Possibility of transmutation of radioactive wastes from nuclear reactors in subcritical melted-salt reactor with photonuclear neutron source based on electron accelerator

The problem of transmutation of transuranium elements being one of the principle sources of the potential danger of nuclear wastes is discussed. It is shown that in order to decrease probability of reactive accidents in reactor-transmutators it is necessary to work in subcritical regime with neutron supply from an external source. The advantages of the molten salt reactors which can be treated as pure transmutators of transuranium elements are considered. The main of them is the possibility to keep much lower level of subcriticalities in this type of reactors for their control. A system of relatively simple, cheap, compact and reliable linear electron accelerators is feasible in this case as an external source of neutrons. 7 refs