Long-term dissolution behavior of spent fuel in compacted bentonite and synthetic granitic groundwater

The long-term dissolution behavior of spent PWR fuel in synthetic granitic groundwater has been investigated since June of 1998 in order to identify the release mechanism of spent fuel in contact with domestic Ca-bentonite, which was compacted as a density of 1.4g/cm3. Several spent fuel specimens were cut to around 3-mm thick, and these specimens were then loaded into each leaching cell. Every half year, one specimen was collected and the bentonite block was sliced into several pieces. The element distribution on the specimen surface was measured by EPMA and an optical microscope, and the gamma activities in the sliced bentonite pieces were measured. All the leachates were sampled and then the gamma and gross alpha activities were measured. By the results, coming from leaching up to about 1.5 years, the fraction of radiocesium released through the compacted bentonite layer from the spent fuel is approximately a hundredth lower than that without the bentonite layer. By the depth profile of the gamma activity on the bentonite, the activity gradually decreased in accordance with more distance from the specimen and the fractional release rates of cesium were nearly the same. On the other hand, the EPMA results indicate that more time and more information is required in order to identify the surface alteration of spent fuel by leaching. This experiment will therefore be continued at least into the year 2006. Copyright (2001) Material Research Society