Reprocessing

Actions necessary to separate fissile elements (U-235, Pu-239, U-233, and Pu-241) and/or transuranium elements (e.g., Np, Pu, Am, Cm, Bk) from other materials (e.g., fission products, activated metals, cladding) contained in spent nuclear fuel for the purposes of recovering desired materials. Separation processes include aqueous separation processes, e.g., the Redox and the Purex processes, and nonaqueous processes, e.g., pyrometallurgical and pyrochemical processes. Wastes that are produced upstream of these separations processes, from processes such as chemical or mechanical decladding, cladding separations, conditioning, or accountability measuring, are not high-level waste. Such wastes are considered processing wastes and should be managed in accordance with the appropriate Chapters of DOE M 435.1- 1, as either transuranic, mixed low-level, or low-level waste. Likewise, wastes that are produced downstream of these separations processes, from such processes as decontamination, rinsing, washing, treating, vitrifying, or solidifying, are also not high-level waste and should be managed accordingly. Upstream and downstream wastes are not high-level waste because they do not result from reprocessing.