Light Water Reactor System Designed to Minimize Environmental Burden of Radioactive Waste

Tetsushi Hino, Dr. Sci. Masaya Ohtsuka, Dr. Eng. Kumiaki Moriya Masayoshi Matsuura OVERVIEW: One of the problems with nuclear power generation is the accumulation in radioactive waste of the long-lived TRUs generated as byproducts of the fission of uranium fuel. Hitachi is developing a nuclear reactor that can burn TRU fuel and is based on a BWR design that is already in use in commercial reactors. Achieving the efficient fission of TRUs requires that the spectrum of neutron energies in the nuclear reactor be modified to promote nuclear reactions by these elements. By taking advantage of one of the features of BWRs, namely that their neutron energy spectrum is more easily controlled than that of other reactor types, the new reactor combines effective use of resources with a reduction in the load on the environment by using TRUs as fuel that can be repeatedly recycled to burn these elements up.