The Removal of Technetium from Radioactive Liquid Waste

Radioactive Liquid Waste in Thailand are generated by Research Reactor Operation and also from other activities involving the application of radioisotopes eg. isotope production facilities, agriculture, medical and research. The OAEP Liquid Waste is collected in the storage tanks at each division. building, allowing the short - lived radioactivity to decay then it will be transfered to an underground waste hold up tanks. When the liquid waste is accumulated to a certain volume, then it is pumped and treated by chemical precipitation process at the liquid waste treatment plant. It was found that the activity of the liquid waste contaminated with Tc - 99 from Isotope Production division. was 59 Bq/L. which was above the OAEP discharge Limit. The liquid waste requires a suitable treatment method. In this study, the simulated waste sample was investigated to perform batch equilibrium and packed column breakthrough capacity using Reillex TM HPQ resin. The results showed that 5 gm. of this high efficiency dry resin can remove 0.1 gm. of Tc-99 or equivalent to 0.0017 Ci