62 minimize off-gas complications) rather than choosing a metal oxide solvent based on glass performance requirements. The option may minimize or eliminate the need to grind the 233U feed materials. Second, the process may be applicable to LWBR 233U. Thorium oxide is not readily soluble in traditional glasses. It is an option herein. In this context, the ThO2 concentration will be low in the final product because of the addition of large quantities of DU. As a part of several programs in Germany and the United States to develop chemical core catchers for nuclear power reactors, significant work (Dalle Donne et al. 1978; Forsberg et al. 1997) has been done on the dissolution of uranium oxides in different borates. Core-melt accidents are among the most serious nuclear reactor accidents. In a serious accident, the core itself melts, then melts a hole through the pressure vessel, and next melts a hole through the building containment floor that allows release of radioactivity to the open environment. Core-melt accidents are difficult to control because the primary material in a core melt is molten uranium dioxide at a temperature of several thousand degrees Celsius. In a chemical core catcher, a specially selected compound is placed under the reactor core. When the core debris reaches the floor, the decay heat melts the specific compound, and the uranium oxides are dissolved into the compound. The compound is chosen to have a high uranium loading and melt at a low temperature. The liquid with the dissolved uranium rapidly spreads out over the reactor building core in a geometry that allows rapid cooling. The major compounds that have been investigated for this application include B2O3, Na2 B4O7, and lead borate (B2O3]2PbO). The requirements for a chemical core catcher (high uranium solubility in liquid, fast dissolution, and low temperatures) are essentially identical to those needed for fusion melt isotopic blending. The reactor core-catcher data suggest the potential for major process simplifications which would have a large impact on the cost of processing CEUSP and LWBR material. The CEUSP 233U was solidified inside its stainless steel container and is partly attached to the container walls. Removal of the 233U from the container would be a complex, expensive, mechanical operation. If the dissolution kinetics are sufficiently fast, a relatively simple batch process operation would be possible. The furnace with disposable inner liner would be loaded with the borate flux and some DU oxide. The 233U container would be cut into several pieces and dumped into the liner, the furnace would be heated to operating temperature, and the 233U would be dissolved into the molten mixture from the container pieces. After dissolution of the 233
U, additional DU would be added to the furnace, the dissolution process would be completed, the melt
would be cooled, and the solid product (with container parts) would be packaged as one piece. This type of operation is inconsistent with production of high-quality glass but may be feasible if the product does not need to meet YM-type waste-glass performance specifications.