Assessment of activity resources by nomenclature of main radiation-hazardous radionuclides during the long-term management of spent nuclear fuel of the Belarusian NPP

The purpose of the study is calculation research of the radiation characteristics of fission products and actinides at different phases of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) management of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). The study is aimed at the scientific support of the government decision as determined by the “On approval of the spent nuclear fuel management Strategy of the Belarusian nuclear power plant”. А probabilistic forecasting model and an effective code CUB for the spent nuclear fuel radioactivity inventory assessment were developed by the authors. Radionuclides activities as function of nuclear fuel burnup for nuclear fuel with the initial enrichment on the ²³⁵U equals to 4.81 % on the base of approximation relations of Regulation RB-093-14 (Moskow, 2014) have been calculated. Basic relations between specific activities of the main hazardous fission products and actinide, the SNF burnup and initial degree of fuel enrichment were analyzed. The rates of decrease of individual and total fission products and actinides activities of the Units №1 and 2 of the Belarusian NPP were obtained depending on the specific phase of spent SNF management. The results are of value for decision-making on ecology acceptable SNF management option introduced by Spent Nuclear Fuel Management Strategy of the Belarusian NPP.

1. International Atomic Energy Agency. Status and trends in spent fuel and radioactive waste management. IAEA nuclear energy series: NW-T-1.14. Vienna, 2018. Available at: https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/P1799_web.pdf

2. Ventcel’ E. S. Operation Research. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1972. 552 p. (in Russian).

3. Gorbacheva N. V., Beresneva N. V., Kulich N. V., Skurat V. V. Verification and use of a set of mathematical programs for assessing radioactivity reserves to ensure the safety of nuclear installations at the NP site. Obespechenie bezopasnosti AES s VVER: materialy 6-j Mezhdunar. nauch.-tekhn. konf. [Ensuring the Safety of Nuclear Power Plants with WWER: Reports of the 6th International Scientific and Technical Conference]. Podol’sk, 2009. Available at: https://gosatomnadzor.mchs.gov.by/upload/iblock/a76/npa-yrb-1.pdf (in Russian).

4. Gorbacheva N.V., Kulich N. V., Korcheva Yu. A.Calculated studies of radiotoxicity and specific activity of irradiated deep burn WWER-1200 fuel. Yadernye tekhnologii XXI veka: doklady VI Mezhdunar. konf. [Nuclear Technologies of the XXI century: Reports of the 6th International Conference]. Minsk, Pravo i ekonomika Publ., 2016, pp. 79–88 (in Russian).

5. Serebryanyi G. S. Radiation and thermal characteristics of spent nuclear fuel of the WWER-1200 reactor. Atomnaya energetika, yadernye i radiacionnye tekhnologii XXI veka: doklady VII Mezhdunar. konfer. [Nuclear Energy, nuclear and radiation technologies of the XXI Century: Reports of the 7th International Conference]. Minsk, Pravo i ekonomika Publ., 2018, pp. 63–89 (in Russian).