Innovative Technology for Radwaste Treatment for New Applications

Abstract

Radioactive liquid waste products are created during many stages of the nuclear power cycle. Liquid waste is generated from the ore extraction process through to nuclear power plant decommissioning. Effective treatment of waste from the initial stage to the final stage has been a challenge for nuclear nations. This is particularly true for the more complex waste streams with organic, acid, alkaline, aqueous and metallic compositions. Today the nuclear community is keenly aware of safeguards that are necessary to protect and secure liquid waste. Innovative technologies are being developed to solidify these waste streams, to provide methods for safe transport and disposal, and to lessen the risk of accidents. With wide diversity of liquid compositions and activity levels, it is important to note that many of these products cannot be treated with existing, commonly used techniques. Additionally, as new generators of waste are designed and utilized, there is a need to consider new and safer methods for the treatment of waste. One solution to this problem is to apply proven, low cost polymers to absorb liquid compositions soon after production. The polymers may be combined to create a formula specifically designed to permanently solidify a waste stream in a simple one-step process. Principal advantages for using high tech polymers for treatment are high chemical and radiation stability after solidification without leaching. The purpose of the presented research is to: determine the optimum bonding ratio for the complex waste stream; evaluate the immobilization and stability process from polymer solidification after gamma irradiation (Cobalt 60 source). Conditions of the experiments and the test results are analyzed and evaluated in this paper.