Decontamination of stainless steel canisters that contain high-level waste

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA)

OSTI ID:5334345

Bray, L A; Thomas, N M

At the West Valley Nuclear Services Company (WVNSC) in West Valley, New York, high-level radioactive waste (HLW) will be vitrified into a borosilicate glass form and poured into large, stainless steel canisters. During the filling process, volatile fission products, principally {sup 137}Cs, condense on the exterior of the canisters. The smearable contamination that remains on the canisters after they are filled and partially cooled must be removed from the canisters' exterior surfaces prior to their storage and ultimate shipment to a US Department of Energy (DOE) repository for disposal. A simple and effective method was developed for decontamination of HLW canisters. This method of chemical decontamination is applicable to a wide variety of contaminated equipment found in the nuclear industry. The process employs a reduction-oxidation system (Ce(III)/Ce(IV)) in nitric acid solution to chemically mill the surface of stainless steel, similar to the electropolishing process, but without the need for an applied electrical current. Contaminated canisters are simply immersed in the solution at controlled temperature and Ce(IV) concentration levels.

• OSTI ID: 5334345
• Report Number(s): CONF-871101--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA) Journal Volume: 55:3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052001 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Processing
054000* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ALLOYS
BATTELLE PACIFIC NORTHWEST LABORATORIES
BOROSILICATE GLASS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CLEANING
CONTAINERS
CONTAMINATION
DECONTAMINATION
GLASS
HIGH ALLOY STEELS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NITRIC ACID
OXIDATION
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
REDUCTION
STAINLESS STEELS
STEELS
SURFACE CONTAMINATION
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
VITRIFICATION
WASTES