The protons that are hitting the dump are at energy far beyond the binding energy of a nucleus. When they hit nuclei there, they shatter them. A shower of progressively less energetic particles forms, including large numbers of newly freed neutrons.
There are accelerator-driven fission reactor ideas that would use ~1 GeV protons (much less energetic than the protons here) to produce neutrons to drive a subcritical target. These might be useful to destroy certain nuclear waste isotopes.
There are accelerator-driven fission reactor ideas that would use ~1 GeV protons (much less energetic than the protons here) to produce neutrons to drive a subcritical target. These might be useful to destroy certain nuclear waste isotopes.