Discovery of New Plutonium Chemistry and Its Potential Effect on LLW Disposal at SRS
Recently published work on the chemistry of plutonium (IV) dioxide has shown that PuO{sub 2} is not the thermodynamically stable form as was previously thought. In humid environments or the presence of water, some of the plutonium is oxidized to Pu (VI) with the evolution of hydrogen and the formation of PuO2 plus x, where x can range up to 0.27 (i.e. about 27 percent of the Pu has been oxidized to the plus 6 oxidation state). The implication of this discovery is that a more mobile form of plutonium (i.e. Pu (VI)) than that assumed in the performance assessment (i.e. Pu (IV)) could be present in the humid waste disposal environment. If so, then the approved performance assessment might not conservatively bound the effects of plutonium waste disposal.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-96SR18500
- OSTI ID:
- 786604
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-RP-2000-00980
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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