[en] Among the world's countries, as of 2019, France, the U.K. (treatment of Magnox fuel until 2020), Russia, India, and China are reprocessing the spent fuel generated at nuclear power plants in their own countries. This paper summarizes the history and outline of the construction and shutdown of reprocessing plants in France, the U.K., the U.S., Germany, Russia, India, and China. Regarding the reprocessing plants in Japan, the decommissioning plan for the Tokai reprocessing plant was approved in June 2018, and the Rokkasho reprocessing plant is under construction aiming for completion in the first half of FY2021. (A.O.)

[en] The article recalls the reprocessing stages of nuclear fuels irradiated in a generating reactor, and points out the type of hazards to be encountered. These risks are specific to nuclear material stored in a reprocessing plant: contamination, irradiation, criticality, thermal emission. They also depend on the operating conditions of any plant using a chemical process. For protection against the hazards of nuclear origin, safety devices are installed. They rely especially on the barrier designs and restricted zones. Whatever the volume of radioactive elements, contained at a given moment, inside a reprocessing plant may be, the very improbable occurrence of an incident of nuclear origin could only progress very slowly: thus the ways and means of intervention and checking would be more powerful and effective

[en] A series of papers covering design, quality assurance, and safety of plant and processes at BNFL's fuel reprocessing plant at Sellafield. (U.K.)

[en] The first fuel-reprocessing plant in Japan is now almost completed by PNC at Tokai Village, Ibaraki Pref. It is expected that the plant will start its commercial operation from early spring, 1976, if everything goes on schedule. Because of the tough negotiation with local people, the construction was delayed by 4 years. The reprocessing capacity of the plant is 0.7 ton/day. The series of processes are performed in complete isolation from the outside. About 70 cells, including mechanical treatment cell, dissolution cell, decontamination and maintenance cell, are constructed mainly with concrete, and shielded with steel, lead, and water. The Purex process is used for the processing. The end products will be purified UO₃ powder and purified Pu(NO₃)₄ solution. The Purex process uses concentrated nitric acid and solvent, therefore, Uranus 65 alloy was used for the construction of processing lines. For transporting liquid into the cells, jet pump air lifts or syphons without any movable part are used. The length of stainless steel pipes used totaled 120 km. The reprocessing plant is essential for the completion of nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear development. The capacity of this PNC reprocessing plant will be just enough to meet the needs for 7 to 8 million kw in terms of nuclear power generation, which only narrowly meets the need until early 1975. How to meet future reprocessing needs, which will increase after mid 1975, poses a large problem that Japan must solve in the near future. (Fukutomi, T.)

[en] Reprocessing is examined in this meeting for fuel cycle of light water reactors and fast neutron reactors. Technology, experience, safety, reprocessing plant and operation, and future development are studied

[en] A continuously working transport device is used, which transports fuel element pieces supplied continuously by a supply device through a dissolving device and which then transports the leached pieces of can through a post-treatment device to a handover device. The dissolving device is a U-shaped hollow body and the transport device is a mechanical rising conveyor. (orig./HP)

[en] In connection with the first nuclear partial licence for the planned reprocessing plant at Wackersdorf, the Superior Administrative Court of Bavaria deals with the legal term of nuclear installations in its decision of April 22, 1987. How far proceedings in the marginal zone of reprocessing can be accounted to the legal term of reprocessing in sec. 7 para. 1 Atomic Energy Act is to be determined in each case according to the meaning and purpose of the Atomic Energy Act. (WG)

[en] The standard for balancing the rotating bowl describes only the details about the selection of balance quality grade and the permissible residual unbalance for different operating speeds. This paper presents the effects of unbalance on the rotating bowl of high speed centrifuge used in reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. In this study, the residual unbalance is evaluated for different recommended balancing grades in accordance with the ISO 1940. This unbalance mass generates dynamic force which acts on the rotor. The dynamic response of the rotor like displacements and stresses under this dynamic force are studied by numerical simulation. Finally, the effect of residual unbalance on the rotating bowl performance for different balancing grades is discussed. The experimental measurements are also carried out for the case of G 1.0 grade balanced rotating bowl to validate the resonance frequency as well as vibration amplitudes. (author)

[en] Japan's 800t/y reprocessing plant is currently being designed. The safety review documents will be submitted in November and the plant is due on line in 1997. The main facilities will rely heavily on French technology, with some use made of British and German techniques. (author)

[en] The construction and operation of a reprocessing plant was first published in 1956. The Reprocessing Expert Committee of AEC was established in 1959, and the preliminary design was finished in 1964 by NCP of Britain. The detailed design was completed in 1969 by SGN of France, and the training of operators was carried out in parallel with this in France. The results of the safety investigation was approved in Jan. 1970, and the construction was started in June 1971. The site of the reprocessing plant is the eastern part of the Tokai Establishment of PNC. The process adopted is the wet Purex process having been established in large practical plants. The treating capacity is 0.7 t/day. The main processes are acceptance and storage, mechanical treatment, and chemical treatment. The reprocessing facilities comprise the main shop, the analysis station, the main exhaust stack, the decontamination station, the solid waste store, the sea discharge pipe, and other incidental facilities. The construction works were about 7 months behind the schedule when the water flow test was finished. The chemical test was finished in March, 1975, and the uranium test is in progress since Sept., 1975. The problems for future are the developments of effective waste treatment and storing techniques, and the researches have been carried out by PNC. The construction project of the second plant is urgently required, since it takes 10 years from planning to operation. (Kako, I.)