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TECNETIUM-99 BEHAVIOR IN SAVANNAH RIVER SITE HIGH LEVEL WASTE SLUDGES DURING WASTE PROCESSING

Conference ·
OSTI ID:881344
This paper presents results of a study of the behavior of technetium-99 (Tc-99) during high level waste (HLW) processing operations at Savannah River Site (SRS). Its behavior during HLW processing is important to understand because Tc-99 can fractionate in the waste and appear in both the sludge and the salt tanks at SRS. It can also be soluble in groundwaters and thus is an important radionuclide that may dictate how much waste has to be removed from a tank to prepare it for permanent closure. The HLW processing steps considered in this study are: (1) The initial caustic neutralization of the acidic waste streams generated in the SRS canyons to prepare the waste for storage in the mild steel tanks in the SRS Tank Farm. Waste that is insoluble in caustic precipitates while soluble elements remain in the supernates. At SRS insoluble components are segregated into sludge tanks and soluble components into the salt tanks. (2) The operations in the SRS Tank Farm that wash the sludge in preparation for immobilization for permanent disposal. (3) The sludge immobilization process in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) that solidifies the solids into a stable borosilicate glass. The data in this study are from tests performed at SRNL with both a simulated HLW doped with Tc-99 and tests preformed remotely in the Shielded Cells with a sample of actual radioactive HLW that contained Tc-99 and other radionuclides generated in the SRS reactors. Detailed results are discussed in the paper.
Research Organization:
Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC09-96SR18500
OSTI ID:
881344
Report Number(s):
WSRC-MS-2004-00614
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English