Radionuclide Chemistry in Nuclear Facilities Based on Heavy Liquid Metal Coolants: Past, Present and Future.

Heavy liquid metals such as lead and lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) are considered as spallation target material for next-generation neutron sources and as coolant of fast spectrum nuclear reactors that are developed to facilitate more efficient use of nuclear fuel as well as transmutation of long-lived nuclear waste. During the operation of such facilities, the heavy liquid metal will be activated by nuclear reactions. Additionally, fission product radionuclides may be introduced into the liquid metal from leaking fuel pins or by fission of the target nuclei in spallation.

Polonium behavior following a vacuum window rupture in a lead-bismuth eutectic based accelerator driven system.

Accelerator driven fast nuclear reactors cooled by lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) are developed for transmuting long-lived radionuclides in spent nuclear fuel. Due to the nature of the coolant, operating the reactor will result in a production of Po by neutron capture. Understanding the behavior of this highly radiotoxic nuclide in the event of a failure of the window separating the evacuated proton beam guide from the reactor core is required for safety assessments.