Decontamination of high-level waste canisters

Technical Report · Mon Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7055170· OSTI ID:7055170

Nesbitt, J F; Slate, S C; Fetrow, L K

This report presents evaluations of several methods for the in-process decontamination of metallic canisters containing any one of a number of solidified high-level waste (HLW) forms. The use of steam-water, steam, abrasive blasting, electropolishing, liquid honing, vibratory finishing and soaking have been tested or evaluated as potential techniques to decontaminate the outer surfaces of HLW canisters. Either these techniques have been tested or available literature has been examined to assess their applicability to the decontamination of HLW canisters. Electropolishing has been found to be the most thorough method to remove radionuclides and other foreign material that may be deposited on or in the outer surface of a canister during any of the HLW processes. Steam or steam-water spraying techniques may be adequate for some applications but fail to remove all contaminated forms that could be present in some of the HLW processes. Liquid honing and abrasive blasting remove contamination and foreign material very quickly and effectively from small areas and components although these blasting techniques tend to disperse the material removed from the cleaned surfaces. Vibratory finishing is very capable of removing the bulk of contamination and foreign matter from a variety of materials. However, special vibratory finishing equipment would have to be designed and adapted for a remote process. Soaking techniques take long periods of time and may not remove all of the smearable contamination. If soaking involves pickling baths that use corrosive agents, these agents may cause erosion of grain boundaries that results in rough surfaces.

• Research Organization: Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 7055170
• Report Number(s): PNL-3514
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052001 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Processing
054000* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ABRASIVES
CLEANING
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CONTAINERS
DECONTAMINATION
ELECTROLYSIS
ELECTROPOLISHING
ELEMENTS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
HONING
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
LYSIS
MACHINING
MATERIALS
METALS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLISHING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SCRUBBING
SOLID WASTES
SPRAYS
STEAM
SURFACE FINISHING
WASTES
WATER