Technology development program for Idaho Chemical Processing Plant spent fuel and waste management

Abstract

Acidic high-level radioactive waste (HLW) resulting from fuel reprocessing at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been solidified to a calcine since 1963 and stored in stainless steel bins enclosed by concrete vaults. Several different types of unprocessed irradiated DOE-owned fuels are also in storage at the ICPP. In April, 1992, DOE announced that spent fuel would no longer be reprocessed to recover enriched uranium and called for a shutdown of the reprocessing facilities at the ICPP. A new Spent Fuel and HLW Technology Development program was subsequently initiated to develop technologies for immobilizing ICPP spent fuels and HLW for disposal, in accordance with the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. The Program elements include Systems Analysis, Graphite Fuel Disposal, Other Spent Fuel Disposal, Sodium-Bearing Liquid Waste Processing, Calcine Immobilization, and Metal Recycle/Waste Minimization. This paper presents an overview of the ICPP radioactive wastes and current spent fuels, and describes the Spent Fuel and HLW Technology program in more detail.