Reprocessing: Q & As

February 2, 2014

News Navigator: How is nuclear waste reprocessed?

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/perspectives/news/20140202p2a00m0na001000c.html 

Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. (JNFL) applied for a safety inspection of a nuclear waste reprocessing plant in January. The Mainichi answers common questions readers may have about nuclear waste reprocessing.

Question: What kind of facility is the JNFL plant?

Answer: A giant chemical factory to extract reusable resources like uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. First, the spent fuel is cooled in a pool at the factory for around three years to reduce its radioactivity. Afterwards, it is cut from four-meter fuel rods into pieces of around three to four centimeters. Nitric acid is then used to separate uranium and other components from the fuel, and next the nitric acid is evaporated, while the uranium and other components are pulverized. Other steps are also involved, and overall the process is a technically difficult one. Problems like damage to the cutter that is used to slice the fuel and the clogging of pipes all have to be overcome.

Q: What happens to the waste that the plutonium and uranium are extracted from?

A: Since it cannot be used as a resource, it is processed as "nuclear waste." The waste is liquid and emits high levels of radiation that are fatal even at short-term exposure. To make it easier to store, the liquid is mixed with heated glass at the factory and then put into stainless steel containers. According to JNFL, this process reduces the volume of waste to as much as one third of what it was in liquid form.

Q: If it's glass, isn't it breakable?

A: Glass is resistant against water and to deterioration. JNFL points to glass artifacts uncovered from ancient Rome and other sites that retain their original beauty as evidence of glass's strength.

Q: What is the fate of this glass-encased nuclear waste in the end?

A: Ultimately it has to be buried deep underground, to keep it away from people. The Japanese government has been seeking candidate locations for this since 2002, but so far no local municipality has agreed to have its land surveyed as a potential candidate. For this reason, last year the national government changed its policy from seeking volunteers to choosing candidates locations itself.

The policy of using nuclear power has been criticized as being like "a home without a toilet." Even if the JNFL nuclear waste reprocessing plant begins its operations, the problems with nuclear power cannot be solved overnight. (Answers by Takuji Nakanishi, Science & Environment News Department)