards Ph.D. September 6, 2011 Considerations related to the relicensing of the Chalk River Laboratories Table of Contents List of Recommendations 3 Introduction 5 The Licence Application 6 Plan of the Present Submission 9 Importance of the NRU Reactor 10 The Reason for the 2007 Shutdown 11 The NRX Accident 12 The Nuclear Safety Culture 14 The Authority and Independence of the CNSC 15 The MAPLE Reactors 17 The NRU Reactor Vessel Leak of 2009 18 A Caveat on the Continued Operation of NRU 20 Mitigating Radioactive Releases at CRL 22 Case 1: The Rod Bay Leak (onsite) Case 2: Tritium Effluents into the Ottawa River (offsite) Reporting Radioactive Emissions from CRL 26 The Hazards of Isotope Production 28 Deterioration of the FISST 30 Eliminating Weapons Grade Uranium 32 Repatriation of Irradiated HEU to the USA 33 Map and Inventory of Radioactive Wastes at CRL 35 The Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program 36 Appendix: Towards a Healthy Regulatory Culture 39 2 Considerations related to the relicensing of the Chalk River Laboratories List of Recommendations: 1. That the CRL licence application be split into several: one for the NRU reactor (and perhaps the Z-2 reactor as well), one for the isotope production operation (including FISST and HEU), one for the radioactive waste storage tanks and dumps (including the remediation work affecting degraded irradiated fuel elements, underground plumes and radioactive sediments in the Ottawa River), and one for the multitude of buildings, radioisotope laboratories, defunct facilities and other activities at CRL. -
Inventory of Radioactive Waste in Canada 2016 Inventory of Radioactive Waste in Canada 2016 Ix X 1.0 INVENTORY of RADIOACTIVE WASTE in CANADA OVERVIEW
Inventory of RADIOACTIVE WASTE in CANADA 2016 Inventory of RADIOACTIVE WASTE in CANADA 2016 Photograph contributors: Cameco Corp.: page ix OPG: page 34 Orano Canada: page x Cameco Corp.: page 47 BWX Technologies, Inc.: page 2 Cameco Corp.: page 48 OPG: page 14 OPG: page 50 OPG: page 23 Cameco Corp.: page 53 OPG: page 24 Cameco Corp.: page 54 BWX Technologies, Inc.: page 33 Cameco Corp.: page 62 For information regarding reproduction rights, contact Natural Resources Canada at [email protected]. Aussi disponible en français sous le titre : Inventaire des déchets radioactifs au Canada 2016. © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Natural Resources, 2018 Cat. No. M134-48/2016E-PDF (Online) ISBN 978-0-660-26339-7 CONTENTS 1.0 INVENTORY OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE IN CANADA OVERVIEW ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1 1�1 Radioactive waste definitions and categories �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 3 1�1�1 Processes that generate radioactive waste in canada ����������������������������� 3 1�1�2 Disused radioactive sealed sources ����������������������������������������� 6 1�2 Responsibility for radioactive waste �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 6 1�2�1 Regulation of radioactive -
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
CANADIAN NUCLEAR SAFETY COMMISSION Jason K. Cameron Vice-President, Regulatory Affairs, and Chief Communications Officer NARUC Summer Policy Summit – Committee on International Relations July 15, 2018 – Scottsdale, Arizona OUR MANDATE 2 Regulate the use of nuclear energy and materials to protect health, safety, and security and the environment Implement Canada's international commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy Disseminate objective scientific, technical and regulatory information to the public Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission – nuclearsafety.gc.ca THE CNSC REGULATES ALL NUCLEAR FACILITIES 3 AND ACTIVITIES IN CANADA Uranium mines Uranium fuel Nuclear power Nuclear substance Industrial and and mills fabrication and plants processing medical applications processing Nuclear research Transportation of Nuclear security Import and Waste management and educational nuclear substances and safeguards export controls facilities activities Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission – nuclearsafety.gc.ca CNSC STAFF LOCATED ACROSS CANADA 4 Headquarters (HQ) in Ottawa Four site offices at power plants One site office at Chalk River Four regional offices Fiscal year 2017–18 • Human resources: 857 full-time equivalents • Financial resources: $148 million Saskatoon Calgary (~70% cost recovery; ~30% appropriation) • Licensees: 1,700 Chalk River HQ • Licences: 2,500 Point Lepreau Laval Bruce Darlington Mississauga Pickering Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission – nuclearsafety.gc.ca INDEPENDENT COMMISSION 5 TRANSPARENT, SCIENCE-BASED DECISION MAKING • Quasi-judicial administrative tribunal • Agent of the Crown (duty to consult) • Reports to Parliament through Minister of Natural Resources • Commission members are independent and part time • Commission hearings are public and Webcast • Staff presentations in public • Decisions are reviewable by Federal Court Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission – nuclearsafety.gc.ca THE CNSC’S NEW PRESIDENT 6 Ms. -
Alternative Production Methods to Face Global Molybdenum-99 Supply Shortage
Brief Review Article Alternative production methods to face global molybdenum-99 supply shortage Abstract The sleeping giant of molybdenum-99 (99Mo) production is grinding to a halt and the world is won- dering how this happened. Fewer than 10 reactors in the world are capable of producing radio nu- clides for medicine; approximately 50% of the world’s supply of raw material comes from National Research Universal (NRU) reactor in Canada. Many of these reactors, like the NRU, are old and aging. No one of these reactors, and probably not even all of them in combination, can replace the produc- tion of NRU. As the healthcare industry faces an aging population and the demand for diagnostic services using 99mΤc continues to rise, the need for a consistent, reliable supply of 99Mo has become increasingly important, so alternative methods to produce 99Mo or even directly 99mΤc had to be considered to avoid a supply shortage in the coming years. This need guides to the production of 99Mo by replacing the Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) target in a nuclear reactor with Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) and furthermore to the use of accelerators for manufacturing 99Mo or for directly producing 99mTc. Hell J Nucl Med 2011; 14(1): 49-55 Published on line: 26 March 2011 Introduction olybdenum-99 (99Mo) is an isotope of the element molybdenum, a metal discov- ered in the 18th century and is produced using highly enriched uranium (HEU) M targets. Brookhaven reactor pioneered research using subatomic particles as tools to investigate the structure of matter. The Brookhaven High Flux Beam Reactor first achieved a self-sustaining chain reaction on October 31, 1965. -
1S T INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE on .HEALTH EFFECTS OF
AECL 6958 Atomic Energy of L'Energie Atomique Canada Limited Du Canada Limitee 1st INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON .HEALTH EFFECTS OF ENERGY PRODUCTION. 1ere Conference Internationale sur les Effets sur la Sante de la Production d'Energie Edited by NORMAN E. GENTNER and PAUL UNRAU CHALK RIVER NUCLEAR LABORATORIES, ONTARIO, CANADA 12-14 SEPTEMBER 1979 PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HEALTH EFFECTS OF ENERGY PRODUCTION HELD AT CHALK RIVER NUCLEAR LABORATORIES, ONTARIO, CANADA 1979 SEPTEMBER 12-14 Edited by NORMAN E. GENTNER and PAUL UNRAU Published by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited Chalk River, Ontario AECL-6958 11 Foreword A conference on Health Effects of Energy Production was held at the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories on 1979 September 12-14. This conference was organized at the time of the retirement of Dr. H.B. Newcombe after 32 years of service with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. A brief summary of Dr. Newcombe's distinguished career and a list of his publications has been appended to the end of the Proceedings of this conference. Financial support and facilities for this conference were provided by the Atomic Energy of Canada Research Company, of which the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories form a part. The conference was intended to help clarify the risks and benefits not only of nuclear power but of other energy options as well. This area is of scientific concarn to Atomic Energy of Canada Research Company as well as to many other organizations and individual persons; Dr. Newcombe had of course been directly involved in research on this topic for many years. -
The Radiochemistry of Niobium and Tantalum
-._. -..—..-—-- National Academy v’” of Sciences Iational Research Council NUCLEAR SCIENCE SERIES The Radiochemistry of Niobium and Tantalum -—– J-.’ COMMITTEE ON NUCLEAR SCIENCE L. F. CURTISS, Chabman ROBLEY D. EVANS, Vice Chairman National Bureau of Stawiarda Massachusetts Instituteof Technology J. A. DeJUREN, Secre&wy WeMnghouae Electric Corporation C. J. BORKOWSKI J. W. IRVINE, JR. Oak Ridge National Laboratory Massachusetts Instituteof Technology ROBERT G. COCHRAN E. D. KLEMA Texas Agricultural and Mechanical Northwestern”University College W. WAYWE MEINKE SAMUEL EPSTEIN University of Michigan California Instituteof Technology J. ,J. NICKSON U. FANO Memorial Hospital, New York National Bureati of Standarde ROBERT L. PLATZMAN Laboratoire de Chimie Physique HERBERT GOLDSTEIN Nuclear Development Corpratlon of D. M. VAN PATTER -rica Bmtol Research Foundation LIAISON MEMBERS PAUL C. AEBERSOLD CHARLES K. REED Atomic Ene~ Commission U. S. Air Force J. HOWARD McNHLLEN WfLLLAM E. WRIGHT National Science Foundation Office of Naval Researoh SUBCOMMITTEE ON RADIOCHEMISTRY W. WAYNE MEINKE, Chairnuzu HAROLD KIRBY Univer.ai@ of Michigan Mound Lahratmy GREGORY R. CHOPPIN GEORGE LEDDICOTTE Florida State University Oak Ridge National Laboratory GEORGE A. COWAN JULIAN NTELSEN Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Hanfoni Laboratories ARTHUR W. FAIRHALL ELLIS P. STEINBERG University of Washington Argome National Laboratory JEROME HUDIS PETER C. STEVENSON Brookhaven National Laboratory Universi@ of California (Livermore) EARL HYDE LEO YAFFE Universi@ of California (Berkeley) McGill Universi~ CONSULTANTS NATRAN BALLOU” JAMES DeVOE Naval Radiologic@ Defe,pseLaboratory Univer.9i@ of Michigan WILLIAM MARLOW National Bureau of Standarda CHEMISTRY The Radiochemistry of Niobium and Tantalum ELLIS P. STEINBERG Argonne National Labo?’atovy 97OO South Cass Avenue Argonne, IiWnois t“ August1961 z s PRO‘=‘k, Subcommittee on Radiochemistry National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council Prfntedin U6A. -
Trip Report from Acr Reactor Physics and Candu Fuel Channels Workshop at Chalk River Laboratories, Ontario, Canada
February 14, 2003 MEMORANDUM TO: James E. Lyons, Director New Reactor Licensing Project Office Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation THRU: Marsha Gamberoni, Deputy Director /RA/ New Reactor Licensing Project Office Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation FROM: Belkys Sosa, ACR-700 Project Manager New Reactor Licensing Project Office Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation SUBJECT: TRIP REPORT FROM ACR REACTOR PHYSICS AND CANDU FUEL CHANNELS WORKSHOP AT CHALK RIVER LABORATORIES, ONTARIO, CANADA On December 4-5, 2002, Anthony Attard, Ralph Caruso, Kenneth Heck, Walton Jensen, Mark Kowal, Samuel Miranda, Robert Pascarelli, Undine Shoop, Edmund Sullivan, Summer Sun, and Belkys Sosa of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) and David Bessette, Donald Carlson, Charles Greene, and Joseph Muscara of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) participated in a meeting with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and Atomic Energy of Canada, Limited (AECL). The purpose of the meeting was to provide an introduction of CANDU fuel channels and discuss the Advanced CANDU Reactor (ACR) core physics as well as the Quality Assurance (QA) program for the ACR-700. Attached is the trip report from this activity. cc: M. Cullingford, NRR J. Dunn Lee, OIP F. Eltawila, RES J. Lieberman, OIP K. Burke, OIP T. Rothschild, OGC T. Bergman, OEDO Project No. 722 Attachment: As stated February 14, 2003 MEMORANDUM TO: James E. Lyons, Director New Reactor Licensing Project Office Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation THRU: Marsha Gamberoni, Deputy Director -
Phd Dissertation
FISSION PRODUCT IMPACT REDUCTION VIA PROTRACTED IN-CORE RETENTION IN VERY HIGH TEMPERATURE REACTOR (VHTR) TRANSMUTATION SCENARIOS A Dissertation by AYODEJI BABATUNDE ALAJO Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2010 Major Subject: Nuclear Engineering FISSION PRODUCT IMPACT REDUCTION VIA PROTRACTED IN-CORE RETENTION IN VERY HIGH TEMPERATURE REACTOR (VHTR) TRANSMUTATION SCENARIOS A Dissertation by AYODEJI BABATUNDE ALAJO Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, Pavel V. Tsvetkov Committee Members, Yassin A. Hassan Sean M. McDeavitt Joseph E. Pasciak Head of Department, Raymond J. Juzaitis May 2010 Major Subject: Nuclear Engineering iii ABSTRACT Fission Product Impact Reduction via Protracted In-core Retention in Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) Transmutation Scenarios. (May 2010) Ayodeji Babatunde Alajo, B.Sc., University of Ibadan; M.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Pavel V. Tsvetkov The closure of the nuclear fuel cycle is a topic of interest in the sustainability context of nuclear energy. The implication of such closure includes considerations of nuclear waste management. This originates from the fact that a closed fuel cycle requires recycling of useful materials from spent nuclear fuel and discarding of non-usable streams of the spent fuel, which are predominantly the fission products. The fission products represent the near-term concerns associated with final geological repositories for the waste stream. Long-lived fission products also contribute to the long-term concerns associated with such repository.