The BN-350 Reactor Decommissioning: Quantitative Analysis and Prospects for Solid Radioactive Waste Management

Nurzhan Mukhamedov, Viktor Baklanov, Marat Moldagulov, Kuanyshbek Toleubekov (), Artur Surayev, Artur Yagudin and Sergey Kanatnikov
Additional contact information
Nurzhan Mukhamedov: Institute of Atomic Energy NNC RK, 10 Beibyt Atom St., 180010 Kurchatov, Kazakhstan
Viktor Baklanov: Institute of Atomic Energy NNC RK, 10 Beibyt Atom St., 180010 Kurchatov, Kazakhstan
Marat Moldagulov: Mangyshlak Atomic Energy Combine, 7 Promzona, 130000 Aktau, Kazakhstan
Kuanyshbek Toleubekov: Institute of Atomic Energy NNC RK, 10 Beibyt Atom St., 180010 Kurchatov, Kazakhstan
Artur Surayev: Institute of Atomic Energy NNC RK, 10 Beibyt Atom St., 180010 Kurchatov, Kazakhstan
Artur Yagudin: Mangyshlak Atomic Energy Combine, 7 Promzona, 130000 Aktau, Kazakhstan
Sergey Kanatnikov: Mangyshlak Atomic Energy Combine, 7 Promzona, 130000 Aktau, Kazakhstan

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-12

Abstract: The BN-350 is the first industrial fast neutron reactor in the history of nuclear energy. It is currently undergoing decommissioning. One of the key challenges of decommissioning is managing the solid radioactive waste that has accumulated throughout the reactor’s operational life. At the moment, the accumulated solid radioactive waste is stored in a storage facility within the BN-350 reactor complex. An analysis showed that more than ~7262 tons with 5.17 × 10 14 Bq activity of various types of solid radioactive waste have been accumulated over the reactor operation. They are mainly represented by materials with low activity. At the same time, the main share of activity is comprised of highly active waste with a total mass of ~170 tons and an activity of 4.73 × 10 14 Bq. A solid radioactive waste management strategy has been developed. It includes all stages from collection and classification to transportation and long-term storage. Modern technologies now offer new possibilities. Some radioactive waste can be processed and reused in other economic sectors. In particular, recycling metals and alloys can reduce the volume of solid radioactive waste. It can also return valuable materials to industrial use.

Keywords: BN-350 reactor; solid radioactive waste; waste classification; decommissioning; electroslag remelting; nuclear energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/17/4651/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/17/4651/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:17:p:4651-:d:1740191

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Cassie Shen

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().