System of the advanced volume reduction facilities for LLW at JAERI

Higuchi, Hidekazu; Momma, Toshiyuki ; Nakashio, Nobuyuki; Kozawa, Kazushige ; Tohei, Toshio; Sudo, Tomoyuki; Mitsuda, Motoyuki; Kurosawa, Shigenobu; Hemmi, Ko ; Ishikawa, Joji; Kato, Mitsugu; Sato, Motoaki

The JAERI constructed the Advanced Volume Reduction Facilities(AVRF). The AVRF consists of the Waste Size Reduction and Storage Facilities(WSRSF) and the Waste Volume Reduction Facilities(WVRF). By operating the AVRF, it will be able to produce waste packages for final disposal and to reduce the amount of the low level solid wastes. Cutting installations for large wastes such as tanks in the WSRSF have been operating since June 1999. The wastes treated so far amount to 600 m and the volume reduction ratio is around 1/3. The waste volume reduction is carried out by a high-compaction process or melting processes in the WVRF. The metal wastes from research reactors are treated by the high-compaction process. The other wastes are treated by the melting processes that enable to estimate radioactivity levels easily by homogenization and get chemical and physical stability. The WVRF have been operating with non-radioactive wastes since February 2003 for the training and the homogeneity investigation in the melting processes. The operation with radioactive wastes will start in FY2005.