Measurement of incorporation levels of vitrified waste by X-ray absorptiometry

Absorptiometric measurements on inactive simulants of HA vitrified waste have been carried out using a narrow beam of X-rays from an X-ray tube generator and both sodium iodide and high resolution solid state detectors. A functional relationship between the transmitted beam intensity and the percentage incorporation level of the glass has been established under a variety of experimental conditions. In addition, certain elements in the waste oxide can be individually identified by inspection of the absorption edge structure in the 18-50 keV region. Measurement of fully active glass samples has shown that the radiations from the sample do not adversely affect the absorptiometric measurements. (author)