FINAL REPORT ON THE IAEA COORDINATED RESEARCH PROGRAM ON THE POTENTIAL OF THORIUM-BASED FUEL CYCLES TO CONSTRAIN PLUTONIUM AND TO REDUCE THE LONG-TERM WASTE RADIO-TOXICITY

In 1995, the IAEA launched a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on the "Potential of Thorium-based Fuel Cycles to Constrain Plutonium and to Reduce Long-term Waste Toxicity." The following Member States participated in the CRP: China, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, Russia, and the United States of America. The research program was divided into three stages: • Stage 1: Benchmark calculations • Stage 2: Optimization of the incineration of plutonium in various reactor types. • Stage 3: Assessment of the resulting impact on the waste toxicity. The present paper reports the results of Stage 3 and the overall conclusions from the CRP. Generally, there is a remarkable potential to effectively constrain the production of plutonium and to reduce existing plutonium stockpiles by implementing the thorium fuel cycle in a large number of current reactors. The results of the research offer a promising, possible near-future solution in view of the proliferation concern combined with the plutonium. However, plutonium-incineration in thermal reactors turns out to be less effective from the point of view of the reduction of the long-term radio-toxicity of the nuclear waste, which has to be finally disposed. Physor 2002, Seoul, Korea, October 7-10, 2002