Yucca Mountain Project - Science & Technology Radionuclide Absorbers Development Program Overview

Abstract

The proposed Yucca Mountain repository is anticipated to be the first facility for long-term disposal of commercial spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the United States. The facility, located in the southern Nevada desert, is currently in the planning stages with initial exploratory excavations completed. It is an underground facility mined into the tuffaceous volcanic rocks that sit above the local water table. The focus of the work described in this paper is the development of radionuclide absorbers or "getter" materials for neptunium (Np), iodine (I), and technetium (Tc) for potential deployment in the repository. "Getter" materials retard the migration of radionuclides through sorption, reduction, or other chemical and physical processes, thereby slowing or preventing the release and transport of radionuclides. An overview of the objectives and approaches utilized in this work with respect to materials selection and modeling of ion "getters" is presented. The benefits of the "getter" development program to the United States Department of Energy (US DOE) are outlined.