Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH Technik und Umwelt, Institute for Nuclear Waste Disposal. Annual Report 2005

Activities at the Institut fuer Nukleare Entsorgung (INE) are integrated into the research programme NUKLEAR of the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe within the Hermann von Helmholtz Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren (HGF). INE contributes to the German R and D on long-term safety assessment for final disposal of nuclear waste. Further activities deal with the separation of minor actinides from high-level waste (partitioning) for subsequent transmutation and the immobilization of high level liquid waste by vitrification. Over 10.000 t spent fuel containing approximately 100 t plutonium, 8 t minor actinides (neptunium, americium and curium) and 400 t of fission products have been generated in Germany until 2005. About 7000 t were shipped to France and UK for reprocessing to recover plutonium and uranium. The safe disposal of high-level waste consisting of spent fuel and waste arising from reprocessing is in the responsibility of the federal government. (orig.)