PREDISPOSAL MANAGEMENT OF CARBON-14 BEARING ORGANIC-RESIN WASTES

Spent organic-based ion exchange resins containing carbon-14 (5730 years half-life) are generated at nuclear power plants and irradiated-fuel processing facilities. Resin waste containing more than 3.0x10 11 Bq/m 3 (8 Ci/m 3 ) of carbon-14 is generally classified as intermediate-level waste and is not suitable for near-surface disposal. In the absence of suitable disposal facilities for carbon-14 bearing resin wastes, such wastes are stored on an interim basis in different configurations. These storage configurations include resin-water slurry storage tanks, storage in containers after removal of freestanding water, and storage in containers after stabilization in various binders such as cement, bitumen and polymers. There is an expectation that additional treatment and packaging will be needed for the resin waste prior to preparing the waste for long-term storage and final disposal. Resin-waste management comprises different operations such as pretreatment (waste segregation), treatment (waste volume reduction and radionuclides removal), and conditioning (stabilization and containerization) to produce a waste package suitable for handling, transport, storage and disposal. A spectrum of resin-waste treatment methods is available. Some methods have been applied to specific situations while others are being developed for future applications to meet the need to reduce worker dose, environmental releases, and waste-management costs. This paper describes the results of an assessment of several predisposal management options for resin wastes containing relatively high carbon-14 inventories. The analysis shows that removal of the majority of the freestanding water and pore water from the resin waste appears to be a necessary step for interim storage. This approach would meet environmental and safety targets for storage of the waste, while providing sufficient flexibility to select future treatment options to meet applicable waste acceptance criteria for the eventual disposal of the waste.