Carbon-14 in waste packages for spent fuel in a tuff repository

Carbon-14 is produced naturally by cosmic ray neutrons in the upper atmosphere. It is also produced in nuclear reactors, in amounts much smaller than the global inventory. About one-thirds of this is released directly to the atmosphere, and the other two-thirds remains in the spent fuel. Both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have established limits on release of the 14C in spent fuel. This is of particular concern for the proposed repository in tuff, because of the unsaturated conditions and the consequent possibility of gaseous transport of 14C as CO2. Existing measurements and calculations of the 14C inventory in spent fuel are reviewed. The physical distribution and chemical forms of the 14C are discussed. Available data on the release of 14C from spent fuel in aqueous solutions and in gaseous environments of air, nitrogen, and helium are reviewed. Projected 14C behavior in a tuff repository is described. It is concluded that 14C release measurements from spent fuel into moist air at temperatures both above and below the in situ boiling point of water as well as detailed transport calculations for the tuff geological environment will be needed to determine whether the 10CFR60 and 40CFR191 requirements can be met. 56 references, 1 table