Removal of cesium from uranium recovery process wastes

Technical Report · Mon May 17 04:00:00 EDT 1954

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6049771· OSTI ID:6049771

Burns, R E; Brandt, R L; Clifford, W E

The Uranium Recovery Process (TBP Process) at Hanford extracts and decontaminates uranium from the Metal Waste produced in the Bismuth Phosphate Process. Aqueous waste, approximately equal in volume to that of the Metal Waste itself, results from the process. Although of several years' age, these wastes are still sufficiently radioactive that they must be returned to underground tanks for storage. For several years aqueous wastes of low radioactive content have been discharged to ground at Hanford. Polyvalent cations are strongly absorbed by the soil. Monovalent cations are poorly absorbed if present in solutions of high salt content. Ground waters migrate toward the Columbia River very slowly. These observations point out the desirability of removing, from wastes to be cribbed, those long-lived radioactive constituents which are poorly absorbed by soil. Cesium (Cs-137) and strontium (Sr-90) are the principal constituents of Hanford wastes which possess these characteristics. Strontium, while more hazardous biologically, is of somewhat less concern than cesium because it is better absorbed from high-salt solutions by soils. This report describes research done to develop on inexpensive process for the removal of fission products, especially cesium, from Uranium Recovery Process Wastes. 4 refs., 13 tabs.

• Research Organization: General Electric Co., Richland, WA (USA). Hanford Atomic Products Operation
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/DP
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 6049771
• Report Number(s): HW-31442; ON: DE91006696
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052001* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Processing
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM 137
CESIUM ISOTOPES
CLEANING
COMPLEXES
CONTAINERS
DATA
DECONTAMINATION
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FERROCYANIDES
HAPO
INFORMATION
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
IRON COMPLEXES
ISOTOPES
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
REMOVAL
SCAVENGING
STORAGE
STRONTIUM 90
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
TANKS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPLEXES
UNDERGROUND STORAGE
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES