Objective
THE OVERALL AIM OF THE WHOLE JOINT PROJECT IS TO COMPARE, ON THE BASIS OF THE COSTS AND RADIOLOGICAL IMPACT OF THE MANAGEMENT AND DISPOSAL OF ALL THE ASSOCIATED WASTES, REPROCESSING OF LIGHT WATER REACTOR FUEL WITH ITS DIRECT DISPOSAL BY EMPLACEMENT IN A DEEP GEOLOGICAL FORMATION ON LAND. FOR THE REPROCESSING CASE, THE WASTES TO BE CONSIDERED INCLUDE GASEOUS AND LIQUID EFFLUENTS DISCHARGED ROUTINELY DURING REPROCESSING, SOLID LOW AND INTERMEDIATE LEVEL WASTES ARISING AT THE REPROCESSING PLANT, AND VITRIFIED HIGH LEVEL WASTE. THE LATTER WILL ALSO BE ASSUMED TO BE DISPOSED OF BY EMPLACEMENT IN A DEEP GEOLOGICAL FORMATION. THE STUDY WILL INCLUDE AN ANALYSIS OF THE SENSITIVITY OF THE RESULTS TO VARIATIONS IN KEY ASSUMPTIONS, SUCH AS THE TIME FOR WHICH SPENT FUEL IS STORED PRIOR TO REPROCESSING.
THIS PART OF THE JOINT PROJECT IS AN EXTENSION OF EARLIER WORK (CONTRACT FI1W/0133) BY PRINCIPIA MECHANICA LTD (PML). IN THE EARLIER WORK, A COMPUTER MODEL WAS DEVELOPED WHICH ALLOWED THE COSTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF WASTE MANAGEMENT ASPECTS OF DIRECT DISPOSAL AND REPROCESSING TO BE COMPARED. THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT STUDY WILL BE:
- TO CONSTRUCT DATA SETS FOR THE MODEL
- TO PERFORM TEST RUNS USING THE DATA SETS
- TO PERFORM SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE FOR THE MODEL
IN EARLIER WORK, A COMPUTER MODEL (CODDAR) WAS DEVELOPED, WHICH ALLOWED THE COSTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF WASTE MANAGEMENT ASPECTS OF DIRECT DISPOSAL AND REPROCESSING TO BE COMPARED
THIS RESEARCH HAS THE AIM TO
- CONSTRUCT DATA SETS FOR THE COMPUTER MODEL
- PERFORM TEST RUNS USING THE DATA SETS
- PERFORM SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE FOR THE MODEL
THE STUDY WILL COMPARE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS OF DIRECT DISPOSAL OF SPENT FUEL AND OF REPROCESSING AS FAR AS COSTS AND RADIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES ARE CONCERNED. WEIGHTING FACTORS AND DISCOUNTING ALLOW OVERALL COMPARISONS OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS.
Funding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
WC2E 9LY London
United Kingdom