Preliminary Study On Important Radionuclides For The Safety Assessment Of The Brazilian Repository For LILW (CENTENA) - 23423

Brazil has two operating nuclear power plants (NPP), three research reactors, one experimental critical facility and thousands of radioisotopes users in medicine, industrial and other applications. The country also has plans for a new NPP, which is under construction, and a new research reactor. So, in the next few years, the tendency of the radioactive waste inventory is to increase significantly. Moreover, the current inventory counts with thousands of radioactive wastes in initial and intermediary storage waiting for final deposition, since it does not have a national repository yet. The Nuclear and Environmental Technological Center (CENTENA) will be the Brazilian near surface repository for low and intermediate-level radioactive wastes. It is in the construction site selection phase and consists of an undertaking of great importance for nuclear technology development in Brazil. In this work, we evaluated the radioactive waste inventory of the two main generators in Brazil and a preliminary list, in order to determine the first wastes to be transferred to CENTENA. Considering this inventory, we determine a preliminary list of important radionuclides to be considered for the CENTENA safety assessment. We hope to contribute to the discussion of the subject in the country and to assist in the decision making regarding the safety of the project. (authors)