Techniques and Practices for Pretreatment of Low and Intermediate Level Solid and Liquid ...

121 Pages·2011·1.9 MB·English

272
TECHNICAL REPORTS SERIES No.
Techniques and Practices
for Pretreatment of
Low and Intermediate Level
Solid and Liquid
Radioactive Wastes
i
\ J
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, VIENNA, 1987

TECHNIQUES AND PRACTICES
FOR PRETREATMENT OF
LOW AND INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
SOLID AND LIQUID
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency:
AFGHANISTAN GUATEMALA PARAGUAY
ALBANIA HAITI PERU
ALGERIA HOLY SEE PHILIPPINES
ARGENTINA HUNGARY POLAND
AUSTRALIA ICELAND PORTUGAL
AUSTRIA INDIA QATAR
BANGLADESH INDONESIA ROMANIA
BELGIUM IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF SAUDI ARABIA
BOLIVIA IRAQ SENEGAL
BRAZIL IRELAND SIERRA LEONE
BULGARIA ISRAEL SINGAPORE
BURMA ITALY SOUTH AFRICA
BYELORUSSIAN SOVIET JAMAICA SPAIN
SOCIALIST REPUBLIC JAPAN SRI LANKA
CAMEROON JORDAN SUDAN
CANADA KENYA SWEDEN
CHILE KOREA, REPUBLIC OF SWITZERLAND
CHINA KUWAIT SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
COLOMBIA LEBANON THAILAND
COSTA RICA LIBERIA TUNISIA
COTE D'IVOIRE LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA TURKEY
CUBA LIECHTENSTEIN UGANDA
CYPRUS LUXEMBOURG UKRAINIAN SOVIET SOCIALIST
CZECHOSLOVAKIA MADAGASCAR REPUBLIC
DEMOCRATIC KAMPUCHEA MALAYSIA UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST
DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S MALI REPUBLICS
REPUBLIC OF KOREA MAURITIUS UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
DENMARK MEXICO UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MONACO BRITAIN AND NORTHERN
ECUADOR MONGOLIA IRELAND
EGYPT MOROCCO UNITED REPUBLIC OF
EL SALVADOR NAMIBIA TANZANIA
ETHIOPIA NETHERLANDS UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FINLAND NEW ZEALAND URUGUAY
FRANCE NICARAGUA VENEZUELA
GABON NIGER VIET NAM
GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC NIGERIA YUGOSLAVIA
GERMANY, FEDER AL REPUBLIC OF NORWAY ZAIRE
GHANA PAKISTAN ZAMBIA
GREECE PANAMA ZIMBABWE
The Agency's Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the
IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957. The
Headquarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is "to accelerate and enlarge the
contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world".
© IAEA, 1987
Permission to reproduce or translate the information contained in this publication may be obtained
by writing to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramerstrasse 5, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna,
Austria.
Printed by the IAEA in Austria
March 1987
TECHNICAL REPORTS SERIES No. 272
TECHNIQUES AND PRACTICES
FOR PRETREATMENT OF
LOW AND INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
SOLID AND LIQUID
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY
VIENNA, 1987
TECHNIQUES AND PRACTICES FOR PRETREATMENT OF LOW AND
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL SOLID AND LIQUID RADIOACTIVE WASTES
IAEA, VIENNA, 1987
STI/DOC/10/272
ISBN 92-0-125087-8
FOREWORD
There are many techniques and practices for handling and treatment of low and
intermediate level radioactive wastes, and they vary broadly from one country to
another, and even between nuclear centres in the same country. They have been
described in publications of the International Atomic Energy Agency issued in
1983-1985.
The subject of pretreatment of low and intermediate level wastes is also dis-
cussed partly in some of thèse publications, but it has not been covered wholly within
a single publication. Pretreatment has recently come to be recognized as an important
part of the whole waste management system because of the substantially greater
volumes of radioactive wastes now being generated and the increased cost of waste
management, particularly with regard to the disposal of wastes. In this context the
volume reduction of waste arisings and volume reduction during handling and treat-
ment of wastes, in addition to the increasing effectiveness of the whole waste
management system, are areas of great importance.
This publication reviews current practices in the pretreatment of wastes in
different countries and may assist the specialist in selection of appropriate pretreat-
ment techniques.
The initial draft of this report was compiled by two consultants, D.W. Clelland
(United Kingdom) and J.R. Wiley (United States of America), in August 1984. The
draft was discussed and revised by experts from 11 countries at an Advisory Group
meeting in December 1984. The revised draft was mailed to participating Member
States for comments. On the basis of the comments received, the document was
reviewed and amended by the IAEA Secretariat and two consultants, D.W. Clelland
(UK) and J. Claes (Belgium). The IAEA officer responsible for this work was
V.M. Efremenkov of the Waste Management Section, Division of Nuclear Fuel
Cycle.
EDITORIAL NOTE
The mention of specific companies or of their products or brand names does not imply
any endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA.
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. CHARACTERIZATION OF WASTES 1
2.1. Radiological classification 2
2.2. Physical/chemical classification 2
2.2.1. Liquid wastes 2
2.2.2. Solid wastes 3
2.3. Classification by origin 3
3. CONSIDERATIONS IN SELECTION OF
PRETREATMENT STRATEGY 4
3.1. General discussion 4
3.2. Radiological protection standards and objectives 6
3.2.1. General philosophy 6
3.2.2. Application of radiological protection principles 6
3.3. Availability and technical status of pretreatment technologies 7
3.3.1. Collection and segregation 7
3.3.2. Size reduction 8
3.3.3. Chemical adjustment 8
3.3.4. Decontamination 8
3.3.5. Storage 9
3.3.6. On-site transport 9
3.3.7. Technical status of pretreatment techniques 9
4. PRETREATMENT OF LIQUID WASTES 10
4.1. Collection and segregation 10
4.1.1. Type and level of activity 11
4.1.2. Chemical composition 12
4.2. On-site transport 12
4.2.1. Pipeline transfer 12
4.2.2. Non-mechanical pumping 15
4.2.2.1. Ejectors
4.2.2.2. Airlifts and vacuum lifts
4.2.2.3. Fluidic pumps
4.2.3. Mechanical pumping 21
4.2.4. Flow control 22
4.2.5. On-site mobile transfer of liquid wastes 23
4.3. Storage and retrieval 25
4.3.1. Storage tanks 25
4.3.2. Retrieval of stored wastes 26
4.4. Chemical adjustment 28
4.4.1. Neutralization/pH control by acid/alkali addition 28
4.4.2. Denitration 28
4.4.3. Electrolysis 28
4.4.4. Chemical adjustment before immobilization 28
4.4.5. Removal of dissolved solvents 29
4.5. Physical adjustment 29
5. PRETREATMENT OF SOLID WASTES 30
5.1. Minimization of waste arisings 30
5.2. Collection and segregation 32
5.2.1. Classification requirements 32
5.2.2. Radiological classification 33
5.2.2.1. Application of de minimis concept
5.2.2.2. Radiological classification for disposal
5.2.2.3. Radiological classification for handling
and treatment
5.2.2.4. Assay of activity content
5.2.3. Physico-chemical classification 38
5.3. Size reduction 39
5.3.1. Dismantling 39
5.3.2. Shredding 41
5.3.3. Precompaction 43
5.4. Decontamination 44
5.5. Packaging 45
5.6. Storage 46
5.6.1. Decay storage 47
5.6.2. Interim storage 47
6. EXAMPLES OF NATIONAL FACILITIES 48
6.1. Ontario Hydro's facilities for waste storage, Canada 48
6.1.1. Introduction 48
6.1.2. Description of wastes 49
6.1.3. Facility description and operation 50
6.1.3.1. Intermediate level wastes
6.1.3.2. Low level wastes
6.1.4. Costs 56