Treatment and Conditioning of Radioactive Solid Wastes
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IAEA-TECDOC-655 Treatment and conditioning of radioactive solid wastes Technical manual managementthe for of intermediateand low level wastes generated at small nuclear research centres radioisotopeby and users medicine,in research industryand INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY The IAEA does not normally maintain stocks of reports in this series. However, microfiche copie f thesso e reportsobtainee b n ca d from IN IS Clearinghouse International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramerstrasse 5 0 10 x P.OBo . A-1400 Vienna, Austria Orders should be accompanied by prepayment of Austrian Schillings 100, fore for e chequa th th f m IAEmf o n n o i i r eAo microfiche service coupons which may be ordered separately from the IN!S Clearinghouse. TREATMEN CONDITIONIND TAN RADIOACTIVF GO E SOLID WASTES IAEA, VIENNA, 1992 IAEA-TECDOC-655 ISSN 1011-4289 Printed by the IAEA in Austria July 1992 FOREWORD The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has published Technical Reports Serie d Safetsan y Series document radioactivn so e waste management over nearly three decades. These documents have served Member States presenting basic reference material and comprehensive surveys of the 'state-of-the-art' technologies applied to radioactive waste management. The need for assistance in specific waste management problems facing many countries has been demonstrated in IAEA activities including technical assistance project Wastd san e Management Advisory Programme (WAMAP) missions. Technical Reports Series and Safety Series documents usually reflect: - technological solutions based on experience and resources normally availabl countrien i e s managing nuclear fuel cycle wastes; - volumes and activities of radioactive wastes of orders of magnitude greater than those generate countrien i d s without nuclear power. A new series of technical documents is being undertaken especially to fully mee neede th t Membe f so r State straightforwarr fo s w coslo t d an d solution wasto st e management problems. These documents will: give guidanc makinn eo g maximum practicabl indigenouf o e us e s resources; - provide step-by-step procedures for effective application of technology; recommend technological procedure se integrate b whic n hca d into an overall national waste management programme. The series entitled 'Technical Manuals for the Management of Low and Intermediate Level Wastes Generate Smalt a d l Nuclear Research Centred an s by Radioisotope Users in Medicine, Research and Industry* will serve as reference material to experts on technical assistance missions and provide 'direct know-how' for technical staff in Member States. Currently, the following manuals have been identified: - Minimization and Segregation of Radioactive Wastes - Storag Radioactivf eo e Wastes Handling, Conditioning and Disposal of Spent Sealed Sources Handling and Treatment of Radioactive Aqueous Wastes - Treatmen Conditionind tan Radioactivf go e Solid Wastes Treatment and Conditioning of Carcasses and Biological Material Treatmen d Conditionintan Radioactivf go e Organic Liquids Treatmen d Conditionintan Spenf go Exchangn tIo e Resins from Research Reactors, Precipitation Sludge d Othesan r Radioactive Concentrates Design of a Centralized Waste Processing and Storage Facility. e ordeTh preparatiof o r manuale th f nbaseo s si prioritn o d y needf so Member States and it is recognized that additional areas of technical need may be identified as this programme is implemented. In this regard the programm flexibles ei , should other manual modificationr so s prove necessary. The objective of this manual is to provide essential guidance to Member States withou nucleata r power programm selectionn o e , desigd nan operation of cost-effective treatment and conditioning processes for radioactive solid wastes generate institutiont a d smalr so l research centres. e IAETh A wishe expreso st gratituds it sconsultantse th o t e Hil. ,W d (Gesellschaf Strahlenr tfü Umweltforschund -un g mbH, Germanyd )an J. Heinonen (Helsinki Universit Technologyf o y , Finland prepareo )wh e th d original draf thif to s documen conjunction i t n wit Baehr. hW IAEe ,th A officer responsibl thir fo es work froDivisioe th m Nucleaf no r Fuel Cycle and Waste Management. EDITORIAL NOTE In preparing this material for the press, staff of the International Atomic Energy Agency have mounted and paginated the original manuscripts and given some attention to presentation. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the governments of the Member States or organizations under whose auspices manuscriptsthe were produced. The use in this book of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention specificof companies theirof or products brandor names does implynot any endorsement recommendationor IAEA. partthe the of on CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................7 . 2. WASTE ARISINGS AND CHARACTERISTICS ................................................. 8 2.1. Applications of radionuclides .................................................................... 8 2.2. Volumes and types of primary wastes ......................................................... 9 3. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ................................................ 15 3.1. Definition ............................................................................................ 15 3.2. Solid waste pretreatment ........................................................................7 1 . 3.2.1. Sorting, segregation and packaging .................................................... 19 3.2.2. Monitoring .................................................................................. 21 3.2.3. Decay storage .............................................................................2 2 . 3.3. Volume reduction of solid wastes by compaction ........................................... 26 3.3.1. Vacuum compaction .....................................................................9 2 . 3.3.2. In-drum compaction ...................................................................... 29 3.3.3. Drum compaction ......................................................................... 33 3.4. Microbiological treatmen wastef o t s ..........................................................9 3 . 3.5. Decontaminatio f equipmenno componentd an t s ............................................0 4 . 3.6. Incineration ......................................................................................... 41 3.7. Treatmen conditionind an t f non-combustiblgo non-compactibld ean e wastes ........3 4 . 4. IMMOBILIZATION AND PACKAGING .......................................................... 43 4.1. Immobilization ...................................................................................... 43 4.2. Packaging ........................................................................................... 44 . 5 QUALITY ASSURANCE .............................................................................0 5 . 5.1. General .............................................................................................0 5 . 5.2. Acceptance criteri wastr afo e packages ......................................................0 5 . 6. STORAGE OF CONDITIONED WASTES ........................................................ 52 6.1. Storage design ...................................................................................... 52 6.2. Storage operation .................................................................................5 5 . 7. SAFETY ASSESSMENT OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ............................. 56 REFERENCES .................................................................................................. 57 . INTRODUCTIO1 N Radioactive materials are extensively used in industrial and research activities mainly relate medicalo t d , agricultural, environmenta d othelan r studies and applications. During the application and production of radioisotopes, significant amount radioactivf so e wastes will inevitably arise, which must be managed (i.e. handled, treated, conditioned, intermediately store d finallan d y dispose wit) of dh particular caret I . should be underlined as well that serious efforts to minimize and appropriately segregate the waste arisings during the application of radioisotope mose th te importansar t first ste wastn i p e management. The essential objective of the management of radioactive waste is the protection of mankind, the biosphere and the environment from the detrimental effects of nuclear radiation both now and in the future. This report deals with radioactive wastes outside the nuclear fuel cycle and it is directed primarily to countries without nuclear power programmes, e.g. countries belongin followine th o . t gC gd Groupan B , sA This classification was made on the basis of the existing facilities using radioisotope e type th d quantitie san d san radioactivf so e wastes produced [1]. Group A Member States which utilize radioisotopes at a few hospital locations, universitie d industriessan . Group B Member States which have multi-use of radioisotopes in hospitals and other institutional areas and need a central collection and processing system. Group C Member States which have multi-use of radioisotopes and a nuclear research centre which