Overview of treatment and conditioning of low-level wastes

The consideration of alternative technologies in low-level waste management is assumed to be partly a response to current demands for lower risk in waste disposal. One of the determinants of risk in waste disposal is the set of characteristics of the materials placed into disposal cells, i.e., the products of treatment and conditioning operations. The treatment and conditioning operations that have been applied to waste streams are briefly examined. Three operations are the most important determinants of the stability that will contribute to reducing risk at the disposal cell: compaction, high-integrity containers, and solidification. The status of these three operations is reviewed