Radionuclide Leaching from Residual Solids Remaining after Acid Dissolution of K East Area Sludge Composite

Laboratory tests were performed to examine the efficacy of various leach treatments for decontaminating dissolver residual solids (KEACRESID1) produced during a 24-hour dissolution of K East Basin floor and Weasel Pit sludge composite in boiling 6 M HNO3. The scope of this testing has been described in Section 4.5 of ''Testing Strategy to Support the Development of K Basin Sludge Treatment Process'' (Flament 1998). Radionuclides sorbed or associated with the residual solids generated in the K Basin sludge treatment process can restrict disposal of this solid to the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF). The starting dissolver residual solid for this testing, KEACRESID1, is a visibly heterogeneous material. This material contains radionuclides at concentrations above the ERDF Waste Acceptance Criteria for transuranics (TRU) by about a factor of 3, for 239Pu by a factor of 10, and for 241Am by a factor of 1.6. It meets the ERDF criterion for 137Cs by a factor of 4 and for uranium by a factor of 10. Therefore, the radionuclides of greatest interest in this leaching study are first 239Pu, and then 241Am, 137Cs, and uranium