Vitreous Materials for Nuclear Waste Immobilisation and IAEA Support Activities
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Vitreous Materials for Nuclear Waste Immobilisation and IAEA Support Activities Rebecca A. Robbins and Michael I. Ojovan Department of Nuclear Energy, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna International Centre, PO Box 100, 1400 Vienna, Austria ABSTRACT Vitreous materials are the overwhelming world-wide choice for the immobilisation of HLW resulting from nuclear fuel reprocessing due to glass tolerance for the chemical elements found in the waste as well as its inherent stability and durability. Vitrification is a mature technology and has been used for high-level nuclear waste immobilization for more than 50 years. Borosilicate glass is the formulation of choice in most applications although other formulations are also used e.g. phosphate glasses are used to immobilize high level wastes in Russia. The excellent durability of vitrified radioactive waste ensures a high degree of environment protection. Waste vitrification gives high waste volume reduction along with simple and cheap disposal facilities. Although vitrification requires a high initial investment and then operational costs, the overall cost of vitrified radioactive waste is usually lower than alternative options when account is taken of transportation and disposal expenses. Glass has proven to be also a suitable matrix for intermediate and low-level radioactive wastes and is currently used to treat legacy waste in USA, and NPP operational waste in Russia and South Korea. This report is also outlining IAEA activities aiming to support utilisation of vitreous materials for nuclear waste immobilisation. INTRODUCTION Nuclear energy is a solution to a shrinking conventional energy supply and emerging global warming. However, nuclear waste management and long-term disposition of current and legacy nuclear wastes remain open issues in the movement to a true renaissance of nuclear energy. Glass is the overwhelming world-wide choice for the immobilization of high level radioactive wastes resulting from nuclear fuel reprocessing and low- and intermediate level radioactive wastes such as those from operation of nuclear power plants. Vitrification is a mature technology and has been used for more than 50 years [1-5]. Both borosilicate and phosphate glasses are the formulations of choice in most applications. Glass has also proven to be a suitable matrix for intermediate in Russia, South Korea and USA. Waste vitrification is a demonstrated mature technology at the industrial scale. Continued advancements in glass waste forms and nuclear waste vitrification technologies will be keys in enabling widespread deployment of nuclear energy. The physical and chemical durability of glasses combined with their high tolerance to compositional changes typical for solutions make glasses irreplaceable for immobilisation of highly toxic substances such as nuclear wastes aiming to ensure a safe longterm storage, transportation and disposal. Nuclear waste vitrification is attractive because of technological and compositional flexibility, large number of elements which can be saf
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