Behavior of Spallation, Activation and Fission Products in LBE

Lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) has been used or is foreseen as coolant and spallation target in accelerator driven subcritical reactors and fast spectrum critical reactors. Especially in accelerator driven systems a large number of different radionuclides will be formed in the liquid LBE by spallation and activation reactions. Furthermore, fission products may leak into the LBE through damaged fuel cladding. Many of these elements may have an impact on safety if released from the LBE. A quantitative understanding of radionuclide release from LBE is therefore needed for the development of LBE-based nuclear systems. The release of radionuclides strongly depends on their chemistry in LBE. In this article, the chemical behavior in LBE and release of elements with the highest potential radiological impact is discussed.