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Fusion Science and Technology
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GAO: Clarification of HLW definition could save DOE billions
A clearer definition of what constitutes high-level radioactive waste could save the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management “tens of billions of dollars” in waste management costs and accelerate its cleanup schedule by decades, according to a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
DOE-EM’s efforts to manage waste resulting from legacy spent nuclear fuel reprocessing have been hindered for decades by the ambiguity of the statutory definition of HLW as laid out in the Atomic Energy Act and Nuclear Waste Policy Act, the report states. While admitting that the DOE has taken steps to overcome this ambiguity, the GAO says that the department has not fully evaluated all available opportunities to treat and dispose of waste more economically as either transuranic or low-level radioactive waste.
N. P. Bhat, Hans U. Borgstedt
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 21 | Number 1 | January 1992 | Pages 52-59
Technical Paper | Blanket Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST92-A29705
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Electrochemical oxygen meters with yttrium-doped thoria, yttrium-stabilized zirconia, and calcium-stabilized zirconia solid electrolytes are tested for the measurement of oxygen activity in Pb-17Li eutectic alloy, the proposed breeder blanket fluid for fusion reactors. The oxygen potentials of the alloy measured by these three meters are compared with the oxygen potentials of the alloy after the addition of lithium oxide and with theoretical values. Zirconium and yttrium metal foils are tested for gettering oxygen from the alloy. The compatibility of the three ceramic materials in the liquid alloy and the stability of the meters for prolonged use are discussed. The influence of oxygen on the corrosion of steels in Pb-17Li is reviewed in light of the oxygen potentials of the alloy compared to thermodynamic data of the ternary oxides of the metal constituents of steels. The possibility of using the oxygen meters to measure the lithium activity of the alloy is also indicated.
