Treatment requirements for decontamination of ORNL low-level liquid waste

Technical Report · Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1991

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6217466· OSTI ID:6217466

Lee, D D; Campbell, D O

Experimental studies have been made to provide data for the development of improved processes for decontaminating low-level liquid wastes (LLLWs) that exist and continue to be generated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The concept underlying this work is that there is a net benefit if the major radionuclides ({sup 137}Cs, {sup 134}Cs, {sup 90}Sr, and actinides) can be separated into small volumes, thereby reducing the activity of the bulk of the waste so that it can be disposed of or managed at a lower total cost. Data-base calculations on the LLLW supernate and sludges contained in the active Melton Valley Storage Tanks and evaporator storage and service tanks are essential in order to define and determine the extent of the problem. These calculations indicate to what extent alpha- and beta-gamma-emitting radionuclides must be removed and/or treated before final disposition of the waste can be made. They also show that many of the inorganic constitutents (e.g., regulated metals and nitrate) and minor radionuclides such as {sup 14}C and actinides (in terms of quantity present) must be removed before the LLLW can be disposed of as either liquid to the environment or solidified and disposed of as solid NUS Class L-1 or L-2 LLW. 25 refs., 31 tabs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6217466
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-11799; ON: DE92002393
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
DECONTAMINATION
RADIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS
ORNL
LIQUID WASTES
SLUDGES
SOLIDIFICATION
DATA COMPILATION
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
RESOURCE RECOVERY ACTS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
STANDARDS
STORAGE FACILITIES
TANKS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CLEANING
CONTAINERS
DATA
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
INFORMATION
LAWS
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTES
052001* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Processing
540330 - Environment
Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
540350 - Environment
Aquatic- Site Resource & Use Studies- (1990-)