[en] In France the complete closure of the fuel cycle can be reached in 3 steps. The first step relies on the improvement of the present fuel cycle by implementing the use of reprocessed uranium (URT) and by enlarging the use of MOX fuel from 900 MW to 1300 MW PWR. The first loading of URT fuel is planned in 2023. The second step will be the multi-recycling of plutonium. The loading of a test fuel assembly with multi-recycled Pu in a PWR core could be made in 2025-2028 and the industrial deployment may be made in 2040 at the soonest. The third step implies the development of a fleet of fast reactors that will allow a limitless recycling of spent fuels and no necessity of using enriched natural uranium. (A.C.)

[en] For the peaceful use of nuclear energy, ensuring nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear security as well as nuclear safety is a key issue. Japan have promoted the peaceful uses of plutonium with the nuclear non-proliferation commitment based on IAEA safeguards agreement and Japan-US nuclear cooperation agreement, as well as ensuring transparency of the policy that Japan has no plutonium without purpose of use. In promoting the nuclear fuel cycle, adherence to those measures and maintaining plutonium utilization by means of plutonium use in LWR, and a fast reactor cycle to achieve large-scale and long-term energy supply and environmental improvement, therefore, further research and development is essential. Based on the knowledge and experience of research and development in the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear material management, the effective and efficient deployment of new technologies should be promoted with scientific and demonstrative measures to strengthen the world's nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear security. Development or sophistication of new technologies, and human resource development will be future Japan’s contribution to the international community. (author)

[en] Items discussed included: 1. Co-Chairmen's report on the June 1978 Technical Co-Ordinating Committee. 2. Task 1: Collection of basic data. Task 2: Current methods of Pu storage: Base case. Task 3: Current methods of plutonium transport: Base case. Task 7: Plutonium recycle: Base case. Task 8: Assessment of base case for plutonium recycle. 3. Assessment of base cases. 4. Tasks 4 and 5: Technological alternatives for plutonium storage and transport. 5. Task 9: Plutonium recycle - reactor alternatives. 6. Task 6: Alternative institutional arrangements. 7. Preparation of report on the tasks. 8. Task 11: Plutonium recycle - reprocessing alternatives

[en] The items discussed include the assessment of proliferation resistance, safeguards and alternative institutional arrangements

[en] Based on the reference case of a mixed oxide fuel fabrication facility this paper defines various improvements or different plutonium fuel concepts which could reduce proliferation risks and yield economy in processing. The paper considers in turn: co-location, co-conversion and co-processing. It concludes that co-location and co-conversion could be successfully applied in the medium term on an industrial scale

[en] A recent Evaluation and Screening (E/S) study of nuclear fuel cycle options was conducted by grouping all potential options into 40 Evaluation Groups (EGs) based on similarities in fundamental physics characteristics and fuel cycle performance. Through a rigorous evaluation process considering benefit and challenge metrics, 4 of these EGs were identified by the E/S study as 'most promising'. All 4 involve continuous recycle of U/Pu or U/TRU with natural uranium feed in fast critical reactors. However, these most promising EGs also include fuel cycle groups with variations on feed materials, neutron spectra, and reactor criticality. Therefore, the impacts of the addition of natural thorium fuel feed to a system that originally only used natural uranium fuel feed, using an intermediate spectrum instead of a fast spectrum, and using externally-driven systems versus critical reactors were evaluated. It was found that adding thorium to the natural uranium feed mixture leads to lower burnup, higher mass flows, and degrades fuel cycle benefit metrics (waste management, resource utilization, etc.) for fuel cycles that continuously recycle U/Pu or U/TRU. Adding thorium results in fissions of ²³³U instead of just ²³⁹Pu and in turn results in a lower average number of neutrons produced per absorption (η) for the fast reactor system. For continuous recycling systems, the lower η results in lower excess reactivity and subsequently lower achievable fuel burnup. This in turn leads to higher mass flows (fabrication, reprocessing, disposal, etc.) to produce a given amount of energy and subsequent lower metrics performance. The investigated fuel cycle options with intermediate spectrum reactors also exhibited degraded performance in the benefit metrics compared to fast spectrum reactors. Similarly, this is due to lower η values as the spectrum softens. The best externally-driven systems exhibited similar performance as fast critical reactors in terms of mass flows, but they face much greater challenges, including higher waste generation and higher economic and development costs associated with the external neutron supply. Therefore, any fuel cycle option within the most promising EGs that include thorium in the feed mixture, involves intermediate spectrum reactors, or uses externally-driven systems will be less promising than the reference fast spectrum critical reactor with only natural uranium feed. (authors)

[en] Items discussed included: 1. Progress reports from the Japanese/British Technical Secretariat, contributing countries and organisations. Task 1: Collection of basic data. Task 2: Current methods of plutonium storage. Task 3: Current methods of plutonium transport. Task 7: Plutonium recycle: Base case. 2. Numbering and distribution of papers

No abstract available

[en] The amount of plutonium produced is estimated. A survey of fuel cycles employed to date and of the use of plutonium is set up. The existing safety analyses are registered and characterized. Possible fuel cycle alternatives are registered, the state-of-the-art in the various fuel cycle concepts are examined, intervention of third parties and subnational deviation are discussed. (DG)

[en] Based on the engineering situation in China, the essay analyzes the variation of the radioactivity from depleted recycled uranium and compares it with that of natural uranium. Moreover, according to the radiation characters of gamma photons, the external dose rates at specific positions outside a single storage tank and multiple ones in two-tier storage condition are calculated respectively using data base ENSDF. Then the dose rates from depleted recycled uranium are compared with the corresponding values from natural uranium. (authors)