Report No. 075 – Iodine-129: Evaluation of Releases from Nuclear Power Generation (1983)

Considerable attention has been given to I-129 because of the potential for long-term accumulation in the environment from prolonged low-level releases from the nuclear industry, principally from facilities concerned with the separation and processing of irradiated fuels and storage of wastes. Currently, the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels is very limited, but is likely to increase in the future. If retrievable storage is the means chosen for handling spent fuel elements, I-129 will remain potentially available for release to the environment whenever reprocessing occurs, because of its slow rate of physical decay. If, on the other hand, spent nuclear fuels remain unprocessed in a permanent disposal site, then releases of I-129 to the environment from U.S. facilities described herein will be insignificant compared to the estimates given in this Report.

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Table of Contents
Preface