Ten years after the NPP accident at Fukushima; Review on fuel debris behavior in contact with water

Grambow, B.; Nitta, Ayako; Shibata, Atsuhiro  ; Koma, Yoshikazu  ; Utsunomiya, Satoshi*; Takami, Ryu*; Fueda, Kazuki*; Onuki, Toshihiko*; Jegou, C.*; Laffolley, H.*; Journeau, C.*

Following the NPP accident, some hundred tons of nuclear fuel elements of 3 damaged nuclear reactor units were partly molten with even larger masses of steel and concrete structures, creating a big mass of corium and fuels debris. Since ten years, this heat generating mass has been cooled permanently by millions of m of water flowing over them. Knowledge on the interaction of this solid mass with water is crucial for any decommissioning planning. Starting from analyses of the evolutions of the accident in the 3 reactor cores and associated fuel debris formations and some additional isotopic and physiochemical information of debris fragments collected in soils of Fukushima, we review the temporal evolution of the chemistry and leached radionuclide contents of the cooling water. Measured concentration ratios of the actinides and fission products in the water where compared to reported results of laboratory leaching studies with either spent nuclear fuel or simulated fuel debris under a variety of simulated environmental conditions.