Study on the conditions of bituminization of radioactive wastes and their influence on the stability of stored products

Investigations carried out on a laboratory and semi-industrial scale showed that the Polish oxidised industrial bitumen P-60 was suitable for the solidification of liquid radioactive waste and particularly for non-concentrated post-precipitation sludges. The bitumen products were highly stable and were resistant to leaching by acids, salt solutions and water. Laboratory leach tests gave values similar to those obtained by others using different bitumen. By evaluating the sorption characteristics of the soil and the hydrogeological conditions existing at a proposed storage site, it was shown that the solidified wastes could be stored directly in the soil without further isolation from the soil water. Based on the liquid wastes arising from a nuclear power plant it has been shown that solidification of the wastes in bitumen will be cheaper than solidification of the same wastes using cement