Transmutation of radioactive waste

Abstract

The present work is devoted to the problem of radioactive waste transmutation, i.e. transformation of long-lived and toxic radionuclides into less toxic isotopes with shorter half-lives. While storage and burial cannot completely prevent radioactivity from getting into the environment, transmutation is a potential way to resolve the problem of radioactive waste. Different types of nuclear transmutation taking place under different conditions are described and analyzed. They include transmutation of long-lived fission products in a neutron field, generation of neutrons for providing transmutation of long-lived fission products, electronuclear method of neutron generation and controlled nuclear fusion. A review of literature devoted to the above-mentioned techniques is done.