Processing radioactive wastes and uranium mill tailings for safe ecologically-acceptable disposal

Radioactive and associated chemical contaminants present in uranium mill tailings, for example, are isolated from the environment. A matrix product is formed by combining selected clays and lime with the soluble radioactive and chemical contaminants. The clays absorb the majority of all the contaminants. The lime neutralizes the contaminants and cements the clay silicates and absorbed contaminants. The resulting product is of a matrix-like nature and is reverted into a limestone by the uptake of carbon dioxide in a recarbonization process. The radionuclides and chemical contaminants in the resulting product are converted into insoluble oxides or hydroxides which do not appreciably leach out into the ground water. The release of radon gasses is substantially inhibited in the final product, and the release of radon gasses is virtually nonexistent in the final limestone