EMBEDDED WASTES AND LEACHATES ANALYSIS

Cel

T1:
FULL SCALE LEACHING TESTS, LABORATORY LYSIMETER TESTS AND THE STUDY OF THE SCALE EFFECT IN THE LEACHIABILITY OF RADIOACTIVE BLOCK.
T2:
I. BIODEGRADATION STUDIES: THE SCOPE OF THESE STUDIES IS THE ASSESSMENT OF HYDROCARBONS BIODEGRADATION.
THE QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF THE BIODEGRADATION IS MEASURED BY THE CO2 PRODUCTION. THE INFLUENCE OF THE CONTENT OF SALTS IN THE EMBEDDED WASTE IS ALSO STUDIED.
II. LEACHING STUDIES: THE SCOPE OF THESE LEACHING STUDIES IS THE:
- LEACHING TEST OF REAL REPROCESSING SLUDGES EMBEDDED IN BLOWN BITUMEN
- LEACHING TEST OF REAL ION EXCHANGERS (P.W.R. ORIGIN) EMBEDDED IN THERMOSETTING RESINS (EPOXIDE MATRIX).
III. DIFFUSION COEFFICIENT STUDIES: CHARACTERIZATION TEST OF AGEING OF EMBEDDED RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN POLYMERS IS LOOKING FOR AMONG SEVERAL SPECTROSCOPIC METHODS ADAPTED TO THE ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT POLYMERIC MATRICES.
COMPARISON BETWEEN OLD AND REFERENCE SAMPLES ARE STUDIED MAINLY WITH EPOXIDE MATERIALS.
T3:
THE BEHAVIOUR OF RADIONUCLIDES IN THE BIOSPHERE DEPENDS ON THEIR CHEMICAL FORM. THE ALPHA EMITTERS WHICH CAN BE PRESENT IN SOLUTION, ON SEVERAL FORMS (COMPLEXES, PRECIPITATES, COLLOIDES...) NEED A PARTICULAR ATTENTION. THE AIM OF THIS PROGRAMME IS TO IMPROVE SPECIATION METHODS SOON USED IN THE LABORATORY AND TO SET UP NEW PROCEDURES GIVING MORE PRECISE INFORMATION (SIZE, CHARGE) ON THE DIFFERENT SPECIES PRESENT IN THE LEACHATES.
T4:
TO CHARACTERIZE LOW LEVEL AND INTERMEDIATE LEVEL ACTIVITIES IN NUCLEAR WASTES, WE MUST DEVELOP ANALYTICAL METHODS REQUIRED FOR ALPHA AND PURE BETA-EMITTERS.
FOR SUCH MEASUREMENTS WE MUST OBTAIN A LIQUID SAMPLE, THIS IMPLIES A COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF EACH MATRIX (BITUMEN, CEMENT AND THERMOSETTING RESINS).
THE FINAL OBJECTIVE OF THE PROGRAM IS TO PROVIDE AN ACCEPTABLE SET OF METHODS FOR THE CHARACTERIZATION OF EACH TYPE OF EMBEDDED WASTE.
T5:
TO VALID THE RESULT OBTAINED,WE MUST DO DATA COMPARISON IN ACCORDING TO GENERAL SCHEDULE. THE 1988 OBJECTIVE PROGRAMME HAS BEEN TO PRESENT TYPICAL CASES.
Evaluation, characterisation and quality assurance of low and medium level waste forms have been carried out including:
full scale leach tests of real wastes from various origins, conditioned with different matrix materials (cement, bitumen, polymer);
scale effect investigations with the caesium-137 cement system (it was found that lysimetry tests with active and nonactive material give results similar to the more conventional leaching tests);
study of degradation mechanisms of bitumen and polymer;
determination of the chemical form of radionuclides in leachate (different methods allowing a more precise knowledge of the insoluble forms have been established);
establishment of procedures, criteria and proposed standards for activity determination of raw wastes, encapsulated wastes and liquid homogeneous wastes (a first approach with heterogeneous wastes is established).
TASK 1: FULL SCALE LEACHING TESTS, LYSIMETER TESTS, SCALE EFFECT (T1)
1. KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRANSFER OF RADIONUCLIDES BY LEACHING BETWEEN FULL, SCALE PACKAGES COMING FROM THE PRODUCER'S FACILITIES.
2. LABORATORY LYSIMETRIE TESTS.
3. STUDY OF THE SCALE EFFECT FOR A CEMENT WASTE FORM. POSSIBLITIES OF EXTRAPOLATION FROM LABORATORY SAMPLES TO FULL SIZE ACTIVE PACKAGES.

TASK 2: BITUMEN AND POLYMER CHARACTERIZATION (T2)
I. BIODEGRADATION STUDIES
1. SCREENING OF MICROORGANISMS ABLE TO DEGRADE HYDROCARBONS
2. QUALITATIVE EVALUATION OF BIODEGRADATION OF BITUMEN MR 90/40
3. QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF BIODEGRADATION OF BITUMEN MR 90/40 AND WASTE FORMS BY MEASURE OF CO2
4. CHEMICAL EVOLUTION OF BITUMEN AFTER ATTACK OF MICROORGANISMS
5. INFLUENCE OF WASTE FORMS SALTS ON THE RATE OF BIODEGRADATION AND MICROBIAL METABOLISM.
II. LEACHING STUDIES
1. MANUFACTURING OF THE SAMPLES (BITUMEN AND POLYMER)
2. INITIAL ANALYSIS (BITUMEN AND POLYMER)
3. WORK SURVEY
III. DIFFUSION COEFFICIENT STUDIES
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY: BIBLIOGRAPHIC STATE OF THE RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF AGEING HAS BEEN DONE FOR SPECTROSCOPIC METHODS.
2. STUDY OF THE CHEMICAL STATE OF DEGRADATION: UV AND IR SPECTRUM IM POLYMERS GIVE USEFULL INFORMATIONS OF A STATE OF DEGRADATION IN THE STRUCTURE OF THE POLYMERIC MATRIX. DEGRADATION PROFILES HAVE BEEN OBTAINED BY ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES COMING FROM OLD WASTES AGEED IN CLIMATIC CONDITIONS AT THE OPEN AIR.
3. STUDY OF MORPHOLOGIC DEGRADATION: OPTICAL MICROSCOPIC METHODS ON THIN LAYERS CUTTED IN SAMPLES WILL GIVE INFORMATION ON THERMOMECHANIC AGEING OF THE MATRIX.
4. TEST OF DEGRADATION: CORRELATION BETWEEN THESE DIFFERENT KINDS OF ANALYSIS MAY GIVE A TEST FOR DEFINING A STATE OF AGEING.

TASK 3: SPECIATION OF TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS IN LEACHATES (T3)
1. SETTING UP ULTRACENTRIFUGATION TECHNIQUE TO COMPARE RESULTS OBTAINED WITH THIS METHOD TO THOSE OBTAINED WITH FILTRATION AND ULTRAFILTRATION.
2. TEST A NEW SPECIATION METHOD OF PLUTONIUM ACCORDING TO ITS OXYDATION DEGREES.
3. COMPARE THE LEACHING IN 3 DIFFERENT CONDITIONS OF TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE OF CONCRETE BLOCKS DOPED WITH 239PU AND 137CS.
4. STUDY OF THE TEMPERATURE INFLUENCE ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF PLUTONIUM BETWEEN THE SOLUBLE AND INSOLUBLE PARTS OF THE LEACHATES.

TASK 4: EMBEDDED WASTES AND LEACHATES ANALYSIS (T4)
1. FULL DESTRUCTION OF EMBEDDED THERMOSETTING RESINS.
2. MEASUREMENT OF PURE BETA EMITTERS (63+59NI; 55FE,99TC)
3. MINERALIZATION OF BITUMEN MATRICES AND SOLUBILIZATION OF SLUDGES USED TO COPRECIPITATE NUCLIDES.
4. SOLUBILIZATION OF CEMENT MATRICES.
5. METHOD FOR CONCENTRATION AND MEASUREMENT OF ALPHA-EMITTERS AT LOW LEVEL IN LEACHATES.
6. ISOLATION OF GAMMA-EMITTERS AT LOW CONCENTRATION (SUCH AS 94NB).

TASK 5: QUALITY ASSURANCE - PROCEDURES - STANDARDIZATION (T5)
1. VALIDATION OF NON DESTRUCTIBLE MEASURES
1.1. FULL SCALE PACKAGE MEASURE
1.2. CORE MEASURE
1.3. NORMALIZED SAMPLE MEASURE
2. VALIDATION OF DESTRUCTIVE AND NON DESTRUCTIVE MEASURE OF EMBEDDED WASTES
2.1. NON DESTRUCTIVE MEASURES ON FULL SCALE PACKAGE
2.2. NON DESTRUCTIVE MEASURES ON CORE
2.3. NON DESTRUCTIVE MEASURES ON SAMPLE
3. VALIDATION OF DESTRUCTIVE AND NON DESTRUCTIVE MEASURE OF RAW WASTES
3.1. NON DESTRUCTIVE MEASURE ON A PORTION
3.2. NON DESTRUCTIVE MEASURE ON A PORTION'S SAMPLE
3.3. NON DESTRUCTIVE MEASURE ON AN EMBEDDED SAMPLE
3.4. DESTRUCTIVE MEASURE ON SAMPLE.

Dziedzina nauki

Program(-y)

FP1-RADWASTOM 3C - Research and development programme (Euratom) on the management and storage of radioactive waste, 1985-1989

Temat(-y)

Data not available

Zaproszenie do składania wniosków

Data not available

System finansowania

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Koordynator

Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA)

Wkład UE

Brak danych

Adres

Centre d'Études de Cadarache Sere-Ders
13113 SAINT-PAUL-LEZ-DURANCE
Francja

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