Document Type

Annual Report

Publication Date

2008

Publisher

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Publisher Location

Las Vegas (Nev.)

First page number:

76

Last page number:

77

Abstract

To facilitate long-term storage, the disposal containers will need to be able to survive for the entire storage interval. The first aspect of the project will explore the potential interaction of the aluminosilicate waste form with the storage canister materials to determine if there is any corrosion or chemical interaction concerns for the storage of the materials. At the end of the storage interval, most of the cesium (137Cs) in the waste form will have decayed to its daughter, barium (137Ba). While this decay provides a significant reduction in the decay heat generated by the waste form, it poses a new concern. Barium is hazardous, and is identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a hazardous constituent under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). To dispose of any material containing a RCRA identified constituent, the material must be demonstrated to be durable enough to prevent the release of the hazardous component or must be treated as hazardous waste. For the Cs/Sr waste stream, failure to contain the barium within the waste form would require disposal as a mixed waste stream, greatly increasing the disposal costs.

The research objectives of this project are: to characterize the Cs/Sr-loaded aluminosilicate waste form ceramic; to examine the impact of fabrication process parameters on the product waste form; to evaluation the potential for chemical interactions between the waste form and container material; and to examine the degradation and alteration behavior of the waste form.

Keywords

Aluminum silicates; Barium; Cesium; Radioactive wastes—Storage; Strontium

Controlled Subject

Aluminum silicates; Radioactive wastes--Storage; Strontium

Disciplines

Nuclear | Nuclear Engineering

File Format

pdf

File Size

519 KB

Language

English


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