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Grouted Waste Leach Tests: Pursuit of Mechanisms and Data for Long-Term Performance Assessment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2011

R. Jeff Serne
R. Jeff Serne*
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, P. 0. Box 999 K6-81, Richland, WA 99352
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Abstract

At Hanford, low-level liquid nuclear waste is being mixed with cementitious materials (grout) to form leach-resistant solid waste. Prior to grouting each liquid waste, an assessment must be performed to evaluate the long-term environmental impact. These predictions rely upon a diffusioncontrolled release model and short-term laboratory leach data on small grout samples. This paper describes size scale-up and inventory scale-up experiments that evaluate whether diffusion does in fact control the release of contaminants. The results of the volume scale-up test suggest that tests on grout cylinders between the sizes 3 cm dia. by 3 cm length and 30 cm dia. by 29 cm length yield comparable results. These data and other available literature suggest that extrapolation of leach results to large blocks of solidified waste is defensible.

The inventory scale-up tests for 125I and selenium show a constant effective diffusivity regardless of the original inventory. This suggests that diffusion processes do in fact control the release of iodide and selenium from grout. The 99Tc effective diffusivities may not remain constant with changes in inventory.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 176: Symposium U – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XIII , 1989 , 91
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1990

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References

REFERENCES

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