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The Dissolution of Irradiated Fuel Under Hydrothermal Conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

Lawrence H. Johnson  and
Henry H. Joling
Lawrence H. Johnson
Affiliation:
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment, Pinawa, Manitoba, Canada. ROE ILO
Henry H. Joling
Affiliation:
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment, Pinawa, Manitoba, Canada. ROE ILO
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Abstract

Uranium dioxide, the major component of irradiated CANDU fuel, shows good hydrothermal stability under the appropriate redox conditions. The thermodynamic stability of UO2 in low ionic strength granite groundwater at 150°C under oxidizing and reducing conditions is briefly reviewed in order to provide a basis for discussion of the results of irradiated fuel dissolution experiments. Fuel chemistry characteristics that influence the kinetics of fission product release are also discussed.

Experimental studies demonstrate the influence of redox chemistry on irradiated fuel dissolution behaviour. Undero9 trongly reducing conditions, both uranium and 99Tc concentrations in solution decrease to the detection limit, whereas appreciable concentrations of both elements accumulate under oxidizing conditions. The release of some fission products, such as 90Sr and 137Cs, does not seem to be strongly affected by changes in redox chemistry. Under oxidizing conditions, the rate of 90Sr release to solution increases by a factor of ten to twenty between 25 and 150°C.

These studies indicate the need for further work in certain areas, in particular on the relative amounts of important fission productsreleased by leaching versus matrix dissolution, and on the effect of the products of α–radiolysis of water on the dissolution of irradiated fuel.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 6: Symposium D – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management IV , 1981 , 321
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1982

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References

REFERENCES

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