Summary of the Euratom Collaborative Project FIRST-Nuclides and Conclusions for the Safety Case

A consortium of 10 partners from 7 European countries and the European Commission collaborated in investigating the release of the first batch of radionuclides from disposed spent nuclear fuel upon canister failure (fast/instant release). The Collaborative Project FIRST-Nuclides was implemented in the scope of the 7th Euratom Framework Programme in the period from 2012 to 2014. The objectives and organization of the project is presented as well as the experiments with highly radioactive materials under investigations. The outcome of the project summarizes the measured instant release fraction (IRF) of safety relevant isotopes from high burn-up spent UO2 nuclear fuels (SNF). Specifically discussed are the dependences of the IRF on the sample properties, the gap and grain boundary releases and the behavior and IRF of elements like selenium. IRF of non-standard SNF was investigated also. The summary is complemented by the presentation of the modelling approaches within the project.

KIENZLER B.;  DURO Lara;  LEMMENS Karel;  METZ V.;  DE PABLO J.;  VALLS Alba;  WEGEN Detlef;  JOHNSON Lawrence;  SPAHIU Kastriot; 

2017-07-31

AMER NUCLEAR SOC

JRC102740

0029-5450,   

http://www.ans.org/pubs/journals/nt/a_40962,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC102740,   

10.1080/00295450.2017.1326271,