Radionuclides of special chemical composition and pollutants emitted from nuclear installations and from facilities for handling radioactive materials

This study elaborated on behalf of the Federal Ministry of the Interior is to show on the basis of available knowledge the chemical forms of radioactive substances discharged by the gaseous or liquid effluents from said installations or deposited in some way or other. In addition, the study takes into consideration other types of waste produced, which for the most part is chemical waste. As the available literature considers the problems dealt with in this study from a specific point of view only, depending on the single aspect of interest involved as, e.g., waste treatment in a power plant, or waste water treatment, this study presents evaluative schemes for various facilities as an integral whole, approaching the goal by concentrating on the various working media used, and on the treatment processes applied. The facilities covered by this study include fuel element fabrication plant, nuclear power plant, reprocessing plant, research establishments, waste treatment plant, and medical establishments. The schemes are designed for a given type of installation, not for single facilities. Treatment steps of similar nature are treated as a whole as far as possible. The main interests lie with processes of treating water, air, and wastes, which induce changes in type and composition of working media due to chemical or physical conditions. The study also discusses systems which require the use, processing, or regeneration of chemicals for a given purpose. (orig./HP)