Innovative Conditioning Procedures for the Generation of Radioactive Waste Products which are Stable for Intermediate Storage or Repository-Independent in Final Storage

Conference · Sat Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2006

OSTI ID:21208689

Steinmetz, H J; Heimbach, H; Odoj, R ^[1]; Pruesse, R; Wartenberg, W ^[2]

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1. Research Centre Juelich, D-52425 Juelich (Germany)
2. QSA Global GmbH, D-38001 Braunschweig (Germany)

The German Federal Government aims at a future final storage site for all kinds of radioactive waste within 30 years. Existing and newly-produced radioactive waste therefore has to be stored in interim storage facilities over very long periods of time. At present, most German radioactive waste or waste packages are produced and qualified according to the acceptance criteria of the projected final repository KONRAD. [1] Nevertheless, conditioning strategies for crude radioactive waste have to take into account the open question of the future repository site as well as requirements for long-term interim storage. The Quality Control Group for Radioactive Waste (in German: Produktkontrollstelle fuer radioaktive Abfaelle - PKS) works as an independent expert organisation for the quality checking of radioactive waste packages as well as evaluating conditioning procedures for waste containers suitable for final storage on behalf of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (in German: Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz - BfS). The Institute for Safety Research and Reactor Technology (in German: Institut fuer Sicherheitsforschung and Reaktortechnik - ISR) of the Research Centre Juelich investigates scientific/technical problems of nuclear disposal, especially in the field of waste treatment. In this context, ISR and PKS investigated and/or evaluated innovative procedures, by means of which radioactive waste flows may be minimized and rendered inert. QSA Global (formerly: AEA Technology QSA) conditions radioactive waste of German users from the fields of medicine, research and industry as well as from its own radioactive source production and operates an intermediate storage facility for radioactive waste containers. This poster deals with the characteristics and possible applications of new waste fixation media on the basis of organic and inorganic mineral polymers; with the approach of producing inherently safe waste forms for various geological formations. Plasma technology and inorganic additives produce volume reduced glasses. Organic polymers evaluated are polysiloxane compounds with additives like barium sulfate, lead dioxide or others, depending on the specific requirements. As a counterpart to organic polymers, mineral polymers are based on silica and alumina, exhibiting better mechanical and thermal properties, as well as higher durability, compared with concrete. Thus QSA Global uses mineral polymers for packing radioactive waste containers, if high safety requirements have to be fulfilled like the waste acceptance criteria for the KONRAD repository. (Plasma products so far generated in experiments resemble natural obsidian, a highly inert and stable volcanic glass). (authors)

• Research Organization: WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 13023, Tucson, AZ, 85732-3023 (United States)
• OSTI ID: 21208689
• Report Number(s): INIS-US--09-WM-06220
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ALUMINIUM OXIDES
BARIUM SULFATES
BUNDESAMT FUER STRAHLENSCHUTZ
CONCRETES
CONTAINERS
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
KONRAD ORE MINE
LEAD OXIDES
ORGANIC POLYMERS
QUALITY CONTROL
RADIATION PROTECTION
RADIATION SOURCES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
WASTE FORMS