Development of a method to determine the nuclide inventory in bituminized waste packages

Until the 1980s, bitumen was used as a conditioning agent for weak to medium radioactive liquid waste. Its use can be ascribed mainly to the properties that indicated that the matrix was optimal. However, fires broke out repeatedly during the conditioning process, so that the method is meanwhile no longer permitted in Germany. There are an estimated 100 waste packages held by the public authorities in Germany that require a supplementary declaration. In contrast to the common matrices, such as for example resins or sludges, there is still no standardized technology for taking samples and subsequently determining the radio-nuclide for bitumen. Aspects, such as the thermoplastic behaviour, make determining the nuclide inventory more difficult in bituminized waste packages. The development of a standardized technology to take samples with a subsequent determination of the radio-nuclide analysis is the objective of a project funded by the BMBF. Known, new methods, specially developed for the project, are examined on inactive bitumen samples and then transferred to active samples. At first non-destructive methods are used. The resulting information forms an important basis to work out and apply destructive strategy for sampling and analysis. Since the project is on-going, this report can only address the development of the sampling process. By developing a sampling system, it will be possible to take samples from an arbitrary selected location of the package across the entire matrix level and thus gain representative analysis material. The process is currently being optimized. (orig.)