Argonne National Laboratory Reports

Present concepts of disposal of low-level aqueous wastes (LLAW) that contain much of the fission-product tritium from light water reactors involve dispersal to the atmosphere or to surface streams at fuel reprocessing plants. These concepts have been challenged in recent years. Deep-well injection of low-level aqueous wastes, an alternative to biospheric dispersal, is the subject of this presentation. Many factors must be considered in assessing its feasibility, including technology, costs, environmental impact, legal and regulatory constraints, and siting. Examination of these factors indicates that the technology of deep-well injection, extensively developed for other industrial wastes, would require little innovation before application to low-level aqueous wastes. Costs would be low, of the order of magnitude of 10⁻⁴ mill/kWh. The environmental impact of normal deep-well disposal would be small, compared with dispersal to the atmosphere or to surface streams; abnormal operation would not be expected to produce catastrophic results. Geologically suitable sites are abundant in the U.S., but a well would best be co-located with the fuel-reprocessing plant where the LLAW is produced. Legal and regulatory constraints now being developed will be the most important determinants of the feasibility of applying the method

Chemical Engineering Division waste management programs. Quarterly report, January--March 1975

Development work on the study of consolidation techniques for Zircaloy fuel-cladding hulls included scouting tests on volatility schemes for separating the zirconium as the volatile tetrachloride and ignition tests on several Zircaloy materials to further characterize the pyrophoric behavior of Zircaloy. All tests were with nonirradiated metal pending acquisition of irradiated samples. Installation is nearly complete of a glovebox facility for studies on the salvage of alpha-contaminated metals by pyrochemical methods. Disposal of a major portion of fission product tritium formed in light water reactor fuels by deep- well injection of the low-level aqueous waste from plants reprocessing such fuels is being evaluated. The question of siting is a very important factor in determining the feasibility of this particular disposal option. A review is given of the status of information for U. S. sedimentary basins, the areas most likely to be generally suitable for siting of waste wells. Work on the reliability of high-level-waste canisters included an examination of creep, shot- peening, and subcooling of the filler canister below storage temperatures, as methods of relieving stresses induced in canisters due to differential contraction of canister and glass during cooling. A method was investigated for relieving stresses in calcine-filled canisters. Properties of fission product oxides were examined to elucidate possible adverse corrosive effects at the canister-waste interface. (LK

Αξιολόγηση εξωτερικοτήτων εγκαταστάσεων βιοαερίου

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (TR4) is reported for the first time in northern Queensland, the centre of Australia’s commercial banana production. The identity of the pathogen was confirmed by vegetative compatibility group testing, TR4 specific PCR tests and sequencing. Although presently confined to a single property, the disease poses a serious threat to Australia’s banana industry

Argonne National Laboratory Reports

Report of the Argonne National Laboratory Chemical Engineering Division on fuel-cycle studies including pyro-chemical separation of plutonium and americium oxides from contaminated materials of construction such as steel, advanced solvent extraction techniques in the development of centrifugal contactors for use in Purex processes, and a review and evaluation of the encapsulation of high-level waste in a metal matrix

Women's gambling behaviour, product preferences, and perceptions of product harm: Differences by age and gambling risk status

Background: Women's participation in, and harm from gambling, is steadily increasing. There has been very limited research to investigate how gambling behaviour, product preferences, and perceptions of gambling harm may vary across subgroups of women. Methods: This study surveyed a convenience sample of 509 women from Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. Women were asked a range of questions about their socio-demographic characteristics and gambling behaviour. Focusing on four gambling products in Australia-casino gambling, electronic gambling machines (EGMs), horse betting, and sports betting-women were asked about their frequency of participation, their product preferences, and perceptions of product harms. The sample was segmented a priori according to age and gambling risk status, and differences between groups were identified using Chi-square tests and ANOVAs. Thematic analysis was used to interpret qualitative data. Results: Almost two thirds (n=324, 63.7%) of women had engaged with one of the four products in the previous 12 months. Compared to other age groups, younger women aged 16-34 years exhibited a higher proportion of problem gambling, gambled more frequently, and across more products. While EGMs were the product gambled on most frequently by women overall, younger women were significantly more likely to bet on sports and gamble at casinos relative to older women. Qualitative data indicated that younger women engaged with gambling products as part of a 'night out', 'with friends', due to their 'ease of access' and perceived 'chance of winning big'. There were significant differences in the perceptions of the harms associated with horse and sports betting according to age and gambling risk status, with younger women and gamblers perceiving these products as less harmful. Conclusions: This study highlights that there are clear differences in the gambling behaviour, product preferences, and perceptions of product harms between subgroups of women. A gendered approach will enable public health researchers and policymakers to ensure that the unique factors associated with women's gambling are taken into consideration in a comprehensive public health approach to reducing and preventing gambling harm

Argonne National Laboratory Reports

Possible methods for disposing of the immobilized raffinate from TRUEX processing are reviewed. The purpose of the TRUEX process is to extract transuranium elements from high-level and TRU wastes into a small volume that can be managed at lower cost than that of the original wastes. The raffinate from the TRUEX process, containing negligible concentrations of transuranium elements, would be combined with salt solutions also derived from processing high-level waste, and the mixture would be converted to grout

Argonne National Laboratory Reports

The quantities of krypton-85 that can be released to the environment from nuclear energy production are to be limited after 1983 by Federal regulations. Although procedures for collecting the krypton-85 released in the nuclear fuel cycle have been developed to the point that they are commercially available, procedures for terminal disposal of the collected gas are still being examined for their feasibility. In this work, the possibilities of underground disposal of krypton-85 by several techniques were evaluated. It was concluded that (1) disposal of krypton-85 as a solution in water or other solvents in deep wells would have the major disadvantages of liquid migration and the requirement of extremely large volumes of solvent; (2) disposal as bubbles entrained in cement grout injected underground presents the uncertainty of gaseous migration through permeable solid grout; (3) disposal by injection into abandoned oil fields would be favored by solubility of krypton in residual hydrocarbons, but has the disadvantages that such fields contain numerous shafts offering avenues of escape and also that the fields may be reworked in the future for their hydrocarbon residues; (4) underground retention of krypton-85 injected as a gas may be promising, given the right lithology, through entrapment in interstices between fine sand grains held together by the interfacial tension of wetted surfaces

Argonne National Laboratory Reports

Techniques for isolating and solidifying the nuclear wastes in the storage tanks at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center plant have been examined. One technique involves evaporating the water and forming a molten salt containing the precipitated sludge. The salt is allowed to solidify and is stored in canisters until processing into a final waste form is to be done. Other techniques involve calcining the waste material, then agglomerating the calcine with sodium silicate to reduce its dispersibility. This option can also involve a prior separation and decontamination of the supernatant salt. The sludge and all resins containing fission-product activity are then calcined together. The technique of removing the water and solidifying the salt may be the simplest method for removing the waste from the West Valley Plant