Post Closure Safety Assessment for Electrolytic Reduction Process Waste

KAERI has developed the KIEP-21 (Korean, Innovative, Environmentally Friendly, and Proliferation Resistant System for the 21st Century). It is an advanced nuclear fuel cycle option with a pyro-process and a GEN-IV SFR. A pyro-process consists of two distinctive processes, an electrolytic reduction process and an electro-refining and winning process. When the electrolytic reduction process is applied, it generates two streams of products, metals and solidified fission products. The electro-refining and winning process with these products produces five different waste streams. To compare pyro-process advantage over the direct disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF), the PWR SNF of the 45,000 MWD burn-up has been assumed. A safety assessment model for electrolytic reduction process wastes and representative results are presented in this paper