Preparations for high-level defense waste immobilization at Savannah River Plant
Methods are being developed to immobilize Savannah River Plant (SRP) wastes in high-integrity glass forms. The waste forms will be suitable for storage in an on-site facility or for shipment to an off-site repository. Alkaline wastes produced in SRP separations plants are currently stored in large, carbon-steel tanks. These wastes consist of a water-soluble fraction (salt cake and supernatant liquor) and an insoluble sludge. The water-soluble fraction contains most of the /sup 137/Cs and the insoluble sludge contains most of the /sup 90/Sr, waste actinides, and other fission products. /sup 90/Sr and /sup 137/Cs are the most hazardous radionuclides in aged waste. A conceptual solidification process has been developed from laboratory tests with both actual and simulated waste. Engineering design studies are in progress. First, wastes are removed as a slurry from the waste tanks. The sludge is separated from the supernate, and then /sup 137/Cs is removed from the clarified supernate by ion exchange. The resulting decontaminated supernate is evaporated to a salt for bulk storage. In the second part of the process, /sup 137/Cs is mixed with sludge and the mixture is calcined and then solidified in borosilicate glass. Off-gas from the calciner and glass melter is treated to ensure that no hazardous materials are released to the atmosphere.
- Research Organization:
- Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, SC (USA). Savannah River Lab.
- DOE Contract Number:
- EY-76-C-09-0001
- OSTI ID:
- 6716054
- Report Number(s):
- DP-MS-78-36; CONF-780719-1; TRN: 78-016051
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Conference of the American Society for Testing Materials, Johnson, VT, USA, 9 Jul 1978
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Waste management. Savannah River Laboratory quarterly report, January--March 1975
Waste management program: Technical progress report, July-December 1986
Related Subjects
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
VITRIFICATION
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
CESIUM 137
FISSION PRODUCTS
FLOWSHEETS
GLASS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
OFF-GAS SYSTEMS
STRONTIUM 90
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM ISOTOPES
DIAGRAMS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MANAGEMENT
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
US AEC
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
052001* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Processing