Transuranic solid waste management programs. Progress report, July--December 1975

Technical Report · Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1976

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7146775· OSTI ID:7146775

Progress is reported for three transuranic solid waste management programs funded at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) by the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) Division of Fuel Cycle and Production (NFCP). Under the Transuranic Waste Research and Development Program, continued studies have shown the potential attractiveness of fiber drums as an acceptable substitute for the current mild steel storage containers. Various fire retardants have been evaluated, with one indicating significant ability to inhibit fire propagation. Continued radiolysis studies, under laboratory and field conditions, continue to reaffirm earlier LASL results indicating no significant hazard from radiolytic reactions, assuming no change in current allowable loadings. Care must be exercised to differentiate between radiolytic and chemical reactions. Other efforts have identified a modification of chemical processing to reduce the amounts of plutonium requiring retrievable storage. Studies are also in progress to enhance the sensitivity of the LASL MEGAS assay system. The Transuranic-Contaminated Solid Waste Treatment Development Facility building was 72 percent complete as of December 31, 1975, which is in accord with the existing schedule. Procurement of process components is also on schedule. Certain modifications to the facility have been made, and various pre-facility experiments on waste container handling and processing have been completed. The program for the Evaluation of Transuranic-Contaminated Radioactive Waste Disposal Areas continued development of various computer modules for simulation of radionuclide transport within the biosphere. In addition, program staff contributed to an ERDA document on radioactive waste management through the preparation of a report on burial of radioactive waste at ERDA-contractor and commercial sites.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 7146775
• Report Number(s): LA-6481-PR; TRN: 76-022834
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
LASL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CONTAINERS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
RADIOLYSIS
SOLID WASTES
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
CHEMICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
DECOMPOSITION
ELEMENTS
MANAGEMENT
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
RADIATION CHEMISTRY
RADIATION EFFECTS
STORAGE
US AEC
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE STORAGE
WASTES
052000* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Management