Waste inventory report for reactor and fuel-fabrication facility wastes

The physical and chemical characteristics of wastes (other than spent fuel) that are generated at light-water-cooled nuclear reactor (LWR) power plants and nuclear fuel-fabrication facilities are described. The information used to define these characteristics is based on a survey of 30 nuclear power plants and 7 facilities involved in LWR fuel-fabrication. Information on volumes and activity levels of five major categories of LWR and fuel fabrication facility waste was collected. The major categories of waste are spent resin, concentrated liquids, precoat filter sludge (including ground ion-exchange resin), cartridge filters, and compactible and non-compactible trash. The volumes and activity levels of these wastes were used to determine the average waste-generation rates for LWRs and fuel-fabrication facilities, and the typical waste-generation rates for LWRs. Average gross radioactive concentrations were calculated, including concentrations of transuranics, to determine annual activity-generation rates and the total radioactivity of the waste shipped. These generation rates were used in conjunction with projected increases in the gross electrical generating capacity of nuclear power plants to determine annual waste volumes through 2000. A determination of the effect of a broad application of current volume-reduction systems on the waste volumes is also included. The overall waste burial capacity of currently licensed burial site areas was examined and fuel-cycle wastes and nonfuel-cycle wastes were considered.