18 research outputs found
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Characterization of Samples from Old Solvent Tanks S1 through S22
The Old Radioactive Waste Burial Ground (ORWBG, 643-E) contains 22 old solvent tanks (S1 - S22) which were used to receive and store spent PUREX solvent from F- and H-Canyons. The tanks are cylindrical, carbon-steel, single-wall vessels buried at varying depths. A detailed description of the tanks and their history can be found in Reference 1. A Sampling and Analysis Plan for the characterization of the material contained in the old solvent tanks was developed by the Analytical Development Section (ADS) in October of 19972. The Sampling and Analysis Plan identified several potential disposal facilities for the organic and aqueous phases present in the old solvent tanks which included the Solvent Storage Tank Facility (SSTF), the Mixed Waste Storage Facilities (MWSF), Transuranic (TRU) Pad, and/or the Consolidated Incineration Facility (CIF). In addition, the 241-F/H Tank Farms, TRU Pads, and/or the MWSF were identified as potential disposal facilities for the sludge phases present in the tanks. The purpose of this sampling and characterization was to obtain sufficient data on the material present in the old solvent tanks so that a viable path forward could be established for the closure of the tanks. Therefore, the parameters chosen for the characterization of the various materials present in the tanks were based upon the Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) of the SSTF3, TRU Pads4, MWSF5, CIF6, and/or 241-F/H Tank Farms7. Several of the WAC's have been revised, canceled, or replaced by new procedures since October of 1997 and hence where required, the results of this characterization program were compared against the latest revision of the appropriate WAC
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Measurement of radionuclides using ion chromatography and flow-cell scintillation counting with pulse shape discrimination
Principal conclusions are: CsI(Tl) provides sufficient pulse shape discrimination for use in the flow-cell detector. However, an improved method of coating is needed to extend the useful life of a detection cell. Of the activation/fission products investigated, only the co-elution of {sup 137}Cs and {sup 63}Ni produced a radiological interference. Tritium (and presumably other non-ionic radioisotopes) can be separated during the loading of the solution onto the pre- concentration column. Natural U (and/or decay products) produced a radiological interference with {sup 90}Sr. This is a potential problem. No potential radiological interferences were observed with {sup 223}Th. Chemical interferences were observed to some degree for all the chemicals tested except for the chloride solutions, NaCl and KCl, and the sulfate solution, Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4}. The specific interference effects were decreased detection efficiencies and changes in peak elution times. The NEL`s (non-observable effects loadings) are tentative targets for development of sample processing protocols, which is the next phase of the work
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Total Inventory of Selected Radionuclides in Old Solvent Tanks S1 Through S22
The total inventory of fourteen radionuclides, three metals, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has been calculated for the twenty-two Old Solvent Tanks (OSTs). The inventory calculations are based upon extensive characterization data of the multiple liquid and sludge samples taken from the OSTs. In addition, the total inventory of sixteen actinides (including error) has been calculated. The actinide inventory will be useful for criticality safety considerations
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A Systematic Study of Actinide Production from the Interactions of Heavy Ions with {sup 248}Cm
Production cross sections for heavy actinides produced from the interactions of {sup 12}C, {sup 31}P, {sup 40}Ar, and {sup 44}Ca ions with {sup 248}Cm were measured at energies ranging from 0.98 to 1.35 X Coulomb barrier. The recoiling reaction products were collected in copper or gold catcher foils located near the {sup 248}Cm target. Separate fractions of Bk, Cf, Es, Fm, and Md were obtained from a radiochemical separation procedure. For the {sup 12}C system, a He/KCl jet was used to transport the recoiling No activities of interest to a rotating wheel system. The isotopic distributions of the actinide products were found to be essentially symmetric about the maximum with full-widths-at-half-maximum of approximately 2.5 mass units. Isotopic distributions of the {sup 12}C, {sup 31}P, {sup 40}Ar, and {sup 44}Ca systems were found to be very similar to the {sup 40,48}Ca systems studied previously. The maxima of the isotopic distributions generally occurred for those reaction channels which involved the exchange of the fewest number of nucleons between the target and projectile for which the calculated excitation energy was a positive quantity. Additionally, the maxima of the excitation functions occurred at those projectile energies which were consistent with the calculated reaction barriers based upon a binary reaction mechanism. The experimental data from the four systems investigated were compared to several models of heavy ion interactions including a damped reaction mechanism, compound nucleus formation and subsequent particle evaporation, and classical partial wave calculations for binary systems
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CLAB Transuranic Waste Spreadsheets
The Building 772-F Far-Field Transuranic (TRU) Waste Counting System is used to measure the radionuclide content of waste packages produced at the Central Laboratory Facilities (CLAB). Data from the instrument are entered into one of two Excel spreadsheets. The waste stream associated with the waste package determines which spreadsheet is actually used. The spreadsheets calculate the necessary information required for completion of the Transuranic Waste Characterization Form (OSR 29-90) and the Radioactive Solid Waste Burial Ground Record (OSR 7-375 or OSR 7-375A). In addition, the spreadsheets calculate the associated Low Level Waste (LLW) stream information that potentially could be useful if the waste container is ever downgraded from TRU to LLW. The spreadsheets also have the capability to sum activities from source material added to a waste container after assay. A validation data set for each spreadsheet along with the appropriate results are also presented in this report for spreadsheet verification prior to each use
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Gross alpha/beta determination by liquid scintillation counting
Liquid scintillation counting (LSC) is used to assay liquid samples for both gross alpha and gross beta (including tritium) activity in order to declare these samples clean.'' This method provides several advantages over traditional gross assay techniques including easy sample preparation, no sample self-absorption, short counting times, acceptable lower limits of detection (LLD's), and convenient sample disposal
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MEASUREMENT OF RADIONUCLIDES USING ION CHROMATOGRAPHY AND FLOW-CELL SCINTILLATION COUNTING WITH PULSE SHAPE DISCRIMINATION
Radiological characterization and monitoring is an important component of environmental management activities throughout the Department of Energy complex. Gamma-ray spectroscopy is the technology most often used for the detection of radionuclides. However, radionuclides which cannot easily be detected by gamma-ray spectroscopy, such as pure beta emitters and transuranics, pose special problems because their quantification generally requires labor intensive radiochemical separations procedures that are time consuming and impractical for field applications. This project focused on a technology for measuring transuranics and pure beta emitters relatively quickly and has the potential of being field deployable. The technology combines ion exchange liquid chromatography and on-line alpha/beta pulse shape discriminating scintillation counting to produce simultaneous alpha and beta chromatograms. The basic instrumentation upon which the project was based was purchased in the early 1990's. In its original commercial form, the instrumentation was capable of separating select activation/fission products in ionic forms from relatively pure aqueous samples. We subsequently developed the capability of separating and detecting actinides (thorium, uranium, neptunium, plutonium, americium, and curium) in less than 30 minutes (Reboul, 1993) and realized that the potential time savings over traditional radiochemical methods for isolating some of these radionuclides was significant. However, at that time, the technique had only been used for radionuclide concentrations that were considerably above environmental levels and for aqueous samples of relatively high chemical purity. For the technique to be useful in environmental applications, development work was needed in lowering detection limits; to be useful in applications involving non-aqueous matrices such as soils and sludges or complex aqueous matrices such as those encountered in waste samples, development work was needed in sample preparation and processing. The general goal of this project was to address the issues mentioned above, and in so doing transform an interesting laboratory technique of limited applicability into a robust field instrument suitable for environmental restoration and waste management applications. The project consisted of the following tasks: (1) development of a low background, flow-cell detector, (2) identification of sample chemical and radiological interferences, (3) development of protocols for processing waste and/or environmental samples, and (4) integration and testing of the prototype system. The scope of work associated with these tasks has been completed and the report for Tasks 1-3 was submitted previously. Presented here are the results for Task 4
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