Impact on public radiation exposure of transuranium nuclides discharged in liquid wastes from fuel element reprocessing at Sellafield, United Kingdom

The most important stage in the nuclear fuel cycle, as far as radioactive waste management is concerned, is that of the reprocessing of irradiated fuel. Current UK practice in the operation of the BNFL plant at Sellafield is to dispose of large volumes of low-level liquid wastes, under authorization, into the Irish Sea. Included in these wastes are transuranium nuclides, and studies have therefore been made on their chemical nature in the effluent, their behaviour in sea water, their association with settled sediments, and their transfer back to man via the ingestion of sea foods. Both Pu and Am isotopes contribute to the effective dose equivalents received by local populations, although it is to the assessment of collective dose commitments that much of the current research effort is being directed. (author)