Münster 2017 – scientific programme

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AGA: Arbeitsgruppe Physik und Abrüstung

AGA 6: Fissile Materials

AGA 6.2: Talk

Friday, March 31, 2017, 10:00–10:30, S Aula

The PRISM Reactor as a Possible Option to Deal with the British Civilian Plutonium Stockpile — •Christopher Fichtlscherer¹ and Friederike Frieß^1,2 — ¹IANUS, TU Darmstadt, Deutschland — ²ISR, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (Boku), Österreich

Dealing with stocks of separated weapon-usable plutonium is a big challenge for our modern society. This work focuses on the British civil plutonium stockpiles, which amount to 103.3 tons. One option is seen in irradiating the plutonium in a fast reactor under development, namely the GE PRISM reactor. The PRISM reactor is a small modular, fast reactor which has a thermal power of 840 MW and an electrical output of 311 MW. It is intended to use MOX fuel and proponents claim, that it thus would be possible to produce clean energy, while making the plutonium proliferation resistant.

A MCNP model of the reactor is built and depletion calculations with different target burnups of the fuel were conducted to check whether the burned material would fulfil the Spent-Fuel Standard. Particularly it was checked whether the spent fuel is self protecting, meaning that the dose rate does not fall below a limit of 1 Sv/h in 1 meter distance after a cooling period of 30 years. Based on the reactor model calculations the irradiation time to fulfill this limit for the spent fuel is calculated. Based on the needed target burnup, it can be verified, whether it is possible for the PRISM reactor to render the civil plutonium proliferation resistant in only 20 years as is is claimed by its proponents.