Disposal of Weapon Plutonium: Approaches and Prospects(4 NATO Science Partnership Subseries: 1)

In the immediate term, plutonium recovered from dismantled nuclear warheads will have to be stored securely, under international safeguards where possible. One of the principal alternatives for the disposition of this plutonium is to blend it with high-level waste as it is vitrified for final disposal in a geologic repository. The high radioactivity of the resulting product provides self-shielding and ensures that the Pu cannot be separated without the development of highly sophisticated technology. This third NATO ARW on the disposal of weapons-grade plutonium discusses the non-reactor disposition option, presenting a thorough evaluation of the pros and cons. In broad terms, the workshop presents an exchange of information on waste vitrification, including technical feasibility as well as the necessary stringent safeguards. It discusses the different approaches to the optimum techniques and credible alternatives for immobilizing transuranics and fission products for disposal. It introduces new disposal techniques, in particular matrix immobilization followed by deep borehole disposal. It assesses the implications of safeguarding requirements and identifies common areas in which defined research tasks can be initiated in co-operative partnership.

Table of Contents:
SESSION 1: SAFE DISPOSAL OF WEAPONS PLUTONIUM.- 1. Weapons Plutonium Management: The Present Situation, the Methods and the Prospects.- 2. Retrievability and Safeguards Concerns Regarding Plutonium in Geological Repositories.- 3. Multibarriers: Their Efficacy Against Intentional Intrusion into a Geological Repository to Retrieve Disposed Plutonium.- 4. Prospects for Using Plutonium as a Fuel in Russia.- 5. Plutonium Handling and Vitrification: Main Process Steps and their Cost Evaluation.- SESSION 2: PRODUCT FORMS.- 6. Dissolution of Materials Containing Metal Plutonium and Oxidized Forms of Plutonium.- 7. Crystalline Ceramics: Waste Forms for the Disposal of Weapons Plutonium.- 8. The Crystalline Host-Phases for Immobilization of Weapons Plutonium and Waste Actinides.- 9. On the Long-Term Storage of Weapons Plutonium in Form of Criticality-Free Ceramics Containing Lithium.- 10. Incorporation of Pu and other Actinides in Borosilicate Glass and in Waste Ceramics.- 11. Feasibility of Rock-Like Fuel and Glass Waste Form for Disposal of Weapons Plutonium.- 12. Possible Ways of the Weapon Plutonium Processing to Produce the Steady Glass Materials Suitable for Further Safe Disposal.- 13. Management of Operational Waste from MOX Fuel Plants.- SESSION 3: VITRIFICATION TECHNOLOGY.- 14. SRS Vitrification Studies in Support of the U.S. Program for Disposition of Excess Plutonium.- 15. On the Feasibility of Vitrifying High-Level Liquid Waste Containing High Amounts of Plutonium.- 16. Vitrification of Weapons Plutonium: A Hypothetic Option or a Real Way to Solve the Problem?.- 17. Vitrification of Plutonium for Disposal.- 18. French Appraisal of the Vitrification Option. Weapons Plutonium - or how to get rid of it!.- 19. Safety Aspects with Regard to Plutonium Vitrification Techniques.- SESSION 4: DISPOSAL IN DEEP BOREHOLES.- 20. Disposition of Radionuclides in Deep Geological Formations either in Containers or Vitrified Form.- 21. Disposition of Plutonium in Deep Boreholes.- SESSION 5: LONG-TERM SAFETY ASPECTS.- 22. The Process of the Equipment and Room Surface Pu-Decontamination and Means to Prevent their Contamination.- 23. Technical Basis for Pu Safeguards Practices, Handling and Disposal, PERLA and TAME Experiences.- 24. Long-Term Safety Aspects of Geological Disposal of Large Quantities of Plutonium.- MPC&A for Plutonium Disposition in the Russian Federation.- 6: SUMMARY OF WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS.- 7: NATO WORKSHOP SUMMARY EVALUATION.