Economic and technical advantages of high temperature processes in high level radioactive waste management

The estimated waste management costs incurred for the three principal waste forms produced by reprocessing spent fuel are compared from a theoretical economic standpoint. The cost of vitrifying concentrated fission product solutions is considered first, together with the estimated additional costs of transportation and final storage in a geological repository. Fuel cladding waste treatments are then examined by comparing the relative costs of cementation, compaction and melting; processes for disposal of incinerable alpha-bearing wastes are also considered. In each case, the processes ensuring the greatest waste volume reduction not only result in the lowest management cost, but are also most effective in ensuring the highest possible containment quality for the final waste package