Radioactive wastewater treatment using commercial resins, zeolite and vermiculites

Iron hydroxide precipitation is used to treat low-level radioactive wastewater at Los Alamos National Laboratory. This process generates 220 drums of caustic low-level radioactive waste each year. The use of chelating and adsorbing materials could lead to more concentrated waste or even recycling of valuable metals. This study compares the metal selectivity and capacity of various commercial chelating resins, zeolites, and vermiculites in the treatment of low-level radioactive waste with high total dissolved solids content. The effect of acid concentration was examined. Contact temperature was 40 degrees C, and contact times was one hour for the batch tests, while the column tests used ambient temperature and gravity flow. ICP-MS was used for toxic metal analysis on both treated water and ashed resin