Leaching studies of {sup 60}Co from radioactive waste immobilized in cement

Conference · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:469748

Plecas, I B; Peric, A D; Pavlovic, S D ^[1]

---

1. Institute of Nuclear Sciences Vinca, Belgrade (Yugoslavia)

The intermediate level radioactive wastes produced as a result of the operation of reprocessing plants and nuclear power station are currently being considered for immobilization in a number of possible matrices, including cement, bitumen and plastics. In the storage or disposal of these solidified wastes, some radioactive products may be leached into contacting water and this water might enter into the environment. Therefore, an estimation of the quantities of radionuclides that can be leached from waste composites is essential in radioactive waste management. At the authors laboratory, a promising composite for solidification of radioactive wastes has been developed by incorporation of spent ion exchange in cement. Leaching of {sup 60}Co was studied using the method recommended by the IAEA. Transport phenomena involved in the leaching of a radioactive material from a composite matrix into surrounding water were investigated using three methods on theoretical equations. These were: Method I, diffusion equation derived for a plane source model. Method II, rate equation for diffusion coupled with a first-order reaction. The leaching data were also analyzed by an empirical method employing a polynomial equation, Method III. These three methods are compared with respect to their applicability to the {sup 60}Co leaching data.

• OSTI ID: 469748
• Report Number(s): CONF-960804--Vol.1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
CEMENTS
COBALT 60
ENCAPSULATION
GROUND WATER
INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
ION EXCHANGE MATERIALS
LEACHING