IRRADIATED GRAPHITE | COVER STORY
Left:
The RBMK type is another graphite moderated reactor design
Finding cooperative solutions Given the extent of the problem posed by irradiated graphite and the complexities involved, the importance of international co-operation cannot be overestimated. The IAEA has paid a great deal of attention to the issue and has encouraged work in this area since 1998. The role of the IAEA is not to prescribe policy on radwaste management but to advise member states of the various options which are being researched, to enable them to make an informed decision on the correct policy for their situation.
In 1999, the IAEA hosted a Technical Meeting, “Nuclear
Graphite Waste Management” at the University of Manchester in the UK, the proceedings of which were published in 2001 in the form of a CD-ROM, “Nuclear Graphite Waste Management”. The report resulting from this meeting underwent several reviews and was finally issued in 2006 as a TECDOC, “Characterization, Treatment and Conditioning of Radioactive Graphite from Decommissioning of Nuclear Reactors”. In 2007, another conference was held in Manchester on “Solutions for Graphite Waste: A Contribution to the Accelerated Decommissioning of Graphite Moderated Nuclear Reactors”. It was organised by the School of Mechanical, Aerospace & Civil Engineering and the Dalton Nuclear Institute of Manchester University in cooperation with the IAEA. While the emphasis was on the problems
faced by the UK, the situation in other countries was also presented. The results of the conference were published as an IAEA TECDOC in 2010, “Progress in Radioactive Graphite Waste Management”. Two separate initiatives also took placed during this period. The US Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) launched a “Graphite Decommissioning Initiative” which ran from 2006 to 2012 and produced six comprehensive reviews on all aspects of irradiated graphite disposal. At the same time, Carbowaste, which ran from 2008–2013,
was established by the European Union (EU) under the 7th Framework Programme of Euratom. Its aim was to support development of high temperature reactor designs by defining disposal routes for both graphite from moderators and the high carbon content of the particulate fuels, needed for the safety cases to support reactor construction and operation. This programme had 29 participants including South Africa, which was then developing its pebble bed modular reactor. The IAEA proposed its own initiative to run in parallel
with Carbowaste – a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) entitled Treatment of Irradiated Graphite to Meet Acceptance Criteria for Waste Disposal, which ran from 2011 to 2015. This CRP sought to involve a wider spectrum of IAEA member states than were present in Carbowaste. Organisations from 10 countries participated. It was intended:
Left: Magnox reactors like the decommissioned Wylfa in Anglesey, Wales, also use graphite in their cores Photo credit: RogerMechan/
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