TRU waste-sampling program

Technical Report · Thu Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1985

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6501499· OSTI ID:6501499

Warren, J L; Zerwekh, A

As part of a TRU waste-sampling program, Los Alamos National Laboratory retrieved and examined 44 drums of /sup 238/Pu- and /sup 239/Pu-contaminated waste. The drums ranged in age from 8 months to 9 years. The majority of drums were tested for pressure, and gas samples withdrawn from the drums were analyzed by a mass spectrometer. Real-time radiography and visual examination were used to determine both void volumes and waste content. Drum walls were measured for deterioration, and selected drum contents were reassayed for comparison with original assays and WIPP criteria. Each drum tested at atmospheric pressure. Mass spectrometry revealed no problem with /sup 239/Pu-contaminated waste, but three 8-month-old drums of /sup 238/Pu-contaminated waste contained a potentially hazardous gas mixture. Void volumes fell within the 81 to 97% range. Measurements of drum walls showed no significant corrosion or deterioration. All reassayed contents were within WIPP waste acceptance criteria. Five of the drums opened and examined (15%) could not be certified as packaged. Three contained free liquids, one had corrosive materials, and one had too much unstabilized particulate. Eleven drums had the wrong (or not the most appropriate) waste code. In many cases, disposal volumes had been inefficiently used. 2 refs., 23 figs., 7 tabs.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 6501499
• Report Number(s): LA-10479-MS; ON: DE86003281
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ALPHA-BEARING WASTES
AUTORADIOGRAPHY
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
CONTAINERS
CORROSION
DATA
DECOMPOSITION
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GAS ANALYSIS
HEAVY NUCLEI
INFORMATION
ISOTOPES
MANAGEMENT
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MATERIALS
NONDESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
PLUTONIUM 238
PLUTONIUM 239
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
PRESSURE MEASUREMENT
RADIATION CHEMISTRY
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIOLYSIS
SAMPLING
SLUDGES
SPECTROSCOPY
STORAGE
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE STORAGE
WASTES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES