Development of a technique for radioactive source term detection and realtime analysis for low-level radioactive waste

Nuclear power currently provides approximately 50% of Ontario’s electricity. Operation of nuclear power plants produces a variety of radioactive waste. In particular, low-level radioactive waste makes up about 95% of total non-fuel waste volumes. To reduce volume, low-level materials must be sorted to determine if their radioactivity has sufficiently decayed and they can be safely recycled. However, this sorting work is currently done by hand, which is a low-tech, time-consuming and labour-intensive method. To address this challenge, the interns working in this Mitacs research will develop a new radiation detection and realtime data analysis method. Successful completion of this Mitacs research will enable automated sorting, re-use and recycling of the low-level waste, which will lead to a great reduction in waste volume and operation cost. Therefore, the economic and environmental benefit to Laurentis Energy Partners and Canadian nuclear industries will be great.

Faculty Supervisor:

Soo-Hyun Byun

Student:

Partner:

Laurentis Energy Partners

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Utilities

University:

McMaster University

Program: