5. Radiation equivalence in long-living high-level radioactive waste management

The problems of improving nuclear fuel cycle connected with development of the transmutation schemes which provide maximum achieving the balance in radioactivities of long-living high-level radioactive wastes of power reactors and natural uranium are discussed. The data characterizing radiation-equivalent activity of long-living high-level radioactive wastes of the WWER-440, WWER-1000, RBMK-1000 and BN-600 reactors are analyzed. The main operations of the closed transmutation nuclear fuel cycle are considered. The models of large-scale nuclear industry development in Russia on the basis of transmutation fuel cycle are suggested. It is shown that the radiation-migration balance of long-living high-level wastes and natural uranium will be reached at allowable time of long-term controllable wastes storage before their final disposal equal to 200 years. The ways for minimization of high-level radioactive wastes during operation and decommissioning of large-scale nuclear power system in Russia are considered. The conclusion on good prospects of application of the closed fuel cycle with recycling of the basic actinides in any fast reactor being a part of nuclear power system (or their removal into space), separation of strontium and cesium for further use and iodine and technetium for transmutation, structural materials recycling and long-term controllable long-living high-level waste storage is made