Radiation effects in materials for an accelerator-based nuclear waste burner

Summary form only given. Nuclear waste isotopes can be transmuted to less-hazardous by forms bombardment with thermal neutrons, which in turn can be produced by stopping of high-energy protons in an appropriate target. Various vessels are required to contain the target material (a liquid or solid high-atomic weight metal or alloy), a moderator (D/sub 2/O), and the nuclear waste slurry. Vessel materials nearest the target will be subjected to a high flux of both fast spallation neutrons and thermal neutrons, while at the outer vessel the radiation environment is characterized by a lower flux of predominantly thermal neutrons. Key materials issues include the nature of displacement damage events from the high-energy neutrons, and the effect of impurities (particularly helium and hydrogen) formed during spallation and thermal neutron capture.<>