Processing high-level waste for vitrification at SRS-safety issues

Journal Article · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1996 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society

OSTI ID:426380

Gupta, M K; Britt, T E; Morin, J P; Satterfield, R M; Menna, J D ^[1]

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1. Westinghouse Savannah River Site, Aikens, SC (United States)

The safety issues and their resolutions for the in-tank precipitation process are discussed in this paper. The in-tank precipitation process is an addition to the tank farm operations. Westinghouse Savannah River Company will prepare waste tank supernate and salt for treatment by the vitrification facility and saltstone facility. The salt solution is decontaminated by in-tank precipitation using a batch process in existing waste tanks in the tank farm, which are specifically designated for that purpose. The low-activity (decontaminated) salt solution is prepared from the supernate in dedicated waste tanks by a combination of precipitation, adsorption, and filtration. The most abundant radioisotope in the supernate, {sup 137}Cs, is precipitated with sodium tetraphenylborate (STPB) in tank 48. In the same step, {sup 90}Sr, uranium, and plutonium are absorbed on monosodium titanate particles. The solution (slurry) is filtered into two separate streams: filtrate and precipitate. The filtrate from this process is treated to remove volatile organics and is stored in tank 50 for later processing in the saltstone facility. The precipitate from this process stored in tank 49 is one of two concentrate slurries fed to the vitrification facility.

• OSTI ID: 426380
• Report Number(s): CONF-961103--
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society Vol. 75; ISSN 0003-018X; ISSN TANSAO
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
SAFETY ANALYSIS
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
TANKS
VITRIFICATION