New nuclear waste disposal research ‘could save millions’
19 Nov 2016
A team of scientists has completed a body of research on radioactive isotopes, which could be used as a foundation to develop more efficient nuclear waste decontamination.
As part of the research, the team identified a concrete core taken from the structure of a nuclear fuel cooling pond contaminated with radioactive isotopes of caesium and strontium, and discovered that the painted and rubberised under layers of the core were intact, with the paint having acted as a sealant for 60 years.
Using infomation gleaned from the research, the nuclear industry could save millions of pounds through the reduction in volume of radioactive waste, the team suggested.
According to statistics, the clean-up of the UK's nuclear legacy will cost an estimated £117 billion and take decades to complete.
The research team consisted of scientists from the University of Manchester, the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) and the UK’s synchrotron science facility, Diamond Light Source, which argued that safely decommissioning the legacy of radioactively contaminated facilities from nuclear energy and weapons production is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century.
Richard Pattrick, who led the project from the University of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute, said: “This work shows the power of the techniques available at the Diamond synchrotron to meet the challenge of cleaning up our nuclear legacy and the university is working very closely with Diamond to develop facilities to support research across the whole of the nuclear industry.”
