Effect of preparation conditions and storage time on characteristic and rheological properties of carbonate slurries

Kato, Tomoaki; Yamagishi, Isao

JAEA-Technology 2023-018, 53 Pages, 2023/11

JAEA-Technology-2023-018.pdf:2.6MB

In the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, radioactive carbonate slurry waste was generated using the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) pretreatment and temporarily stored in a high integrity container (HIC). In 2015, overflow of supernatant from HIC estimate as bubble retention in the carbonate slurry was discovered, increasing the need for a safety assessment of the carbonate slurry stored the HIC (HIC slurry). In this study, a carbonate slurry (simulated slurry) was prepared according to the Mg/Ca mass ratio in the ALPS inlet water of the HIC slurry which overflew the HIC. The effects of reaction time during the pretreatment process, suspended solids concentration (SS concentration), and settling time on the particle composition, morphology and rheological properties of the slurry were investigated. Evaluating the effect of reaction time and concentration process on chemical properties in slurry production, the effect of the reaction time was not confirmed in the simulated slurry that had undergone the concentration process, and slurry prepared at SS concentration of 150 g/L was composed of formless particles have a particle diameter of 0.4 m or less. We also investigate the effect of SS concentration on sedimentability, decrease in SS concentration by dilution with processing solution contributed to an increase in the initial slurry settling velocity. Furthermore, two different flow characteristics were observed depending on the settling time, suggesting that the slurry at the initial settling time has non-Bingham flow properties, whereas it changes to Bingham flow properties as the settling time becomes longer. In addition, yield stress was increased with settling time, and this yield stress was found to be exponentially proportional to the density of the slurry. These results provide knowledge to estimate the current state of HIC slurry and are expected to contribute to the safety assessment.

Analysis of the radioactivity concentrations in radioactive waste generated from JRR-3, JRR-4 and JRTF facilities, 2

Tobita, Minoru*; Goto, Katsunori*; Omori, Takeshi*; Osone, Osamu*; Haraga, Tomoko; Aono, Ryuji; Konda, Miki; Tsuchida, Daiki; Mitsukai, Akina; Ishimori, Kenichiro

JAEA-Data/Code 2023-011, 32 Pages, 2023/11

JAEA-Data-Code-2023-011.pdf:0.93MB

Radioactive wastes generated from nuclear research facilities in Japan Atomic Energy Agency are planning to be buried in the near surface disposal field as trench and pit. Therefore, it is required to establish the method to evaluate the radioactivity concentrations of radioactive wastes until the beginning of disposal. In order to contribute to the study of radioactivity concentration evaluation methods for radioactive wastes generated from nuclear research facilities, we collected and analyzed concrete samples generated from JRR-3, JRR-4 and JAERI Reprocessing Test Facility. In this report, we summarized the radioactivity concentrations of 23 radionuclides (H, C, Cl, Ca, Co, Ni, Sr, Nb, Ag, Cs, Ba, Eu, Eu, Ho, U, U, U, Pu, Pu, Pu, Am, Am, Cm) which were obtained from radiochemical analysis of the samples in fiscal years 2021-2022.

Annual report for FY2021 on the activities of Department of Decommissioning and Waste Management (April 1, 2021 - March 31, 2022)

Department of Decommissioning and Waste Management

JAEA-Review 2023-001, 136 Pages, 2023/06

JAEA-Review-2023-001.pdf:10.65MB

This report describes the activities of Department of Decommissioning and Waste Management (DDWM) in Nuclear Science Research Institute (NSRI) in the period from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. The report covers organization and missions of DDWM, outline and operation/maintenance of facilities which belong to DDWM, treatment and management of radioactive wastes, decommissioning activities, and related research and development activities which were conducted in DDWM. In FY2021 radioactive wastes generated from R&D activities in NSRI were treated safely. They were about 206 m of combustible solid wastes and 155 m of noncombustible solid wastes and 113 m of liquid wastes. After adequate treatment, 760 waste packages (in 200 L-drum equivalent) were generated. The total amounts of accumulated waste packages were 126,827 as of the end of FY2021 due to efforts of the restitution of waste packages to the Japan Radioisotope Association and volume reduction treatments of the stored waste packages. Decommissioning activities were carried out for the JAEA's Reprocessing Test Facility (JRTF), the Liquid Waste Treatment Facilities, the Compaction Facilities, and Fusion Neutronics Source (FNS) facilities. As for the R&D activities, studies on radiochemical analyses of wastes for disposal were continued. In order to pass the conformity review on the New Regulatory Requirements for waste management facilities, the Approval of the design and construction method was applied sequentially for the Nuclear Regulation Authority. The ministry of the Environment and Tokai-mura office requested JAEA to dispose of the contaminated soil generated by the accident of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The monitoring work at the playground was conducted during this period.

Development of analytical approach of source term for accident of evaporation to dryness by boiling of reprocessed high level liquid waste

Yoshida, Kazuo; Tamaki, Hitoshi; Hiyama, Mina*

JAEA-Research 2023-001, 26 Pages, 2023/05

JAEA-Research-2023-001.pdf:1.61MB

An accident of evaporation to dryness by boiling of high-level radioactive liquid waste (HLLW) is postulated as one of the severe accidents caused by the loss of cooling function at a fuel reprocessing plant. In this case, volatile radioactive materials, such as ruthenium (Ru) are released from the tanks with water and nitric-acid mixed vapor into the atmosphere. Accurate quantitative estimation of released Ru is one of the important issues for risk assessment of those facilities. To resolve this issue, an analytical approach has been developed using computer simulation programs to assess the radioactive source term from those facilities. The proposed approach consists analyses with three computer programs. At first, the simulation of boiling behavior in the HLLW tank is conducted with SHAWED code. Next step, the thermal-hydraulic behavior in the facility building is simulated with MELCOR code based on the results at the first step simulation such as flowed out mixed steam flow rate, temperature and volatilized Ru from the tank. The final analysis step is carried out for estimating amount of released radioactive materials with SCHERN computer code which simulates chemical behaviors of nitric acid, nitrogen oxide and Ru based on the condition also simulated MELCOR. Series of sample simulations of the accident at a hypothetical typical facility are presented with the data transfer between those codes in this report.

Circumstances of establishment of regulations for near surface disposal of radioactive waste generated from research facilities, etc.

Sakai, Akihiro

Dekomisshoningu Giho, (64), p.24 - 33, 2023/05

Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has proceeded with the project of near surface disposal of radioactive waste generated from research facilities, etc. as the implementing body. On the other hand, Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has established the safety regulations and standards for the operation of the disposal facilities. This report outlines the disposal project of JAEA and the development of the regulations and standards for the disposal by NRA.

Challenge of novel hybrid-waste-solidification of mobile nuclei generated in Fukushima Nuclear Power Station and establishment of rational disposal concept and its safety assessment (Contract research); FY2021 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tokyo Institute of Technology*

JAEA-Review 2022-072, 116 Pages, 2023/03

JAEA-Review-2022-072.pdf:6.32MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2021. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2021, this report summarizes the research results of the "Challenge of novel hybrid-waste-solidification of mobile nuclei generated in Fukushima Nuclear Power Station and establishment of rational disposal concept and its safety assessment" conducted in FY2021. The present study aims to establish the rational waste disposal concept of a variety of wastes generated in 1F by the novel hybrid-waste-solidification. The phosphate form of ALPS sediment wastes containing Eu, Ce, Sr and Cs were synthesized as well as radioactive Sr, Cs and I which are both emitters, AREVA sludge and Iodine Calcium apatite were synthesized, and they were processed to the stabilization treatment such as sintering and Spark Plasma ...

Fluorination method for classification of the waste generated by fuel debris removal (Contract research); FY2021 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy*

JAEA-Review 2022-058, 191 Pages, 2023/02

JAEA-Review-2022-058.pdf:16.99MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2021. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2019, this report summarizes the research results of the "Fluorination method for classification of the waste generated by fuel debris removal" conducted from FY2019 to FY2021. Since the final year of this proposal was FY2021, the results for three fiscal years were summarized. The present study aims to develop a method for separating nuclear fuel material from waste by fluorination in order to contribute to the classification of waste generated by fuel debris removal at 1F. In order to comprehensively evaluate the fluorination behavior for the generated phase in various MCCI products, some simulated wastes were prepared by controlling redox conditions, and the fluorination experiment was carried out.

Study on rational treatment/disposal of contaminated concrete waste considering leaching alteration (Contract research); FY2021 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Hokkaido University*

JAEA-Review 2022-038, 102 Pages, 2023/01

JAEA-Review-2022-038.pdf:4.76MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2021. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2020, this report summarizes the research results of the "Study on rational treatment/disposal of contaminated concrete waste considering leaching alteration" conducted in FY2021. The present study aims to understand migration behaviors of radionuclides in relation to the properties of concrete altered by leaching, to develop a model to predict concentration profiles, and to analyze waste management scenarios, with a focus on underground concrete structures in contact with contaminated water. Migration behaviors depend on radionuclides and their chemical species. Sorption of I is less significant on C-S-H and C-A-S-H than on hardened cement paste with two orders of magnitude smaller distribution coefficient , while of U was the same …

Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory Project; Investigation program for the 2022 fiscal year

Nakayama, Masashi

JAEA-Review 2022-026, 66 Pages, 2022/11

JAEA-Review-2022-026.pdf:12.31MB

The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory (URL) Project is being pursued by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to enhance the reliability of relevant disposal technologies for geological disposal of High-level Radioactive Waste through investigations of the deep geological environment within the host sedimentary rock at Horonobe Town in Hokkaido, north Japan. In fiscal year 2022, we continue to conduct research on "Study on near-field system performance in geological environment", "Demonstration of repository design options", and "Understanding of buffering behaviour of sedimentary rocks to natural perturbations", which are the important issues shown in the Horonobe underground research plan from fiscal year 2020. The main studies to be conducted in fiscal year 2022 are as follows. As "Study on near-field system performance in geological environment", we will continue to the test under the simulated condition in which the heat generation by the high-level radioactive waste has subsides in the full-scale engineered barrier system (EBS) performance experiment. We will also conduct solute transport experiment with model testing that take into account the effects of organic matter, microbes, and colloids, and initiate borehole investigation to evaluate solute transport experiments on fractures distribute in Koetoi formation. As "Demonstration of repository design concept", we will continue experiment and analysis of concrete deterioration in the underground environment as a demonstration of remote technique for emplacement and retrievable. As a demonstration of the closure techniques, laboratory tests will be continued to investigate the mechanism of bentonite runoff behaviour, which could be a factor in changing the performance of backfill material, and to expand data on swelling and deformation behaviour. In addition, in-situ borehole closure tests will be conducted to evaluate the applicability of the closure method. As "Understanding of buffering behaviour of

Analysis of the radioactivity concentrations in radioactive waste generated from JRR-3, JRR-4 and JRTF facilities

Tobita, Minoru*; Konda, Miki; Omori, Takeshi*; Nabatame, Tsutomu*; Onizawa, Takashi*; Kurosawa, Katsuaki*; Haraga, Tomoko; Aono, Ryuji; Mitsukai, Akina; Tsuchida, Daiki; et al.

JAEA-Data/Code 2022-007, 40 Pages, 2022/11

JAEA-Data-Code-2022-007.pdf:1.99MB

Radioactive wastes generated from nuclear research facilities in Japan Atomic Energy Agency are planning to be buried in the near surface disposal field. Therefore, it is required to establish the method to evaluate the radioactivity concentrations of radioactive wastes until the beginning of disposal. In order to contribute to this work, we collected and analyzed concrete, ash, ceramic and brick samples generated from JRR-3, JRR4 and JRTF facilities. In this report, we summarized the radioactivity concentrations of 24 radionuclides (H, C, Cl, Ca, Co, Ni, Sr, Nb, Tc, Ag, I, Cs, Ba, Eu, Eu, Ho, U, U, Pu, Pu, Pu, Am, Am, Cm) which were obtained from radiochemical analysis of the samples in fiscal years 2020-2021.