Dense radioactive waste

SIMULATION OF COUPLED THERMAL AND SOLUTE CONCENTRATION EFFECTS ON DENSE RADIOACTIVE WASTE MIGRATION IN DEEP AQUIFERS... 

Five-gallon size waste forms were fabricated. Typical waste loading was 35-40 wt%. A small amount of potassium sulfide was added to the Ceramicrete binder mixture for stabilization of Hg, and dense and hard ceramic waste forms were produced. Just before solidification, TCLP results were obtained on small aliquots of the mixing slurry that was separated and allowed to set. Mercury levels in the leachate were found to be 0.05 /rg/1, well below the LfTS limit of 0.025 mg/1. The entire waste was treated, removed from the inventory, and sent to the Radioactive Waste Management Complex at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory for disposal. 

One method of radioactive waste minimization is to compact the waste into a smaller, more densely packed volume. A second method is by incineration, specifically of exposed organic materials. A third method of waste volume reduction is by either dewatering (filtration) and/or evaporation for water removal and recovery. 

In the United States, permanent storage sites for high-level radioactive wastes win prohahly he deep underp-ound in rock formations. Shown is the kind of nuclear waste facility desired for Yucca Mountain, which would he a three-square-mile complex of interconnected tunnels located in dense volcanic rock 30 meters (1000 feet) beneath the mountain. 

---