Thermal treatment for radioactive HEPA filter media generated from nuclear facilities

Many radioactive HEPA filter wastes are generated from the high radioactive facilities in operation, improvement and repair, and under decommissioning. Spent filter wastes of about 1,500 drums have been stored in the waste storage facility of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) since its operation. In the future, a lot of HEPA filters in high radioactivity will be occurred from pyroprocessing which is treatment facility for used nuclear fuel. Therefore, the technology development for the radioactive HEPA filter treatment is necessary for effective management and safe disposal for HEPA filter wastes. The thermal treatment has been known as one of the most effective technologies for volume reduction and recycling of metallic radioactive wastes. In this study, the thermal treatment for radioactive HEPA filter media was conducted for the volume reduction. The volatility and leachability for heavy metals and radionuclides in radioactive HEPA filter media were analyzed to investigate the volatilization during thermal treatment and stability after thermal treatment for safe disposal, respectively. The knowledge gained from this study will aid in the development of thermal treatment for HEPA filter media