Engineered sorbent barriers for low-level waste disposal

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:5940896

Mitchell, S J; Freeman, H D; Buelt, J L

Pacific Northwest Laboratory is developing sorbent materials to prevent the migration of radionuclides from low-level waste sites. These materials would allow water to pass, preventing the bathtub effect at humid sites. Screening studies identified promising sorbent materials for three key radionuclides: for cesium, greensand; for cobalt, activated charcoal; and for strontium, synthetic zeolite or clinoptilolite. Mixtures of these sorbent materials were tested in 0.6-m-diameter columns using radioactive leachates. To simulate expected worst-case conditions, the leachate solution contained the radionuclides, competing cations, and a chelating agent, adjusted to a pH of 5. A sorbent barrier comprised of greensand (1 wt %), activated charcoal (6 wt %), synthetic zeolite (20 wt %), and soil (73 wt %) achieved the decontamination factors necessary to meet the regulatory performance requirements established for this study. Sorbent barriers can be applied to shallow land burial, as backfill around the waste or engineered structures, or as backup to other liner systems. 2 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 5940896
• Report Number(s): PNL-SA-14237; CONF-860990-16; ON: DE88000084
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
053000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
510300 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
AVAILABILITY
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM 137
CESIUM ISOTOPES
COBALT 60
COBALT ISOTOPES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COST ESTIMATION
DISSOLUTION
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
GROUND DISPOSAL
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LEACHING
LINERS
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
SEPARATION PROCESSES
STABILITY
STRONTIUM 90
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES