The Fuel conditioning Facility is at Argonne-West in Idaho. Argonne National Laboratory photo. This experimental reactor fuel contains metallic sodium, a highly chemically reactive material that presents disposal challenges. For example, metallic sodium reacts with water to produce explosive hydrogen gas and corrosive sodium hydroxide, both of which could create problems in a deep underground repository, which is where DOE ultimately plans to dispose of its used fuel.
Transuranic waste contains plutonium and other elements heavier than uranium.
This volume reduction could save taxpayers millions of dollars in disposal costs. Before the demonstration, Argonne expected to produce about 20 cubic meters of low-level waste and 51 cubic meters of transuranic waste. The final numbers turned out to be 12.17 and 2.02, respectively. The demonstration also scored high in public and worker safety. Of course, it's open desert, and no one lives there.