Safety of nuclear materials : PROGRAME PROGRESS REPORT July - December 1981

This document is the progress report of the JRC programme Safety of Nuclear Materials for the period July-December 1981. On the basis of the Council decision on the JRC plan 1980-1983, the activity on radioactive waste management which is carried out in the framework of the programme Safety of Nuclear Materials, has been organized into 4 projects: Risk Evaluation Protective Barriers Actinide Separation Actinide Monitoring The main results obtained during the reporting period are the following: Project 1. Risk Evaluation The risk analysis methodology for geological disposal of radioactive waste, developed by the JRC, is being applied to the Boom clay formation in Belgium. Consequences of various release scenarios are under evaluation; the analysis of the uncertainty in the results is carried out by means of a Monte Carlo method. In the framework of the assessment studies on alpha-waste management an integral waste management strategy, based on the utilization of the OXAL process, has been developed. Project 2. Protective Barriers In the field of radiation damage in borosilicate glasses, work has been continued to provide information on the basic mechanisms of damage. Leaching and corrosion tests have been carried out on borosilicate glasses and materials for waste containers. In the field of interaction of radionuclides with the environment, results have been obtained on the chemical forms of radionuclides leached from borosilicate glasses and on their behaviour in the migration in geological media. Project 3. Actinide Separation Experimental work has been carried out on the separation of plutonium from medium level waste (MLW) streams of reprocessing plants. In particular the OXAL process has been successfully tested on a simulated MLW concentrate. Project 4. Actinide Monitoring Progresses have been made in the setting-up of a reference monitor for passive neutron assay. The JRC methodology for non-destructive assay of plutonium is being applied to waste monitoring systems installed at DNPDE, Dounreay. COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE Ispra Establishment Italy Safety of nuclear materials