Processing of irradiated fuel cans by rolling and embedding in concrete (Final report Nov 1976 - Jul 1980)

A rolling process was developed to compress scrap materials from a reprocessing plant. A concrete matrix was selected for the fixation. An increase of density of the rolled and jigged model clad-elements by a factor of 2.5 was demonstrated in a small inactive pilot plant. The immobilisation of radioactivity by concrete, packed in 330-1-drums and 400-1-RRF, as outer shell, corresponds the present DKW-concept. A qualitative and quantitative characterisation of these disposal assemblies of compacted waste is given and compared with non-compacted waste. Complementary studies were carried out to determine the retention of tritium, the gas production by radiolysis leaching and thermal conductivity. The retention of hydrogen is low in concrete