Publication Laka-library:
High Level Waste (1985)
| Author | FOE Energy Campaign |
| Date | August 1985 |
| Classification | 6.01.5.51/44 (WASTE - STORAGE ON LAND (f.i. SALT / CLAY) (INCL. SYNROC)) |
| Front | 
|
From the publication:
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE: WHAT IS IT? What is high- level waste? The official definition is: "Waste in which the temperature may rise significantly as a result of its radioactivity, so that this factor has to be taken into account in designing storage or disposal facilities ." "High- level waste"(HLW) is usually held to refer to the liquid waste products resulting from the "reprocessing" operation, which extracts the uranium and plutonium from spent reactor fuel for future use in a fast- breeder reactor, or for making nuclear bombs. However, the term is sometimes used to describe the spent fuel itself, particularly if no decision has been taken to reprocess it. What are these wastes composed of? The liquid waste is an acid solution consisting mainly of "fission products" which emit beta- radiation, comprising a large number of elements from arsenic (No.33 in the periodic table) to europium (No.63). But there is also a group of radionuclides formed from uranium by successive neutron capture, the "actinides" (that is, elements following actinium in the periodic table). These are mainly alpha- radiation emitters; they are very highly radiotoxic if taken into the body, and include the various isotopes of plutonium, americium, and curium.
This publication is only available at Laka on paper, not as pdf.
You can borrow the publication or request a copy. When we're available, this is possible for a small fee.