Optimizing Transportation Plans of Designated Radioactive Waste Using Quantum Annealing

Abstract

To optimize the transportation of designated waste from the Great East Japan Earthquake, which contains radioactive material and poses risks to the environment and public safety, a cost function was formulated to create a transportation plan using quantum annealing, a computational method that specializes in solving combinatorial optimization problems. This method can be performed using actual quantum annealing machines with more than 5,000 qubits that are currently available. The study evaluates the feasibility of using quantum annealing to optimize the transportation planning of designated waste and increase efficiency while minimizing risks.