DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHOSPHATE GLASS PROCESS FOR ULTIMATE DISPOSAL OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES

摘要

Incorporation, or fixation, of fission products in stable solid media, followed by storage of the solid in geologically stable regions, offers a highly promising approach to the problem of ultimate disposal of high-level radioactive wastes. A number of practical processes for carrying out the fixation step are under investigation and develop ment in the United States and other countries. One of these, the phosphate glass process, is discussed in detail in the present report.nThe phosphate glass process is carried out in an all-liquid system, under steady-state conditions, and offers the inherent advantages of the continuous mode of plant operation. Development of the process has been carried through the pilot plant stage with simulated waste solutions at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and is now being demonstrated on a more comprehensive scale with high-level radioactive waste solutions in a prototype plant at Pacific Northwest Laboratory.