Partitioning and transmutation of minor actinides and fission products

Partitioning and transmutation (P&T) has gained interest during the past decade and the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, in response to the interest from member countries, has included P&T in its programme of work since 1988. As a result of the initiative taken by the Japanese government to launch a long-term research and development programme on the recycling and transmutation of actinides and long-lived fission products, known as the OMEGA-programme, the NEA Committee for Technical and Economic Studies on Nuclear Energy Development and Fuel Cycle (NDC) was invited, in 1988 (see P&T history), to launch an international project related to actinide separation and use. The information exchange meetings are a key component of this international project, aiming at giving experts a forum to present and discuss current developments in the field. Other activities involve status and assessment reports by expert groups on the broad field of P&T and its impact in the nuclear fuel cycle.

Another part of the project, carried out under the auspices of the Nuclear Science Committee (NSC), includes specific projects and specialist meetings on particular scientific aspects of P&T.

The P&T project is one example of horizontal activity within the Agency, involving several Divisions and Committees. Apart from the NDC and the NSC, the Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC) is involved in the project and informed of its outcome as the potential application of P&T would have impacts on waste management and disposal, not eliminating the need for geological disposal of high level waste, but reducing the radiotoxic inventory to be disposed of. Also, whenever relevant, the NEA co-operates with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the European Commission (EC-DGXII) on specific topics of interest to both agencies.

Tenth Information Exchange Meeting on Actinide and Fission Product Partitioning and Transmutation
6-10 October 2008
Mito, Japan

Ninth Information Exchange Meeting on Actinide and Fission Product Partitioning and Transmutation
25-29 September 2006
Nîmes, France.

Eighth Information Exchange Meeting on Actinide and Fission Product Partitioning and Transmutation
9-11 November 2004
Las Vegas, USA.

Seventh Information Exchange Meeting on Actinide and Fission Product Partitioning and Transmutation
14-16 October 2002
Jeju, Republic of Korea

Sixth Information Exchange Meeting on Actinide and Fission Product Partitioning and Transmutation
11-13 December 2000, Madrid, Spain

Last updated: 30 July 2007