Radioactive waste management criteria in fusion reactor materials selection

In order to be accepted by the public, as well as by regulatory authorities, fusion reactors will have to meet both quantitative and qualitative criteria for the disposal and/or reuse of radioactive materials. The most important quantitative criteria are presently codified in 10CFR61, which governs the near-surface disposal of radioactive wastes in the United States. This paper first discusses the background of 10CFR61 and elemental concentration limits for first wall materials if they are to be acceptable as low-level waste. Qualitative comparisons readily understood by the public, such as the volumes of waste generated or the robustness of the waste form, could in the end be more important to the public acceptance of fusion than comparisons of Curies or man-rems. The second part of the paper discusses methods now in use for reducing low level waste volumes and mobility that could be applied to fusion waste.