On the transmutation of radioactive wastes: prospect and problems

The extensive use of nuclear energy to produce electricity world-wide has left as a by-product vast amounts of radioactive waste. This waste has basically two components: Fission fragments with half-lives less than 100 years. When these fission fragments are chemically isolated, they need a final depository, only stable for about 600 years. Actinides, minor (such as Np, Am, Cm) and major (such as Pu, both civilian and military) plus a few long-live fission fragments, such as 99Tc and 129I. This second component needs as final depository a geological stable formation, with times requested for being stable well in millions of years. This long-lived radioactive material can alternatively be TRANSMUTED into short-lived or stable nuclei using relativistic ions. Such research is going on - among others - at the JINR, Dubna, Russia and at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland. The technical methods will be described, its prospects will be shown as well as its problems. (author)