Characterization of Ontario Power Generation's low and intermediate level reactor waste - an overview

Low and intermediate level wastes from Ontario Power Generation (OPG)'s nuclear operations are currently stored at its Western Waste Management Facility in Bruce. Eventually, these wastes will be permanently disposed in a repository. Data on radionuclide inventories in the waste are required in sufficient detail to support the development of conceptual designs, safety assessment and licensing of the planned repository. The radionuclides of interest include typical easy-to-measure gamma emitters such as Co-60 and Cs-137 and various difficult-to measure (DTM), a and b emitting radionuclides. Kinectrics has been involved, for several years, in the radiochemical, chemical and microbiological characterization of OPG's reactor waste. This overview paper will focus on the radiochemical characterization of OPG's waste with emphasis on the more recent activities. The latter include 1) measurement of gamma activity in large waste packages, 2) application of dose rate-to-gamma activity conversion methodology, 3) development of scaling factors for DTM radionuclides and 4) development of predictive models for estimating scaling factors. (author)