Engineered sorbent barriers for improved low-level waste disposal

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987 · Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5660296

Mitchell, S J; Freeman, H D

The Engineered Sorbent Barriers Program at Pacific Northwest Lab., supported by the US Dept. of Energy's Low-Level Waste (LLW) Management Program, is developing sorbent materials to prevent the migration of radionuclides from LLW sites. Unlike impermeable barriers, sorbent barriers allow moisture to pass while selectively sorbing contaminants. This would prevent filling the waste site with water at humid sites, referred to as the bathtub effect. The sorptive behavior of these barriers is similar to the ion-exchange properties that many soils possess for certain radionuclides. However, the degree of sorption of radionuclides is dependent on the type of soil, the specific radionuclide, and the presence of competing ions and organic complexants. Therefore, the use of sorptive additives as radionuclide barriers is recommended to prevent radionuclide migration from the waste site. The experimental work discussed in this paper was directed toward identifying and evaluating sorbent materials for three radionuclides of major concern in defense LLW: /sup 137/Cs, /sup 60/Co, and /sup 90/Sr. No single material was found to be effective for sorbing all three radionuclides of interest. Therefore, formulations were developed containing A-51 zeolite or clinoptilolite for sorbing strontium, greensand or red pottery clay for sorbing cesium, and activated charcoal for sorbing cobalt.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA
• OSTI ID: 5660296
• Report Number(s): CONF-870601-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc.; (United States) Journal Volume: 54
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ADSORBENTS
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM 137
CESIUM ISOTOPES
CHARCOAL
CLAYS
COBALT 60
COBALT ISOTOPES
CONTAINERS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
INORGANIC ION EXCHANGERS
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
ION EXCHANGE
ION EXCHANGE MATERIALS
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
MINERALS
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
REGULATIONS
SOILS
SORPTION
SORPTIVE PROPERTIES
STRONTIUM 90
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
SURFACE PROPERTIES
US DOE
US NRC
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
ZEOLITES