Feasibility study of options for decommissioning radioactive waste
The article says the Russian Federation has stopped the industrial use of all of its uranium-graphite reactor systems (UGRS), whose main goal was to eliminate potential radiological and environmental hazards. Problems associated with its accumulated radioactive waste need to be addressed before it will be possible to deal with the issue of UGRS's decommissioning. In covering this issue, the paper has explored the solid radioactive waste and temporary storage facilities in the Mining and Chemical Combine's (MCC) reactor plant. Two modes of operation were covered in the studies on the storage facilities: regular and emergency. Calculations of the initial conditions of radionuclide migration also take into account the migration characteristics of radionuclides in different environments. The paper identified and disclosed the main problems associated with long-term safe storage of solid radioactive wastes in existing UGRS repositories. In concluded, following a comparative analysis of options for the radioactive waste reactors, that implementation of technical solutions for the 'burial' option could be offered and would be likely to enable long-term isolation of radioactive waste from the environment.