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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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No impact from Savannah River radioactive wasps
The news is abuzz with recent news stories about four radioactive wasp nests found at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The site has been undergoing cleanup operations since the 1990s related to the production of plutonium and tritium for defense purposes during the Cold War. Cleanup activities are expected to continue into the 2060s.
Hans-Werner Wiese
Nuclear Technology | Volume 102 | Number 1 | April 1993 | Pages 68-80
Technical Paper | Mixed-Oxide Fuel / Nuclear Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT93-A34803
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Based on the use of the Joint Evaluated File (JEF-1) with the KARBUS burnup code system and subsequent KORIGEN code calculations, the characteristics of spent pressurized water reactor mixed-oxide (MOX) fuels are analyzed. Actinide masses, decay heat, radioactivities, and radiation are discussed for burnups of 40 to 55 GWd/tonne HM for MOX fuels based on natural uranium and on uranium tailings. Multiple plutonium recycling is considered at a burnup of 50 GWd/tonne HM. The results are compared with earlier data at a burnup of 33 GWd/tonne HM. The high-exposure MOX fuels are found to contain large amounts of the heat-releasing and radiating nuclides, 238Pu and 244Cm. The 238Pu in the plutonium, which is to be used for the fabrication of fuel elements from recycled MOX, requires special shielding or a change from glove box techniques to an automated treatment.
