Material composition effects on far-field deposition minimum critical mass

Atz, M.*; Liu, X.*; Fratoni, M.*; Ahn, J.*; Hirano, Fumio 

After nuclear waste is buried in a repository, hydrogeological processes can dissolve, transport, separate, and rearrange radionuclides inside or outside the repository. If fissile material becomes separated from neutron absorbers and precipitates in a far-field geologic formation, a critical mass may be formed. The scope of this study is to assess the impact of the spent fuel composition and host rock type on the risk of criticality in the far field. In particular, this study performs neutronics analysis in order to determine the minimum theoretical mass of fissile material needed to achieve criticality in a water-saturated far-field deposition under conservative conditions. Understanding of the effects of composition of spent fuels and host rock types enable discussion of the likelihood of far field criticality from LWR used fuel. In addition, this work makes recommendations on repository design and LWR fuel cycle management so as to minimize the risk of far-field criticality.