Assessment report of research and development activities in FY 2023; Activity "Implementation and technological development of decommissioning of nuclear facilities" and "Implementation and technological development of radioactive waste processing" (In-advance evaluation)

Nuclear Backend Technology Development

JAEA-Evaluation 2024-002, 86 Pages, 2025/03

JAEA-Evaluation-2024-002.pdf:8.29MB

Japan Atomic Energy Agency (hereinafter referred to as "JAEA") consulted the "Evaluation Committee on Research and Development Activities for Decommissioning" (hereinafter referred to as "Committee") about the in-advance evaluation of research themes which had started after FY2021 of R&D plan for the 4th medium- and long-term objectives period concerning "Decommissioning of nuclear facilities and development of technologies for the treatment of related radioactive waste" project in accordance with the "Guideline for evaluation of government R&D activities". In response, the Committee evaluated to the evaluation points of view made by JAEA.

Evolution of radionuclide transport and retardation processes in uplifting granitic rocks, Part 2; Modelling coupled processes in uplift scenarios

Metcalfe, R.*; Benbow, S. J.*; Kawama, Daisuke*; Tachi, Yukio

Science of the Total Environment, 958, p.177690_1 - 177690_17, 2025/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177690

Uplifting fractured granitic rocks occur in substantial areas of countries such as Japan. A repository site would be selected in such an area only if it is possible to make a safety case, accounting for the changing conditions during uplift. The safety case must include robust arguments that chemical processes in the rocks around the repository will contribute sufficiently to minimise radiological doses to biosphere receptors. To provide confidence in the safety arguments, numerical models need to be sufficiently realistic, but also parameterised conservatively (pessimistically). However, model development is challenging because uplift involves many complex couplings between groundwater flow, chemical reactions between water and rock, and changing rock properties. The couplings would affect radionuclide mobilisation and retardation, by influencing diffusive radionuclide fluxes between groundwater flowing in fractures and effectively immobile porewater in the rock matrix and radionuclide partitioning between water and solid phases, via: (i) mineral precipitation/dissolution; (ii) mineral alteration; and (iii) sorption/desorption. It is difficult to represent all this complexity in numerical models while showing that they are parameterised conservatively. Here we present a modelling approach, illustrated by simulation cases for some exemplar radioelements, to identify realistically conservative process conceptualisations and model parameterisations.

Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory Project Investigation Report for the 2023 Fiscal Year

Nakayama, Masashi

JAEA-Review 2024-042, 111 Pages, 2024/11

JAEA-Review-2024-042.pdf:7.83MB

The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory (URL) Project is being pursued by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to enhance the reliability of relevant technologies for geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste through investigating the deep geological environment within the host sedimentary rocks at Horonobe Town in Hokkaido, north Japan. In the fiscal year 2023, we continued R&D on "Study on near-field system performance in geological environment", "Demonstration of repository design options", and "Understanding of buffering behaviour of sedimentary rock to natural perturbations". These are identified as key R&D on challenges to be tackled in the Horonobe underground research plan for the fiscal year 2020 onwards. Specifically, "full-scale engineered barrier system (EBS) performance experiment" and "solute transport experiment with model testing" were carried out as part of "Study on nearfield system performance in geological environment". "Demonstration of engineering feasibility of repository technology" and "evaluation of EBS behaviour over 100C" were addressed for "Demonstration of repository design options". The validation of a method for assessing permeability using the Ductility Index and a method for estimating the state of in-situ ground pressure from hydraulic perturbation tests were investigated as part of the study "Understanding of buffering behaviour of sedimentary rock to natural perturbations". In FY2023, we resumed construction of the subsurface facilities, 3 new tunnels in the 350 m gallery and resumed excavation of the East Access Shaft and the Ventilation Shaft. By the end of FY2023, the 350 m gallery extension (tunnel extension 66 m) had been completed, and the depths of the East Access Shaft and Ventilation Shaft were GL-424 m and GL-393 m respectively.

Iron coupled with hydroxylamine turns on the "switch" for free radical degradation of organic pollutants under high pH conditions

Tian, Q.*; Feng, L.*; Wu, C.*; Wen, J.*; Qiu, X.*; Tanaka, Kazuya; Onuki, Toshihiko*; Yu, Q.*

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 669, p.1006 - 1014, 2024/09

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2024.05.021

Trial analysis of chemical behavior in high-level radioactive liquid waste tank at accident of evaporation to dryness by boiling of reprocessing plant

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

JAEA-Research 2024-007, 24 Pages, 2024/08

JAEA-Research-2024-007.pdf:2.1MB

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. It has been observed experimentally that volatility of RuO is suppressed by HNO generated by HNO radiolysis. The analysis of chemical reactions of NO including HNO and HNO in the waste tank is essential to simulate of these phenomena. To resolve this issue, an analytical approach has been attempted to couple dynamically two computer codes SHAWED and SCHERN. The simulation of boiling behavior in the tank is conducted with SHAWED. SCHERN simulates chemical behaviors of HNO, HNO and NO in the tank. A programmatic coupling algorithm and a trial simulation of the accident are presented in this report.

Annual report for FY2022 on the activities of Department of Decommissioning and Waste Management (April 1, 2022 - March 31, 2023)

Department of Decommissioning and Waste Management

JAEA-Review 2024-004, 124 Pages, 2024/07

JAEA-Review-2024-004.pdf:3.39MB

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, 2022 to March 31, 2023. 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 FY2022 radioactive wastes generated from R&D activities in NSRI were treated safely. They were about 262 m of combustible solid wastes and 113 m of noncombustible solid wastes and 203 m of liquid wastes. After adequate treatment, 527 waste packages (in 200 L-drum equivalent) were generated. The total amounts of accumulated waste packages were 122,925 as of the end of FY2022 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). 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.

Study on the evaluation methodology of the radioactivity concentration in low-level radioactive concrete wastes generated from JPDR

Aono, Ryuji; Haraga, Tomoko; Kameo, Yutaka

JAEA-Technology 2024-006, 48 Pages, 2024/06

JAEA-Technology-2024-006.pdf:1.77MB

In the future, radioactive waste which generated from nuclear research facilities in Japan Atomic Energy Agency are planning to be buried for the near surface disposal. It is necessary to establish the method to evaluate the radioactivity concentrations of the radioactive wastes. In this work, we studied the evaluation methodology of the radioactivity concentrations in concrete waste generated from JPDR. In order to construct the evaluation methodology of the radioactivity concentration, the validity of the evaluation methods was confirmed by mainly theoretical calculation and using the result of radiochemical analysis. Correcting the theoretical calculations using results of nuclide analysis, it is possible to evaluate the radioactivity concentrations of nuclides preliminary selected.

Replacement of incinerator adopted to Plutonium Waste Treatment Facility

Yamashita, Kiyoto; Maki, Shota; Yokosuka, Kazuhiro; Fukui, Masahiro; Iemura, Keisuke

JAEA-Technology 2023-023, 97 Pages, 2024/03

JAEA-Technology-2023-023.pdf:8.21MB

The incinerator adopted to incineration room, Plutonium Waste Treatment Facility had been demonstrated since 2002 for developing technologies to reduce the volume of fire-resistant wastes such as vinyl chloride (represented by Polyvinyl chloride bags) and rubber gloves for Radio Isotope among radioactive solid wastes generated by the production of mixed oxide fuels. The incinerator, cooling tower, and processing pipes were replaced with a suspension period from 2018 to 2022, which fireproof materials on the inner wall of the incinerator was cracked and grown caused by hydrogen chloride generated when disposing of fire-resistant wastes. This facility consists of the waste feed process, the incineration process, the waste gas treatment process, and the ash removal process. We replaced the cooling tower in the waste gas treatment process from March 2020 to March 2021, and the incinerator in the incineration process from January 2021 to February 2022. In addition, samples were collected from the incinerator and the cooling tower during the removing and dismantling of the replaced devices, observed by Scanning Electron Microscope and X-ray microanalyzer, and analyzed by X-ray diffraction to investigate the corrosion and deterioration of them. This report describes the method of setting up the green house, the procedure for replacing them, and the results from analysis in corrosion and deterioration of the cooling tower and incinerator.

Contribution to risk reduction in decommissioning works by the elucidation of basic property of radioactive microparticles (Contract Research); FY2020 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Ibaraki University*

JAEA-Review 2023-021, 112 Pages, 2024/02

JAEA-Review-2023-021.pdf:7.1MB

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 FY2020. 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 FY2018, this report summarizes the research results of the "Contribution to Risk Reduction in Decommissioning Works by the Elucidation of Basic Property of Radioactive Microparticles" conducted from FY2018 to FY2021 (this contract was extended to FY2021). The present study aims to understand the basic properties (size, chemical composition, isotopic composition - including concentration of -emitters, electrostatic properties, and optical properties, etc.) of fine particles composed of silicate with insoluble properties which contain regions of highly concentrated radioactive cesium (Cs) released to the environment by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of TEPCO in 2011 March.

Inspection of radioactive waste packages stored in the Waste Storage Facility L; Planning and trial operation

Kawahara, Takahiro; Suda, Shoya; Fujikura, Toshiki; Masai, Seita; Omori, Kanako; Mori, Masakazu; Kurosawa, Tsuyoshi; Ishihara, Keisuke; Hoshi, Akiko; Yokobori, Tomohiko

JAEA-Technology 2023-020, 36 Pages, 2023/12

JAEA-Technology-2023-020.pdf:2.79MB

We have been storing drums containing radioactive waste (radioactive waste packages) at waste storage facilities. We have been managing radioactive waste packages along traditional safety regulations. However, over 40 years has passed from a part of them were brought in pit-type waste storage facility L. Most of them are carbon steel 200 L drums, and surface of them are corroded. For better safety management, we started to take drums out from the pit and inspect them in FY 2019. After each inspection, we repair them or remove the contents of the drum and refill new drums if necessary. In this report, we will introduce the planning, the review of the plan, and the trial operation of this project.