Spanish Management Issues in Radioactive and Nuclear Waste … · 2012. 10. 25. · Radioactive and Nuclear Waste Manageme nt in Spain. Workshop, 15-18 Lisbon Waste Management in

Spanish Management Issues in Radioactive and Nuclear Waste

Materials

Dr. Amparo González EsparteroSenior Researcher

Head of CIEMAT Quality Management CYTED- Energy Area Technical Secretary of Spanish Alliance for

Energy Research and Innovation (ALINNE)

Radioactive and Nuclear Waste Management in Spain. Workshop, 15-18 Lisbon

Nuclear Energy in Spain

BWR (1971) PWR (1983, 1985)

PWR (1988)

PWR (1987)

BWR (1984)

PWR (1981, 1983)

8 Nuclear Units in operation in 6 sites (7.728 MWe)which produce 57.648 GWh (2011)corresponding to 19,6% Spanish electricity14th place in the world

Decommissioned Dismantled

In operationDismantling or shutdownFuel Fabrication and Surface repository

Repository for LMRW

Nuclear fuel fabrication


Waste Management in Spain

WASTE CLASSIFICATION

CRITERIA: Form, treatment, type of radiation, half life, heat generation, etc.SPAIN: RR and NN Wastes are classified following the IAEA criteria and the EC criteriaadopted in 1994 and 1999, respectively:

• Low and Medium Radioactive Wastes (LMRW): low specific activity, no heat generation,only contains beta-gamma emitters t1/2 < 30y. They can be treated and definitively stored inEl Cabril.

• High Active Wastes (HAW): Contains alpha emitters t1/2 > 30y and/or beta-gammaemitters in a very high specific concentration. They require specific facilities for their finaldisposal.


Waste Management in Spain: Reference Scenario

LMRW176.300 m3

SF/HAW12.800 m3

LMRW

72% NPP and RR Facilities Dismantling

4% Others20% NPP Operation

1% Nuclear FuelFabrication

3% RadioactiveFacilities Operation

79% Spent Fuel

SF/HAW20% MRW

(NPP Dismantling)1% Glasses

10000 m3 SF (6.674 tU)


Waste Management in Spain:

ENRESA is the public company in charge of the safemanagement (treatment&conditioning), storage and disposal ofthe nuclear and radioactive wastes produced in Spain.

It was set up in 1984 by the Spanish Parliament.

ENRESA is also responsible for the dismantling of nuclearpower plants when their service lifetime has come to an endand for the environmental restoration of disused uranium minesand facilities.


Waste Management in Spain: The General Radioactive Waste Plan (GRWP) is the document that contains

the strategies and activities to be implemented and performed in Spain inrelation to radioactive wastes and the dismantling of facilities and theireconomic-financial study. It is approved by the Cabinet and is periodicallyupdated.

Since ENRESA was set up there have been six General Radioactive WastePlans.

The 6th General Radioactive Waste Plan wasapproved by the Cabinet on June 23rd 2006 for 5years (now it is extended).

It includes the start-up of a Centralised TemporaryStorage facility (ATC) for the spent fuel and high levelwastes generated in the dismantling of the nuclearpower plants that reach the end of their servicelifetimes.


Dismantling and environmental restoration Environmental restoration of uranium mines

– Uranium mines in Spain: Salamanca, Badajoz and Jaen. Thismining activity began in 1948 and stopped in 2000.

– Since 1990’s, ENRESA has been progressively undertakingenvironmental restoration tasks, consisting basically of: Backfilling the works, sealing openings, stabilizing the terrain,

embankments and slopes and recovering the topography andregenerating its plant life.

Andújar Uranium Mine in Jaén


Dismantling and environmental restoration

– First phase: prior to dismantling the spentfuel was transferred to France forreprocessing.

– Second phase: all the facilities, buildingsand structures external to the reactor weredismantled and the reactor was confinedfor a period of 30 years. Works finished in2003.

Vandellós I NPP, locatedin Tarragona. Started itscommercial operation in1972 and was definitivelyshut down by MinisterialOrder in 1990, after 17years of operation.


Dismantling and environmental restoration José Cabrera NPP, located in Guadalajara started operation in 1968.

After 38 years of operation, a Ministerial Order led to its definitiveshutdown on April 30th 2006.

– First phase: Activities prior to dismantling included the management of thespent fuel (removal from the plant pool and transfer to the temporarystorage installation) and the conditioning of the operating wastes.

– Second phase: By Ministerial Order, the Government has approved onFebruary 11th, the transfer of the title of responsible operator to ENRESAfor dismantling this nuclear power plant.


High Active Wastes Management

Temporary storage of Spent Fuel in Pools at NNPP sites


Nuclear Power Plant

Spent Fuel

Tons of Uranium % Occupation Expected date of

saturation

José Cabrera 82 64 ----------

Santa Mª Garoña 311 79 ----------

Almaraz 1 465 61 2020

Almaraz 2 432 57 2022

Ascó 1 417 72 2013

Ascó 2 408 70 2014

Cofrentes 551 75 Under evaluation

Vandellós 2 360 54 2021

Trillo 344 84 2003(*)

High Active Wastes Management


Trillo NPP Temporary Storage


DPT Casks for SF Temporary Storage These casks have been developed by ENRESA along with other Spanish and

US companies, providing an easy to handle and maintain design for the drystorage of irradiated fuel.

DPT casks concept was approved by the Directorate General for Energy Policyand Mines of the Ministry of Economy (18th June 2001).• Maximum weight of 118 tons when loaded, a height of 5 m and a diameter of 2.4 m. The walls are

of steel-lead-steel-neutron shielding.• They are capable of withstanding drops from 9 m, fires of 800ºC, immersion up to 200 m, hurricane

force winds, earthquakes, etc.• This type of casks may be constructed as needed, this allowing the investments to be made

gradually over time.


Centralised Temporary Storage facility

The Centralised Temporary Storage facility isan installation designed to house the SF/HAWproduced in Spain at a single location.

SF/HAW12.800 m3

20% MRW (NPP Dismantling)

1% Glasses

79% SF

• Ensure control and isolation of SF/HAW• House the materials for 60 years• System of modular spaces• Allows the recovery of the SF/HAW for the following step of their

management


Centralised Temporary Storage facility Advantages of the CTS:

– Minimisation of the number of nuclear facilities.

– Optimisation of the human and economic resources required for the security andradiological safety of the SF by centralising this material at one single location.

– Solution to the need to manage SF that has existed since the start-up of the firstnuclear power plant (1968).


Centralised Temporary Storage facility

30th December 2011, the Spanish Cabinet approved the CTS construction in Villar de Cañas (Cuenca)


High Active Wastes Management: Transportation

At present high level wastes are not transported in Spain,

From the Spanish Centralised Temporary Storage facility forthcoming operation, it isnecessary to draw up a Transport Plan for the SF/HAW to be taken from the nuclearpower plants to the new SCT facility.

The European Agreement on the Road Transport of Hazardous Goods (ADR), theInternational Transport of Hazardous Goods by Rail (RID) as well as the safety guide ofthe International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Suitable casks will be use for transport minimising or entirely removing the risksassociated.


Low and Medium Radioactive Wastes

Most of the radioactive wastesgenerated in Spain are low andmedium level type.

They are produced at hospitals,research centers, industries (1.400Radioactive Facilities) and nuclearpower plants

Spain has solved the issue ofmanaging these wastes through ElCabril centralised disposal facility inCórdoba.

The facility has two platforms for thedisposal of LMRW and another withspecific structures for very low levelwastes.

El Cabril surface repository

LMRW176.300 m3

SF/HAW12.800 m3



DISPOSAL DESIGN IS BASED ON ENGINEERING BARRIERS FORM BY:

El Cabril facility project was launched in 1986. Construction begun in January 1990 and Operation in October 1992

Conditioning waste incementitious materials

Concrete containers and vaults

Final cap that minimize the infiltration water



LMRW are conditioned in 220L drums. Technological wastes are disposed in homologated plastic bags of 25L and conditioned

inside drums.

Homogeneous Heterogeneous


Low and Medium Radioactive WastesIn addition, the facility has the resources required for the treatment and conditioning of wastes requiring such processes.


Low and Medium Radioactive Wastes Final cap that minimize the infiltration water The disposal system is based fundamentally on

the incorporation of natural and engineeredbarriers safely isolating the materials disposedof for the time necessary for them to beconverted into harmless substances.



Pilot cap test– Two experiments– Different zones representing top and slopes– Two different solutions for low permeability layer and for drainage layer

LONG TERM SAFETY ASSESSMENT 300 YEARS IMPLIES:



Inventory of radionuclides disposed: Waste characterisation laboratory Development of radiochemical methods Scale factors for each waste type and stream

Unconditioned Waste

COUNTS 0 PSET(L) 3600

emitters

Key nuclides

Activity high energy emitters

and emittersCritical nuclides

Scale factors


Low and Medium Radioactive WastesConditioned Waste

60Co y 137Cs

Actividad fuertes

and emitters activity

COUNTS 0 PSET(L) 3600

emitters

Key nuclides


Radioactive and nuclear waste management in Spain

THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION

Documents

Spanish Management Issues in Radioactive and Nuclear Waste … · 2012. 10. 25. · Radioactive and Nuclear Waste Manageme nt in Spain. Workshop, 15-18 Lisbon Waste Management in