New paradigm of research on the condition of spent nuclear fuel in accident and dumping sites

V.N. Soyfer¹, D.V. Andreev², V.A. Goryachev¹, Y.N. Zhukov³, I.R. Barabanov⁴ and E.A. Yanovich⁴

¹ V.I.Il’ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute Far-Eastern Branch RAS, 690041 Vladivostok, Russia
² Russian Scientific Centre “Kurchatov Institute”, 123182 Moscow, Russia
³ Institute for Navigation and Hydrography, 199106 St. Peterburg, D.M., Russia
⁴ Institute for Nuclear Research RAS, 117312 Moscow, Russia

Abstract

The new technologies of operative monitoring of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) condition at the bottom seas and search for the lost objects with SNF at the bottom using Kr-85, are developed. The development of the ship low-level background complex (Kr-85, tritium etc.) for radionuclide anomalies searching in the sea is launched also. The purpose of a carried out stage of researches is the development new paradigm of sea radioecology based on a preliminary experimental research of kinetics of release fission products (⁸⁵Kr and ¹³⁷Cs) from SNF, with the subsequent realization expedition (including preliminary radionuclide measurements on a vessel!) and modeling researches of ⁸⁵Kr transport in near-bottom layer for minimization of points of sampling (stations and working horizons) on the hydrological data of expedition area (with use of a fractal formalism). Final result of the project is the conservative estimation of risks to the population and environment at its pollution in case of release of a radioactivity from dumped ship reactor and NPS with the not unloaded SNF.