METHOD FOR DECONTAMINATING RADIOACTIVE WASTES Russian patent published in 2003 - IPC

FIELD: nuclear power engineering; decontaminating radioactive wastes such as decay products of nuclear reactors. SUBSTANCE: method involves irradiation of radioactive wastes disposed in insulated space to impart additional energy to nuclei of long-living radioactive isotopes contained in them so as to initiate their high-speed decay; in the process irradiation is made by pulse-periodic flux of high-energy bremsstrahlung quanta at quanta concentration of 10¹¹ to 10¹² quanta/cu. cm and at quanta energy higher than decay energy of long-living radioactive isotopes, for instance, from 1 to 5 MeV. Irradiation is conducted at initial concentration of long-living radioactive isotopes in radioactive wastes ranging between 1 and 10% and ceased as soon as this concentration drops below 0.5%. Energy released as result of initiated decay of radioactive isotopes is recovered for reuse. EFFECT: reduced decontamination time; provision for reusing decay energy. 2 cl, 1 dwg