Euradwaste '08 - EU Bookshop - Europa

Scientific and technical presentations
The second part of the Euradwaste ’08 conference was dedicated to discussing the scientific and
technical aspects of partitioning and transmutation, which aim to reduce the amount and toxicity of
radioactive waste, the near- and far-field issues that impact the development of geological repositories,
engineering studies, and aspects such as overall performance and safety assessment of these
repositories.
Approximately 270 scientists, engineers, politicians and regulators, and specialists in converging
areas had a rare opportunity to hear about the state of play in the various disciplines related to radioactive
waste management. Results from myriad FP6 (Sixth Framework Programme) projects
were presented and future directions for projects funded under Euratom in FP7 were discussed.
Because of the large spread of interest areas, and the limited time, the information imparted was for
the most part quite general and easy to follow, and dialogue was encouraged. Occasionally time
allowed projects to be reported in greater depth. Many of those who had attended the last Euradwaste
conference in 2004 felt the panel discussions added a lot to their understanding of the issues
and allowed for a meaningful level of dialogue.
Partitioning and transmutation
The technical part of the conference began with presentations on partitioning (chemical separation)
and transmutation (radionuclide conversion) of the most radiotoxic long-lived radionuclides, which
are carried out on spent fuel before disposal. Mr Ved Bhatnagar of the European Commission’s DG
Research opened the session with a broad overview of these processes and followed up with a lively
panel discussion on the effect of partitioning and transmutation (P&T) research on implementation
of geological disposal.
P&T research seeks to reduce the long-term radiotoxicity of nuclear waste to a few hundred years,
rather than the tens of thousands of years of the initial spent fuel. This would serve two purposes:
making the disposal of radioactive waste safer, in case of inadvertent human intrusion in a repository,
and reducing the size of the repositories, if the heat-bearing radionuclides are removed. The
research, as several presenters at the conference noted, does not seek to replace geological disposal
as a waste management option, but to optimise it. Whether or not P&T is effective, geological repositories
will be needed for the final product.
‘Dialogue between P&T and geological disposal communities is a goal of the European Commission,’
said Mr Bhatnagar. ‘It is also important to remember that P&T is necessary for developing
sustainability in nuclear energy.’
Mr Enrique González Romero of CIEMAT in Spain explained that ‘spent fuel is a complex material
with many kinds of radioactive isotopes with largely different characteristics. After partitioning,
the idea is that each component will be used or treated separately.’
Mr Jean-Paul Glatz of the EC Joint Research Centre’s Institute for Transuranium Elements based in
Germany gave an overview of research efforts in partitioning, which seeks to separate fission products
and actinides that share very similar properties with one another. ‘We are still doing basic
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