Electrochemical decontamination of actinide processing gloveboxes

Electrochemical technology for the decontamination of metallic surfaces has been successfully demonstrated. Highly enriched uranium and stainless steel surfaces are readily decontaminated to Low Level Waste (LLW) criteria using this process. This process is similar to electropolishing and utilizes the anodic dissolution of the substrate material to generate a clean surface. The surface contaminants are thus removed and collected along with the stripped substrate material as a compact precipitate. This separation allows the electrolyte to be recycled indefinitely. Using an alkaline Sodium Sulfate electrolyte solution, we are able to decontaminate to low levels of alpha activity, gloveboxes previously used in Actinide processing. Surfaces with contamination levels > 1,000,000 cpm alpha activity have been decontaminated to levels as low as 7,000. The process is rapid with decontamination occurring at a rate of over 3 square cm/sec