Effect of Radiation from Low-Level Radioactive Waste Leachate on Antioxidant Depletion in HDPE Geo-membrane - 16087
- Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation - CRESP/University of Virginia (United States)
- Stanford University (United States)
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (United States)
Low-level radioactive waste (LLW) and mixed waste (MW) disposal facilities in the US are required to have a service life in excess of 1000 yr. Understanding the rate of degradation of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geo-membranes (GMs) used in LLW and MW facilities is necessary to assess their service life when conducting a performance assessment for a disposal facility. In LLW and MW disposal facilities, GMs may be exposed to radionuclides that may accelerate antioxidant depletion and degradation. This paper evaluates how radiation dosage affects antioxidant depletion in HDPE GMs and makes inferences regarding the impact of radiation on GM service life. Specimens of 0.04-mm-, 0.1-mm-, and 2-mm-thick HDPE GMs were exposed to a sealed source of Am-241 to simulate alpha radiation from LLW leachate (e.g., uranium). The specimens were exposed to the sealed source for 1-50 h, followed by oxidative induction time (OIT) testing to determine depletion of antioxidants in response to exposure. Penetration of alpha particles in the HDPE GM exposed to the sealed source was evaluated with the program Geometry And Tracking (GEANT4). The GEANT4 modeling indicates that physical dose deposition for alpha particles largely occurs on the superficial layers and decreased monotonically with depth to a negligible dose (∼ 28 μm). For a 2-mm-thick HDPE GM, there was no change in OIT after exposure, whereas in much thinner GMs (e.g., 0.04 mm), significant antioxidant depletion occurred after exposure, reflecting the shallow penetration of alpha radiation at the surface of HDPE GM. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22837987
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-19-WM-16087; TRN: US19V1180083342
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM2016: 42. Annual Waste Management Symposium, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 6-10 Mar 2016; Other Information: Country of input: France; 23 refs.; available online at: http://archive.wmsym.org/2016/index.html
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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