Use of inorganic sorbents for treatment of liquid radioactive waste and backfill of underground repositories

This document presents the results of a four year Co-ordinated Research Programme (CRP) on the ''Use of Inorganic Sorbents for Treatment of Liquid Radioactive Waste and Backfill of Underground Repositories'' (1987-1991). Many countries have research programmes aiming at developing processes which would provide efficient and safe concentration of radionuclides in waste streams into solid materials which could then be reliably immobilized into forms suitable for long term storage or disposal. Use of inorganic sorbents for this purpose is very attractive because of their resistance to radiation and chemical attack, strong affinity for one or more radionuclides, their compatibility with likely immobilization matrices and their availability at low cost. According to the fundamental multibarrier concept for disposal of radioactive waste, backfill material is one of the important engineered barriers. Inorganic materials such as clays, naturally occurring zeolites (clinoptilolite, modenite and chabasite) are promising backfill materials. Research in technical uses of inorganic material applications was covered within the framework of the Co-ordinated Research Programme reported in this technical document. Final contributions by participants at the last Research Co-ordination Meeting held in Rez, Czechoslovakia, from 4 to 8 November 1991, are presented here. Refs, figs and tabs