Preservation of the main physical and chemical properties of vitrified high-level waste over a long-time period under the influence of heavy radiation exposure is considered as an essential criterion for its quality assessment used to demonstrate the safety of intermediate storage under controlled conditions and subsequent final disposal of the waste. Earlier calculations covering a time period of up to 104 years allowed to identify the maximum beta- and gamma-radiation induced dose loads for borosilicate glass (BSS) of a basic composition specifically designed to vitrify liquid HLW from ODC MCC [1]. This study evaluates potential feasibility of applying an accelerated proton beam to simulate radiation damage according to the type of beta-gamma effects produced on the BSS and investigates the consequences of such effects on its properties which is seen as a distinctive feature of this research.

The article presents the results of computational studies addressing radionuclide compositions and radiation characteristics of spent nuclear fuel from WWER-440 and BN-600 reactor units performed using new computer code TRACT. These studies are performed to acquire basic information enabling further forecasts of RW Class 1 characteristics generated from the reprocessing of these fuel types. The calculations allowed to identify the characteristics of WWER-440 and BN-600 SNF considering various irradiation and storage conditions, including different burnup levels and pre-reprocessing cooling times. Such data will enable further evaluation of possible ranges describing the characteristics of RW Class 1.

The paper describes the physical basis of the mathematical model of radiation-ion damage in solid matter. The following stages of defect generation are considered: primary knocked out atoms, atomic collision cascades (dynamic stage of damage formation) based on 6 types of cascade functions. The software implementation of the described model is included in the RTS&T code designed for statistical modeling of multi-particle (200 types of particles, resonances and ions) radiation transport in heterogeneous 3D geometries in the energy range up to 20 TeV. In the region of low energies, the RTS&T transfer model is based on direct use of all the information contained in the evaluated nuclear data files submitted in the ENDF-6 format. The report compares the results of numerical modeling with experimental data.

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