Radiochemistry laboratory waste management
- WIPP, Westinghouse, Carlsbad, NM (United States)
As part of the Oak Ridge Dose Reconstruction, a detailed assessment of {sup 131}I releases from radioactive lanthanum (RaLa) processing is being conducted. From 1944 through 1956, fuel slugs from Oak Ridge (X-10) and Hanford reactors were dissolved and processed at Oak Ridge to separate {sup 140}La for Los Alamos weapons development. Fuel cooling times were as short as several hours, and dissolver off-gas passed through a caustic scrubber. In an earlier feasibility study, simple screening analyses identified RaLa processing as one of the largest potential contributors to off-site risk from the three Oak Ridge plants, with releases over 3.7 PBq (100,000 Ci) considered likely. With the close proximity of surrounding populations and potential 1311 releases comparable to those established in the Hanford dose reconstruction, a detailed investigation was initiated. Inventories of {sup 131}I and {sup 140}Ba in X-10 slugs were calculated using the ORIGEN 2.1 code, detailed slug exposure records, and neutron flux distributions determined in the X-10 reactor in 1945. Informal expert elicitation was used to estimate a {sup 131}I release fraction for use in the initial iteration of the assessment. For later iterations, a simple numerical model of iodine distribution in RaLa chemical processing was prepared to predict releases from the dissolver and waste neutralizer tank based on five mass-balance equations. The critical caustic scrubber was then modeled with a kinetic-based model of iodine mass transfer. Separate analyses of release fractions are necessary for a number of off-normal conditions and accidents. The models were integrated for estimation of time histories of {sup 131}I release, interfacing with calculations of environmental transport, off-site exposure, and ranges of historical doses and health risks in a manner that reflects the uncertainty of all components.
- OSTI ID:
- 393916
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9607135--
- Journal Information:
- Health Physics, Journal Name: Health Physics Journal Issue: Suppl.6 Vol. 70; ISSN HLTPAO; ISSN 0017-9078
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
BARIUM 140
EMISSION
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
HUMAN POPULATIONS
IODINE 131
MASS TRANSFER
NEUTRON FLUX
O CODES
OAK RIDGE RESERVATION
RADIATION DOSES
RADIOACTIVE EFFLUENTS
RADIOCHEMISTRY
X-10 REACTOR