February 11 - The (im)possibilities of nuclear fuel transmutation

Transmutation of nuclear fuel has received (renewed) attention in recent years in the US, e.g. in the Generation IV framework and GNEP. The common denominator is the application of fast reactor for nuclear fuel transmutation missions, with the ultimate goal of significantly reducing the long term waste storage requirements (geologic repositories etc). However, the (im)possibilities of nuclear fuel transmutation depend on many more parameters than just the neutron energy spectrum in a given nuclear reactor, but depends on all fuel cycle facilities and the mix of available nuclear reactors, as has been shown repeatedly in foreign research (France, European Union, Japan, etc). In this talk I will try to give an overview of available technologies, and indicate how I think we should proceed towards a successful transmutation strategy.