The comparison of element partitioning in two types of thermal treatment facilities and the effects on potential radiation dose
- Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
- USDOE Office of Environmental Safety and Health, Washington, DC (United States)
- Oak Ridge Inst. for Science and Education, TN (United States)
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is performing a technical analysis to support the potential development of risk-based, numerical radiological control criteria (RCC) for mixed waste from DOE operations. As part of the technical analysis, potential future radiation doses are being calculated for workers at thermal treatment facilities and members of the public residing near such facilities. This study compared two types of thermal treatment systems: a conventional combustion chamber with excess air, represented by a rotary kiln with afterburner, and an oxygen-deficient pyrolysis unit, represented by a plasma arc furnace. The purpose of the first part of this study is to estimate the partitioning for significant radionuclides and elements in the two types of thermal treatment systems. Excess-air systems are generally found to produce heavy-metal chlorides, oxides, and sulfates; plasma-arc systems tend to produce more volatile free metals. This difference causes a change in source term dominance from halide volatility to free metal volatility. Chemical thermodynamic methodology is used to estimate partitioning in the two treatment systems. The second part of the study examines how the potential radiation dose to workers handling residue materials is affected by partitioning of radionuclides at the different types of facilities.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 106506
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-SA-25207; CONF-950542-4; ON: DE95014175; TRN: 95:021876
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 14. international symposium on thermal treatment technologies: incineration conference, Seattle, WA (United States), 8-12 May 1995; Other Information: PBD: May 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
SOURCE TERMS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
COMBUSTION
PYROLYSIS
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
FLY ASH
RADIATION DOSES
SLAGS
PARTITION
RADIOISOTOPES
VOLATILE MATTER
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
RADIATION PROTECTION