Engineered sorbent barriers for improved low-level waste disposal
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-; TRN: 88-009713
- Journal Information:
- Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc.; (United States), Vol. 54; Conference: Annual meeting of the American Nuclear Society, Dallas, TX, USA, 7 Jun 1987
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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ION EXCHANGE
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052002* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage