Defining WAC for interim storage dedicated to tritium decay

C. Decanis (1) , D. Canas (1) , F. Derasse (1) , D. Dall'Ava (1) , J. Pamela (1)

1 CEA-DES (ex-DEN) - CEA-Direction des Energies (ex-Direction de l'Energie Nucléaire)

Considering the high mobility of tritium through the package in which it is contained, the new 50-year storage concepts proposed by the CEA currently provide a solution adapted to the management of waste with high tritium concentrations, associated with adapted disposal sites. The 50-year intermediate storage corresponds to 4 tritium radioactive periods i.e. a tritium reduction by a factor 1/16.The waste acceptance criteria (WAC) for this interim storage concept will take into account the safety of the facility, the reference scheme for the management of tritiated waste in France, and the criteria applicable at Andra disposal centres. This will lead to define a set of waste specifications that describe the generic criteria such as acceptable waste forms, general principles and specific issues, e.g. conditioning, radioactive content, tritium content, waste tracking system, and quality control.This paper details how the work by the CEA has led to a storage facility project that not only takes into account the specificity of tritium, but also the producers' needs and Andra's disposal requirements.

Keywords: tritium; tritiated waste; incineration; thermal treatment; fusion; interim storage.

Domains: Nuclear Experiment [nucl-ex]; Nuclear Theory [nucl-th]

C. Decanis, D. Canas, F. Derasse, D. Dall'Ava, J. Pamela. Defining WAC for interim storage dedicated to tritium decay. Waste Management 2015, Mar 2015, Phoenix, United States. ⟨cea-02489518⟩