Engineered sorbent barriers for low-level waste disposal

Pacific Northwest Laboratory is developing sorbent materials to prevent the migration of radionuclides from low-level waste sites. These materials would allow water to pass, preventing the bathtub effect at humid sites. Screening studies identified promising sorbent materials for three key radionuclides: for cesium, greensand; for cobalt, activated charcoal; and for strontium, synthetic zeolite or clinoptilolite. Mixtures of these sorbent materials were tested in 0.6-m-diameter columns using radioactive leachates. To simulate expected worst-case conditions, the leachate solution contained the radionuclides, competing cations, and a chelating agent, adjusted to a pH of 5. A sorbent barrier comprised of greensand (1 wt %), activated charcoal (6 wt %), synthetic zeolite (20 wt %), and soil (73 wt %) achieved the decontamination factors necessary to meet the regulatory performance requirements established for this study. Sorbent barriers can be applied to shallow land burial, as backfill around the waste or engineered structures, or as backup to other liner systems. 2 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs