Assessment of Radioactive Metal Melting as a Viable Approach to Reducing and Reusing Scrap From Nuclear Installations

Abstract

Activities associated with nuclear power generation produce continuous amounts of low-to- intermediate level radioactive wastes that require long-term management solutions such as surface, near-surface or geological repository storage. While metallic waste (scrap) volumes are modest during normal operation, they increase dramatically when a facility is ultimately retired from operation and decommissioned.Melting of scrap in a furnace immediately achieves waste volume reduction and potentially allows a majority of the metal to be recycled. Many European countries have already constructed and are successfully operating commercial metal melting facilities for radioactive waste management and new Japanese facilities are currently being developed in response to the 2011 Fukushima disaster.This paper presents a high level overview of the environmental and socio-economic benefits that can be achieved by pursuing radioactive metal melting in North America, particularly in jurisdictions like Ontario, where numerous nuclear plants are scheduled for decommissioning over the coming decades.