Time, temperature, and compositional study of Am/Cm target glass durability

Technical Report · Thu Feb 29 04:00:00 EST 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/268569· OSTI ID:268569

Daniel, W E ^[1]; Best, D R

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1. Westinghouse Savannah River Company, AIKEN, SC (United States)

Vitrification has been identified as a viable choice in the disposition of actinide materials such as americium (Am), curium (Cm), neptunium (Np), and plutonium (Pu). At the Westinghouse Savannah River Company near Aiken, South Carolina, a process is being developed to safely vitrify all of the highly radioactive americium/curium material and a portion of the other fissile actinide materials stored on site. This vitrification will allow safe transportation of the Am/Cm as well as easy storage at their final destination of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This Am/Cm glass has been designed to be extremely durable in aqueous environments and can be selectively attacked by nitric acid to allow recovery of the valuable Am and Cm isotopes. A similar glass composition could allow for temporary or permanent storage of surplus plutonium. This paper will present results from a durability study on the actinide glass, Am/Cm Target, that will be used to vitrify the americium/curium material. The time, temperature, and compositional dependence of the Am/Cm Target durability will be discussed. All results show that the Am/Cm Target Glass is extremely durable and stable in aqueous systems, which is quite suitable for vitrification of americium/curium and possibly other actinides

• Research Organization: Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC09-89SR18035
• OSTI ID: 268569
• Report Number(s): WSRC-MS--96-0163; ON: DE96060077
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
ACTINIDES
AMERICIUM
CURIUM
DISSOLUTION
GLASS
PROGRESS REPORT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
STABILITY
TARGETS
VITRIFICATION