Advanced Waste Management Strategies for Technetium and Iodine in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Materials Science and Engineering
Abstract
An emerging energy trilemma of energy security, sustainability and affordability, is expected shape the geopolitical and economic landscape of the current century. To address this trilemma, a global expansion of civil nuclear power is underway, providing a reliable source of low carbon base-load electricity, supplied at predictable cost. Sustainable and efficient generation of nuclear energy requires the recycle of nuclear fuel, since only 3% of the material is utilised in common reactor designs. This can only be achieve by developing new materials and processes to enable robust, efficient and safe management of the arising radioactive wastes, which is key, to underpinning public acceptance and reliable cost analysis of civil nuclear power.
Management of technetium and iodine is of particular concern in the recycle of nuclear fuel, since their long half life, high production rate, solubility and bio-accumulation, demands disposition in a robust wasteform, and isolation from the bio-sphere, in a deep geological disposal facility for a ca. 1 million years. Historically, management of Tc and I radionuclides has proven extremely difficult, due to their volatile nature and aqueous solubility, resulting in considerable environmental clean up challenges at Hanford (USA) and Sellafield (UK).
This project will address the management of technetium and iodine in radioactive wastes from nuclear fuel cycles, innovating and developing new materials and processes to safely contain these radionuclides for geological timescales. This challenge is a common need in the civil nuclear power strategies of the UK and Republic of Korea and, therefore, the research will be developed in an integrated and collaborative project, engaging leading researchers from the UK and ROK, each bringing specialist knowledge, capability and skills.
Management of technetium and iodine is of particular concern in the recycle of nuclear fuel, since their long half life, high production rate, solubility and bio-accumulation, demands disposition in a robust wasteform, and isolation from the bio-sphere, in a deep geological disposal facility for a ca. 1 million years. Historically, management of Tc and I radionuclides has proven extremely difficult, due to their volatile nature and aqueous solubility, resulting in considerable environmental clean up challenges at Hanford (USA) and Sellafield (UK).
This project will address the management of technetium and iodine in radioactive wastes from nuclear fuel cycles, innovating and developing new materials and processes to safely contain these radionuclides for geological timescales. This challenge is a common need in the civil nuclear power strategies of the UK and Republic of Korea and, therefore, the research will be developed in an integrated and collaborative project, engaging leading researchers from the UK and ROK, each bringing specialist knowledge, capability and skills.
Planned Impact
We identified four groups of beneficiaries who will gain from the research:
1. Public and private sector organisations engaged in fuel cycle operation, will benefit directly from the knowledge and understanding generated by the research, which will assist in reducing the overall cost and hazard of radioactive waste management in future and legacy programmes.
2. The public will benefit from reduced future cost of civil nuclear energy generation and improved environmental outcomes as a result of more robust and holistic radioactive waste management strategies.
3. Policy makers will benefit from improved scientific underpinning of integrated fuel recycle and waste management strategies, which will assist in reducing uncertainties, leading to more accurate economic assessments.
4. The academic community will benefit from a new capability for materials chemistry utilising 99Tc and the provision of
1. Public and private sector organisations engaged in fuel cycle operation, will benefit directly from the knowledge and understanding generated by the research, which will assist in reducing the overall cost and hazard of radioactive waste management in future and legacy programmes.
2. The public will benefit from reduced future cost of civil nuclear energy generation and improved environmental outcomes as a result of more robust and holistic radioactive waste management strategies.
3. Policy makers will benefit from improved scientific underpinning of integrated fuel recycle and waste management strategies, which will assist in reducing uncertainties, leading to more accurate economic assessments.
4. The academic community will benefit from a new capability for materials chemistry utilising 99Tc and the provision of
Publications
Bailey D
(2023)
An Investigation of Iodovanadinite Wasteforms for the Immobilisation of Radio-Iodine and Technetium
in Ceramics
Gardner LJ
(2021)
Thermal treatment of Cs-exchanged chabazite by hot isostatic pressing to support decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
in Journal of hazardous materials
Bailey D
(2021)
Use of WetSEM® capsules for convenient multimodal scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and micro Raman spectroscopy characterisation of technetium oxides
in Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry
Zhong M
(2021)
Synthesis of Ca1-xCexZrTi2-2xAl2xO7 zirconolite ceramics for plutonium disposition
in Journal of Nuclear Materials
Mottram L
(2020)
Laboratory Based X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy of Iron Phosphate Glasses for Radioactive Waste Immobilisation: A Preliminary Investigation.
in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Mottram L
(2020)
A feasibility investigation of speciation by Fe K-edge XANES using a laboratory X-ray absorption spectrometer
in Journal of Geosciences
Barlow S
(2020)
Synthesis, characterisation and corrosion behaviour of simulant Chernobyl nuclear meltdown materials
in npj Materials Degradation
Johnstone EV
(2020)
Synthesis and characterization of iodovanadinite using PdI2, an iodine source for the immobilisation of radioiodine.
in RSC advances
Blackburn L
(2020)
Synthesis and characterisation of Ca1-xCexZrTi2-2xCr2xO7: Analogue zirconolite wasteform for the immobilisation of stockpiled UK plutonium
in Journal of the European Ceramic Society
Mottram L
(2020)
A Feasibility Investigation of Laboratory Based X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy in Support of Nuclear Waste Management
in MRS Advances
Bailey D
(2020)
A new approach to the immobilisation of technetium and transuranics: Co-disposal in a zirconolite ceramic matrix
in Journal of Nuclear Materials
Thornber SM
(2020)
Solubility, speciation and local environment of chlorine in zirconolite glass-ceramics for the immobilisation of plutonium residues.
in RSC advances
Wei Z
(2020)
Rapid synthesis of zirconolite ceramic wasteform by microwave sintering for disposition of plutonium
in Journal of Nuclear Materials
Hyatt N
(2020)
The HADES Facility for High Activity Decommissioning Engineering & Science: part of the UK National Nuclear User Facility
in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Bailey DJ
(2019)
A synchrotron X-ray spectroscopy study of titanium co-ordination in explosive melt glass derived from the trinity nuclear test.
in RSC advances
Ravel B
(2018)
Nonresonant valence-to-core x-ray emission spectroscopy of niobium.
in Physical review. B
Bailey D
(2018)
Synthesis and characterisation of the hollandite solid solution Ba1.2-xCsxFe2.4-xTi5.6+xO16 for partitioning and conditioning of radiocaesium
in Journal of Nuclear Materials
Galvin T
(2018)
Molten salt synthesis of MAX phases in the Ti-Al-C system
in Journal of the European Ceramic Society
Kim M
(2018)
Development, characterization and dissolution behavior of calcium-aluminoborate glass wasteforms to immobilize rare-earth oxides.
in Scientific reports
Sun S
(2018)
Reactive spark plasma synthesis of CaZrTi2O7 zirconolite ceramics for plutonium disposition
in Journal of Nuclear Materials
Hyatt N
(2018)
Nuclear Waste Management
Johnstone E
(2017)
On the existence of AgM 9 (VO 4 ) 6 I (M = Ba, Pb)
in RSC Advances
Kim M
(2017)
Structure analysis of vitusite glass-ceramic waste forms using extended X-ray absorption fine structures
in Ceramics International
Stennett M
(2017)
Ceramic Immobilization Options for Technetium
in MRS Advances
| Description | This project focused primarily on the design, synthesis and characterisation of ceramic wasteforms for technetium and radioiodine in advanced nuclear fuel cycles, as part of a bilateral collaboration between the UK and Republic of Korea. The project has concluded, and made substantial progress toward achieving its objectives. The project has been supported by three secondment visits from Republic of Korea over 2015-18. A follow on PhD thesis is in progress to develop the research outcomes of the project further. A systematic study of apatite related compounds, as candidate ceramic wasteforms for the immobilisation and disposal of iodine-129, was completed in the first year of investigation. A key finding was to demonstrate that the solid solution of AgI in these materials is negligible, in contrast to previous literature studies (RSC Advances, 7 (2017) 49004). This is of fundamental importance for industrial application, because radioiodine is typically captured as AgI in flowsheets of advanced fuel cycles, suggesting that such apatite phases may not be as readily exploitable as previously considered. A peer reviewed publication to communicate these research outcomes is currently in progress. We also explored the potential for synthesis of apatite ceramics to immobilise radioiodine recovered as insoluble PdI2 from spent fuel reprocessing. This approach was successful in producing a cermet composite wasteform in which iodine was sequestered within the targeted ceramic in equilibrium with Pd metal (RSC Advances, 10 (2020), 25116). A further significant advance, achieved through secondment of a PhD / PDRA researcher to Sheffield, concerns the development of glass -ceramic materials for the immobilisation of lanthanide and transuranic elements produced from pyro-processing of nuclear fuels. A family of novel vitusite glass-ceramics was designed and characterised, in which the trivalent lanthanide or transuranic elements(M) are targeted for incorporation within the crystalline vitusite - Na3M(PO4)2 phase. A key outcome was an understanding of the crystallisation mechanisms in these materials, required to underpin any future industrial application, as determined by X-ray absorption spectroscopy, which provided evidence for nascent vitusite nuclei within the parent glass phase; see Kim et al., Ceramics International, 43 (2017) 4687-4691. This approach is now being developed in a follow on project supported by BEIS under the Advanced Fuel Cycle Programme (ACFP), for application to molten salt waste from future conceptual pyro-reprocessing flow sheets. The research project also developed an original concept for the immobilisation and disposal of long lived radionuclides from nuclear fuel re-processing, whereby a ceramic wasteform is designed to efficiently incorporate nuclides of comparable half life. This has the advantage that the performance of the ceramic wasteform is designed to match the radiologcal risk posed by the radionuclide inventory. As an example, we demonstrated the effective co-immobilsiation of Tc and minor actinide surrogates within a zirconolite ceramic - alloy phase assemblage, X-ray absorption spectroscopy to undertsand the surrogate partitioning mechanisms (Bailey et al. J. Nucl. Mater., 528 (2020) 151885. This research has developed the knowledge and capability for further development of the concept using Tc-99. A critical achievement of this project was development of a unique capability at The University of Sheffield, in the UK academic sector, for handling of weighable quantities of technetium. We have installed, commissioned and operated a negative pressure glove box, and developed safe systems of work, which are now in routine operation. Of particular note is the development of a containment methodology for safe multimodal characterisation of highly active technetium powders by SEM, EDX and Raman spectroscopy, enabling the use of instrumentation outside of a controlled radiological area, a report of which is current in peer review. An inventory of technetium-99 was received and purified to produce the feedstock for synthesis and characterisation of new Tc(IV) oxides. An early result from this part of the research project was the discovery of a novel and convenient reaction for the conversion of NH4TcO4 into other pertechnetate substrates for synthetic inorganic chemistry. We have subsequently developed this line of research to successfully synthesise a range of Tc(IV) oxides of both fundamental interest and potential application as ceramic hosts for the immobilisation of Tc-99. It is expected that this research will produce at least three further peer reviewed publications. Our capability was utilised by an incoming secondment from POSTECH in 2019, which investigated the incorporation of mechanisms of Tc(VII) and Tc(IV) in a family of novel tellurite glasses. XAS studies at Diamond Light Source have elucidated the role of Tc speciation in controlling the incorporation mechanism, which is currently in development for publication. Following completion of the project, the technetium handling capability and knowledge developed, were utilised by the National Nuclear Laboratory though the BEIS supported AFCP project, to investigate the thermodynamics of pertechnetate volatilisation during vitrification of high level wastes from advanced reprocessing flow sheets. |
| Exploitation Route | The research is now being taken up by the National Nuclear Laboratory in designing and implementing flow sheets for immobilisation of higher activity wastes in future advanced fuel cycles, through the BEIS sponsored Advanced Fuel Cycle Programme. |
| Sectors | Energy,Environment |
| Description | A key outcome of this research is an understanding of how thermal treatment processes can be exploited to condition radioactive wastes and produce passively safe products suitable for interim storage and disposal. This outcome has attracted commercial interest with two contracts awarded for application and maturation of general and specific concepts developed in this project. More widely, this research has further developed our understanding of how advanced waste treatment technologies can radically change the risk posed by the inventory of radioactive waste consigned to geological disposal, by eliminating waste reactivity, achieving effective immobilisation of long lived radionuclides, with substantial reduction in waste volume. This evidence was provided to the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee on the Draft National Policy Statement for Geological Disposal Infrastructure. The evidence was cited as the key basis for Recommendation 2 in the Committee report, "We recommend that the Government clarifies in the NPS the level of uncertainty regarding the inventory and explains to prospective host communities how this will affect their right to reject the GDI at any point during the siting process" - as set out at paragraph 34 in the body of the report. HM Government accepted this recommendation and the National Policy Statement was amended to reference to new paragraphs within the 'Implementing Geological Disposal - Working with Communities' white paper published in 2018. A critical achievement of this project was development of a unique capability at The University of Sheffield, in the UK academic sector, for handling of weighable quantities of technetium. We have installed, commissioned and operated a negative pressure glove box and developed safe systems of work, which is now in routine operation. This capability has been utilised to train 2 PDRAs and 5 PhD students in Tc-99 materials chemistry, contributing to the maintaining the health of this fragile skill set and capability, since there are a handful of groups worldwide with such knowledge and infrastructure. The project successfully developed a generally applicable method for scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis of Tc-99 powders, in instruments not designated for radiological work, using commercially available capsules developed for characterisation of wet samples (Bailey et al., J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. (2021) 328,1313-1318). Two substantive publications, arising from the project, are in the process of submission reporting the synthesis and characterisation of Tc-99 compounds. The capability and knowledge of technetium materials chemistry developed through the project has been utilised by the National Nuclear Laboratory in its assessment of technetium volatilisation in vitrification of high level wastes arising from advanced reprocessing flow sheets, by a grant award under the BEIS funded Advanced Fuel Cycle Programme. Development of the conceptual vitusite glass-ceramic wasteforms developed in this project was also supported by a grant award under the BEIS funded Advanced Fuel Cycle Programme, to assess feasibility for immobilisation of molten salt wastes from potential future pyro-reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels. Knowledge transfer from this project to the National Nuclear Laboratory was further supported by the award of a Research England Knowledge Exchange grant. A further important impact of the project has been the development of a deep and long lasting partnership between the University of Sheffield in the UK and POSTECH in ROK. Our research partnership has supported multiple two way secondments and access to unique research and facilities in the partner country. This partnership has attracted new funding support, both within and between the UK, to support collaboration on a wide range of research topics. This partnership was invited as an exemplar of UK - ROK research collaboration at the UK - ROK Decommissioning Showcase held on 13-14 August 2019, Ulsan, South Korea. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
| Sector | Energy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | Written and oral evidence submitted to EPSRC Independent Review of Nuclear Fission and Fusion |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | A new precision cutting saw for radiological materials science |
| Amount | £10,990 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Sheffield |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2016 |
| End | 03/2017 |
| Description | DECC - MIDAS capital grant |
| Amount | £800,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Department of Energy and Climate Change |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2015 |
| End | 03/2016 |
| Description | ERDF: Royce Translational Centre |
| Amount | £4,005,654 (GBP) |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Department | European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Belgium |
| Start | 02/2018 |
| End | 03/2019 |
| Description | Improved glass formulations for advanced oxide fuels - Advanced Fuel Cycle Programme |
| Amount | £120,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2020 |
| End | 06/2021 |
| Description | Isolation of 14C species from spent ion exchange resins and their stabilisation |
| Amount | £386,163 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/S032959/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2019 |
| End | 08/2022 |
| Description | MIDAS Collaboratory |
| Amount | £800,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Department of Energy and Climate Change |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2015 |
| End | 03/2016 |
| Description | Pyrochemical Waste Treatment - Advanced Fuel Cycle Programme |
| Amount | £120,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2020 |
| End | 06/2021 |
| Description | Sir Henry Royce Institute - Sheffield Build |
| Amount | £8,770,885 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/P025285/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2016 |
| End | 03/2019 |
| Description | Sir Henry Royce Institute -Sheffield Equipment |
| Amount | £15,229,114 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/P02470X/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2016 |
| End | 03/2021 |
| Description | Thermal Treatment of Spent Ion Exchange Resins |
| Amount | £25,010 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | Award value is confidential |
| Organisation | Ministry of Defence (MOD) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2018 |
| End | 03/2020 |
| Description | UoS & Suppliers - MIDAS equipment match |
| Amount | £335,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Sheffield |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2015 |
| End | 03/2016 |
| Description | hermodynamics of caesium pertechnetate volatility - Advanced Fuel Cycle Programme |
| Amount | £75,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2020 |
| End | 06/2021 |
| Description | Collaboration with ESRF XMAS and DUBBLE beamlines |
| Organisation | European Synchrotron Radiation Facility |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Extended application focus of beamline techniques to XAS data acquistion in the hard X-ray regime. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Beamline optimisation to acquire XAS data from glass and ceramic materials in support of plutonium disposition. |
| Impact | See publications section. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | DELTA (Dortmunder ELekTronenspeicherring-Anlage) |
| Organisation | Technical University of Dortmund |
| Department | Dortmund Electron Storage Ring System (DELTA) |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Development of beamline XAS applications to low concentration detection in disordered systems and expansion of international user programme. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Acquisition of XAS data in hard X-ray regime. |
| Impact | See publications section. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | NSLS-II collaboration exploitation and development of X-ray Emission Spectroscopy |
| Organisation | Brookhaven National Laboratory |
| Department | National Synchrotron Light Source |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | This collaboration has developed valence-to-core X-ray emission spectroscopy of the transition metals with the first reported application to niobium. The valence to core region of the XES provides a fingerprint for ligand co-ordination species and is thus a particularly powerful non-contact technique for application to radiological materials. Our team prepared high quality XES specimens of air sensitive reference compounds for investigation by XES and XAS techniques at the Advanced Photon Source and collaborated on data analysis. The techniques developed in this collaboration are a forerunner for application to technetium, which is considerably more challenging given its high specific activity. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Our partners secured beamtime at the Advanced Photon Source and developed bespoke data reduction tools for extraction of the XES and valence to core region, utilising a novel detector system, and also contributed Density Functional Theory calculations to provide theoretical underpinning to data interpretation. |
| Impact | The research resulted in a peer reviewed publication, as a collaboration across the domains of materials science and physics, published as Ravel et al., Phys. Rev. B., 97, (2018), 125139. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | POSTECH |
| Organisation | Pohang University of Science and Technology |
| Country | Korea, Republic of |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | To date, our group has provided facilities and experience to undertake hot isostatic pressing of ceramic materials for immobilisation of radioactive wastes, and characterisation of the resulting materials; this capability is not available in the Republic of Korea. We have also provided training in the application of the Rietveld method for quantitative phase analysis to be applied within research activities at the home institute. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The collaborating research group have provided a skilled PhD student to assist with collaborative research activities in Sheffield on a two month secondment and are planning to second a research fellow for 12 months in 2016. |
| Impact | Incoming secondment of PhD student July - August 2015. Incoming secondment of research fellow planned for March 2016 - March 2017. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | POSTECH University |
| Organisation | Pohang University of Science and Technology |
| Country | Korea, Republic of |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTEC) are the collaborating partners on our joint UK / ROK project. Our contribution to the joint research programme is the development of ceramic wasteforms for the immobilisation of key radionuclides arising from advanced nuclear fuel reprocessing (I, Tc, Cs, lanthanides and actinides). We have developed a new capability for Tc materials chemistry in the UK and a unique radiological hot isostatic pressing capability to support the joint research. We have hosted several secondments from POSTEC to carry out joint research and train collaborators in advanced materials characterisation techniques (e.g. Quantiative Phase Analysis from X-ray difffraction data, using the Rietveld method). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTEC) are the collaborating partners on our joint UK / ROK project. They have developed complementary development of glass wasteforms for the immobilisation of key radionuclides arising from advanced nuclear fuel reprocessing (I, Tc, Cs, lanthanides and actinides). In particular, POSTEC counterparts have developed a suite of aluminoborate glasses which show high solubility for lanthanide oxides (Ln2O3), which were transferred to our laboratory for investigation of dissolution behaviour. |
| Impact | Several joint research publications have arisen from this research as detailed elsewhere in this submission, further joint publications are being developed. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | A long term solution |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dr Claire Corkhill was invited by RWM Ltd to present a short video explaining the benefits of geological disposal of radiaoctive wastes, in recognition of her expertise developed through several EPSRC research projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoPSaWV-tQU |
| Description | All Party Parliamentary Group on Nuclear Energy, Palace of Westminster, London, 25 November 2015. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited presentation at All Party Parliamentary Group on Nuclear Energy, Palace of Westminster, London, 25 November 2015. Attended by approximately a dozen parliamentarians and other policy makers, including Energy Minister Angela Leadsom MP. Presentation sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Engineers develop a 'lava-like' material similar to the highly radioactive molten nuclear fuel created during the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters to investigate ways to clean up the ruined power station sites |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Media coverage of grant produced research which developed public understanding of the management of degraded and damaged nuclear fuels at Fukushima and Chernobyl sites, based on media and public feedback |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7946897/Engineers-develop-material-similar-highly-ra... |
| Description | GDF Conference 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Prof. Neil Hyatt was invited as the facilitator and panel chair for the Geological Disposal Facility Conference 2021, delivered by Radioactive Waste Management, in recognition of his international standing in the field. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/news/geological-disposal-programme-now-under-way |
| Description | IAEA Summer School on Radiation Effects on Radioactive Wasteforms |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Organised Joint ICTP-IAEA Workshop on Radiation Effects in Nuclear Waste Forms and their Consequences for Storage and Disposal, 12-16 September 2016, with engagement of over 30 international researchers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://indico.ictp.it/event/7633/ |
| Description | Interview with BBC Radio Cumbria |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Prof. Neil Hyatt was interviewed live on BBC Radio Cumbria, discussing the end of nuclear fuel reprocessing operations at THORP and Sellafield decommissioning challenges. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Interview with Daily Mail newspaper: GDF siting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview with Daily Mail newspaper on launch of siting process for UK Geological Disposal Facility for radioactive waste. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Joint ICTP-IAEA Workshop on Radiation Effects in Nuclear Waste Forms and their Consequences for Storage and Disposal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The Workshop aimed to gain awareness on the most recent findings of research into radiation effects in nuclear waste forms and their role for waste storage and disposal. It specifically aimed to contribute to the transfer of specific knowledge to Member States towards their capacity building efforts and competence in nuclear waste immobilisation and disposal. The workshop was attended by 35 participants from 18 nation states, including experienced and early career researchers from universities, industry and government laboratories. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://indico.ictp.it/event/7633/overview |
| Description | Letter to the Guardian: Strategies for nuclear weapons and waste |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Prof. Neil Hyatt published a letter in The Guardian newspaper in response to an earlier article on radioactive waste, highlighting the need for a sustainable and definite end solution, informed by EPSRC sponsored research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/07/strategies-for-nuclear-weapons-and-waste |
| Description | Low radioactivity materials could aid in Chernobyl and Fukushima clean-up |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Media coverage of grant produced research which developed public understanding of the management of degraded and damaged nuclear fuels at Fukushima and Chernobyl sites, based on media and public feedback |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2020/01/low-radioactivity-materials-could-aid-in-chernobyl... |
| Description | MRS Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XL |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Organised flagship 40th anniversary MRS symposium on scientific basis for nuclear waste management, showcasing research in multiple EPSRC sponsored projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Media and public engagement workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Delivered a media and public engagement skills summer school for postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers in DISTINCTIVE consortium, which was open to attendance to EPSRC sponsored researchers in nuclear energy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Organised: MRS Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management Symposium, 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Organised the MRS Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management Symposium, 2018, which attracted more than 100 experts from around the world for a 4 day symposium on state of the art research outcomes in the field. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Participation in International Glass Working Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Participation in International Glass Working Group - dissemination of research outcomes from multiple EPSRC sponsored projects with the aim of developing a state of the art unified model for glass corrosion, relevant to radioactive waste disposal; participation in expert group designing collaborative international experiments using International Standard Glass. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation at UK- ROK Decommissioning Showcase, 13-14 August 2019, Ulsan, South Korea. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The project collaboration was presented as an examplar of UK - ROK research partnership at the UK- ROK Decommissioning Showcase, 13-14 August 2019, Ulsan, South Korea, which attracted ca. 100 participants, including senior policy makers and diplomatic officials. The event prompted further engagement through discussion and a panel session on the strategic opportunities for such bilateral education and research partnerships, drawing on the successful mechanisms of interaction developed through the project. The workshop organisers reported an increase of interest in UK - ROK collaboration arising from the workshop and visited our research group and facility in November 2019 to consult on engagement between the UK and Ulsan city region in civil nuclear energy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.electimes.com/article.php?aid=1565758976184510003 |
| Description | Royal Society Workshop on Nuclear Co-Generation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Prof. Neil Hyatt was invited to participate in the Royal Society meeting on Nuclear Co-generation in recognition of his expertise in radioactive waste management developed through several EPSRC research projects, outcomes from which were highlighted in discussion contribution. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | SMEA Lecture: Putting the Mission into UK Nuclear Decommissioning |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | New research collaborations identified with attending industrial companies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Sheffield scientists pioneer new method for managing radioactive waste |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Television interview as part of World Science day, discussing radioactive waste management research associated with EPSRC sponsored projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://vimeo.com/191056195 |
| Description | TUC Congress: Panel Debate on Nuclear Decommissioning |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Dr Claire Corkhill was invited to participate in an Expert Panel Debate on Nuclear Decommissioning at the TUC Congress, in recognition of her expertise developed through several EPSRC research projects, outcomes of which were highlighted in the opening remarks and panel debate. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | The nuclear dilemma |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Prof Claire Corkhill was featured in the BBC short "The nuclear dilemma", explaining the nature, management and disposal of radioactive wastes in the context of nuclear power generation to address climate change and the Fukushima dai-ici accident. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/ideas/videos/the-nuclear-dilemma/p09rsq3p |
| Description | Visit of diplomatic delegation from Ulsan City Region |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A delegation of five senior ROK policy makers and officials visited our laboratory and facility to consult on development of a strategic partnership between the UK and Ulsan city region. The visit was inspired by presentation of our strategic partnership with POSTECH developed through the research project which was presented at the UK - ROK Decommissioning Showcase in Ulsan, South Korea, in August 2019. The officials reported that the discussion had assisted in developing their plans to support such collaboration, particularly in the context of PhD training and long term research partnerships. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Why Scientists Are Recreating the Chernobyl Disaster |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Media coverage of grant produced research which developed public understanding of the management of degraded and damaged nuclear fuels at Fukushima and Chernobyl sites, based on media and public feedback |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a30716599/scientists-recreating-chernobyl/ |