PARTITION AND TRANSMUTATION AS A WASTE MANAGEMENT OPTION: AN APPRAISAL

“Partition and transmutation” (P&T) of long -lived radionuclides has been promoted on the grounds of diminishing the risk to distant future generations represented by nuclear waste, and to that extent disarming opposition to permanent disposal. The scheme thus raises questions of whether the risk without P&T is significant, whether the attainable reduction in that risk is worth the substantial effort required to achieve it, and whether the claimed benefit in public acceptance is likely to be realised. On the available evidence, the answers to all three appear probably negative. Nevertheless continued research is justified to determine what would be involved if the procedure were imposed on the industry.