Safeguards Experience on the DUPIC Fuel Cycle Process

Year
2000
Author(s)
Howard Menlove - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Ho-Dong Kim - Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute
Jongsook Hong - Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute
Myung Seung Yang - Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute
Hyun Soo Park - Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute
Ahmed Abou-Zahra - International Atomic Energy Agency
Winston Alston - International Atomic Energy Agency
Abstract
Safeguards have been applied to the R&D process for directly fabricating CANDU fuel with PWR spent fuel material. Safeguards issues to be resolved were identified in the areas such as international cooperation on handling foreign origin nuclear material, technology development of operator's measurement system of the bulk handling process of spent fuel material, and a built-in C/S system for independent verification of material flow. The fuel cycle concept (Direct Use of PWR spent fuel in CANDU, DUPIC) was developed in consideration of reutilization of over-flowing spent fuel resources at PWR sites and a reduction of generated high level wastes. All those safeguards issues have been finally resolved, and the first batch of PWR spent fuel material was successfully introduced in the DUPIC lab facility and has been in use for routine process development.