Preliminary Study on Risk Identification and Assessment Framework for Fusion Radioactive Waste Management

Abstract

Fusion reactors are expected to be safer, more environmentally friendly, and to have a lower nuclear proliferation risk, compared with other nuclear energy systems. However, it is widely recognized that a large amount of radioactive materials will be produced by a fusion reactor. Therefore, it is important to fully understand the overall radiation risk level of fusion radioactive wastes (radwaste) compared with existing nuclear energy systems. Studies on the treatment of the fusion radwaste have been currently focused on three ultimate options: clearance, recycling, and disposal by activation assessment of radioactive materials from the operation and decommissioning of fusion reactors. However, the radiation risk in the management of fusion radwaste, especially in the final disposal, was seldom studied. Based on the comparative analysis of fusion radioactive waste with ITER and fission reactors (e.g., pressurized water reactor, PWR), this paper tries to discuss how to determine the radiation risk in the process of fusion radwaste management on the premise of the current feasible industrial technology. On this basis, a risk assessment framework for repository disposal under normal degradation and external events is proposed.