Proposal for selective isotope transmutation of long-lived fission products using quasi-monochromatic -ray beams

Hayakawa, Takehito; Miyamoto, Shuji*; Hajima, Ryoichi; Shizuma, Toshiyuki; Amano, So*; Hashimoto, Satoshi*; Misawa, Tsuyoshi*

We have proposed a new selective isotope transmutation method using photonuclear reactions with quasi-monochromatic -ray beams. This method is based on the fact that the particle threshold of a long-lived fission product (LLFP) such as Zr, Pd, or Se is lower than those of stable isotopes of the same chemical element. Therefore, this method has an excellent advantage that LLFPs cannot, in principle, be produced newly even if the target materials include stable isotopes in addition to a LLFP. Laser Compton scattering -ray sources and neutron capture -rays in nuclear reactors are candidates for this method.