The Disposal of Radioactive Waste on Land (1957) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Appendix B: Proceedings of the Princeton Conference
Appendix B: Proceedings of the Princeton Conference
Pages 12-81
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 12... ...
September 10- IZ, 1955 Graduate College, Princeton University Princeton, New Jersey
|
From page 13... ...
G Stru~mess - Ac3dress and discussion September 11, 1955 ~, Sunday Morning Session Ee Ge Stru~mess - C;ontinuation of address and discussion oeeeeeee.eeee General Discussion eeeeeeeeeeeeeee.-~ -- -~-eee-ee-.ee Appo~tment of Commi~ees eeeeeeeeeeaeeeeeeeeeeeeeee -- September 12, 1955 Monday Morning Session 13.
|
From page 14... ...
The main objective In this Conference, as far as the Division of Earn Sciences is concerned, is to generate and list ideas for the ~idergrou~c] disposal of high level wastes.
|
From page 15... ...
A.E.C ., The Reactor Division is sponsoring the contracts wit e National Academy of Sciences add Johns Hopkins Unz~rersity to evaluate problems connected with the disposal of high and low level radioactive wastes. At this conference we are confining our attention to disposal of the high level wastes, which in A.E.C.
|
From page 16... ...
S Geological Survey, the Weather Bureau, and many other governmental agencies, and many Universities for assistance, but the problem of the disposal of high level waste is a long way from berg resolved.
|
From page 17... ...
Rena win re~new. They have given us good avarice: much of that Vivace indicates that we ought to consider further means of underground disposal.
|
From page 18... ...
But in this new atomic energy industry hazards are magnified greatly by the unique potentialities of the wastes. We have great hopes that as a result of your deliberations we can start an evaluation of the problem that w:H lead to final and economic disposal of high level radioactive wastes.
|
From page 19... ...
. A special hazard hack to be consiclered: when the heat content of pos sible waste.
|
From page 20... ...
This would force the ecologist to examine aU the important variables Mat enter into the Marie en~riromnent. Me geologists presented an ~teresffng discussion of ground water: it was suggested that it might be possible to enter some artesian aquifer that discharged at sea on the edge of the continental shelf.
|
From page 21... ...
below the surface of the continental shelf, and intercepting He continental slope. The density of the introduced waste being higher than salt water, it would force the stream mead and would eventually seep out below the edge of the shelf.
|
From page 22... ...
The major radioactive waste problem at Hanford does not involve We waters of the Columbia River which is sapped for nOwff`rough the reactors, and is returned to the river to dissipate heat generated ~ the reactor. The radic~~cti~ y is negligible because the water is not recirculated and there is no concentratime of acti' r; fuzthermora, there is no significant contaniination by fuel elements from rupture.
|
From page 23... ...
an intermediate waste, victim enough to necessitate storing; and c} a low level waste which, after berg passed Trough a series of taz~ke arranged In a "cascade" system, could be fed into a cribbed excavation aa.d allowed to seep into the ground; by his arrangement, most of the radioactivity of tibe .
|
From page 24... ...
MR. Why lAM LINDSEY: ~ think, while Hanford had a very low water table, the smote was permitted to overflow and the soil held Al other fission products.
|
From page 25... ...
with stronger vessels, shows promise of berg able to control the burping. ~ might point out that waste storage tanks are aH underground, and that they are concrete tanks, mild steel lined and capped.
|
From page 26... ...
Coating wastes in the early days used to be added to He intermediate wastes. When~this process was developed, the coating wastes were diverted into separate tanks so that it wouldn't interfere with the chemistry which makes this process possible.
|
From page 27... ...
DR. GRIGGS: Coul~you say what final waste storage costs wilt be per gallon using seli-concentration and nickel ferrocyanide.
|
From page 28... ...
They started out to be just a hole ~ the ground below surface. Our ground water table is quite deep -- on the viler of 350 feet -- and these cribs were constructed close to the surface.
|
From page 29... ...
Those fission products that do go overboard have this columm of soil, 250 or 300 feet high, to filter Trough before they get to the water table, and Me tests that we hare run indicate that his soil has very good Absorption properties for picking out all the elements rem~g. The crib is used until Me mortaring picks up Me first trace of the first salt coming through ~ Me water table; Me use of that crib is then discontinued.
|
From page 30... ...
~ ~ unders~tanc3 there is some strontium put in the ground in Hanford, however, no strontium has bed detected In the ground water. If, by chance, some contaminant passed through the exchange columns and clown to ground wafer, its half-life must have been short and by the the it traveled to the Columbia River its effectiveness must hay-e disappeared.
|
From page 31... ...
It forms a minor fraction of the total fission product activity. CHAIRMAN HESS: Are there any other questions ?
|
From page 32... ...
The the ~ of re actor ~ and fuel purific ation pro c e ~ ~ e are numerous and yield a varied apartment of waste solutione, each with somewhat clifferent disposal characteristics. Lee relationship between the predicted optimum sizes of power reactors ~d fuel processing plants Suggests that the most economical arrangement would be for one chemical plant to process Me material from 5 - 15 reactors; this word localize ~e principal production of waste but require weDshielded transportation of fuel elements .
|
From page 33... ...
R., The processing of uranium-alum~um fuel elements, International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, A/CONF .81P/541 USA Z0 July 1955. Fitly, H
|
From page 34... ...
0kilowatt hours, or one megawatt day, of heat energy are produced and about one gram of fission product result. The total quantity of fission products accumulated at any time depends on the output of energy being produced by nuclear fission, how long the nuclear reactors have been operate-, and other factors related to chemical processing of nuclear fuels.
|
From page 35... ...
~ Idaho there are waste tanks where, roughly, 100,000 gallons of high level wastes are stored, and a cooling system must be prowded capable of removing something like 300,000 BTU's per hour. That is just for the Or at tanlc.
|
From page 36... ...
The possibility of fixing Were radioactive material on an earth carrier is berg studieci. At -BrooRhaven the radioactive ions have been fixed on montmorillon~te clay primarily by ion exchange; then, by heating the clay, tl~e exchange reaction is made ir3re~rersible.
|
From page 37... ...
There was a recirculating water system to pump extra water into the cooling system if a leak occurred. There was no connection with the water supply.
|
From page 38... ...
MR. T TE:BERMAN: The wastes being put to the ground at Hanford are not moderately high leered; ~ would say they are-relatively low level wastes and Me steps used in their disposal are berg taken very slowly and cautiously.
|
From page 39... ...
When field ~ns~ation is made, only the volume of soil ~ the 30 by 30-foot column under the crib down to the water table is considered; the operators feel they are gig the benefit of a bigger volume as far as exchange capacity is concerned. It is known that an element like ruthenium will go right through the column, but it is also known that ruthenium has ahalf-life of one year end that the travel time of the water from the bottom of the crib to the Columbia River is of the order of magnitude of tens of years or hundrecis of years.
|
From page 40... ...
~ ' ' ' going to cribs at Hanford. c' Relatively lOW level wastes are DR.
|
From page 41... ...
The water table is 250 or more feet below land surface, and over most of the Hanford] area the unsaturates!
|
From page 42... ...
DR. KOHMAN: How was the water table related to the Columbia River?
|
From page 43... ...
G LASKY: Why do you say that the test holes at the ground water table may not pick up any raclioactive material?
|
From page 44... ...
PIPER: Yes. The bottom of the mass is s~stantiaMy above the water table.
|
From page 45... ...
We cap It procure that it didn't. QUESTION: Were any samples taken below the surface of the ground-water table ?
|
From page 46... ...
These waste materials at Hanford are not shown to be of al,ybi s p e cific g ravity than wate r . S o you have mo r e oppo stun it's ne a gher water table.
|
From page 47... ...
If you dissolve stainers steel ~ nitric acid arc} inject it into an alkaline layer, the bed will plug tenth ferrous once, which would be hard to unplug. However, I suspect the chemical processing people could remove certain materials or the conditions of the..systems adjustect so the waste could be injected.
|
From page 48... ...
DR. HUBBERT: In these remarks ~ am thinking about putting wastes down ~ a wed which may be lO,QOO feet deep.
|
From page 49... ...
Liebern~an. From the distribution of Hanford wastes, is it likely to be practical to put up a plant that win generate high level wastes at some place where you would have to transport the waste?
|
From page 50... ...
In the Health Physics Dimension and were organized ID 194~3. Until 1953 we were concerned principally with low level wastes j with water , ~ .
|
From page 51... ...
Since June 1952, we have put two and a quarter minion gallons of intermediate level waste containing nearly 30,000 curies of activity into these pits. About 75 per cent of the activity is clue to ruthenium, and about 20 to 22 per cent is due to cesiurn.
|
From page 52... ...
MR. MORTON: For Me most part they are above the water table which varies ~ depth with the location and may fluctuate 5 or 6 feet.
|
From page 53... ...
There has been loss by seepage but the exact amount is not known. ~ connection untie these pits we have tried to collect data which win be of Prague in stuclies on high Petrel waste disposal and on further use of pits for intermediate level wastese One subject for investigation is the amount of seepage In this particular formation.
|
From page 54... ...
It includes measuring liquid temperatures at the surface and below the surface, air temperatures and wind velocities, the chemical content of the waste Aqua, and other measurements that the Weather Bureau people ten us are necessary In order to calculate evaporation losses.
|
From page 55... ...
MR. MORTON: No, that is also berg built on somewhat of a knoH In orcler to keep the pit above tile water table as much as possible.
|
From page 56... ...
. manently fixed and fused in the pit, it is imports for purposes of monitoring to understand the exchange properties of.
|
From page 57... ...
Something like twelve or fifteen clay flux mixtures containing synthetic waste and tracers were prepared by Dr.
|
From page 58... ...
With ~creased power-, the temperature rose rapidly and ~;tabliz~ed at about 560 de Frees Centigrade on approximately the 9th day . With further increase power, the temperature rose rapidly and stablized at approximately 730 degrees after the 14th clay.
|
From page 59... ...
59. TAB1F I HEAT EXPE RIME Nip DATA Time Watts Tl(Center} T2tExterior)
|
From page 60... ...
Johnson, who did these experiments, feels that the se power requirements are cons;er~rative . He says that with reasonable insulation in the grouncl, and with a pit about 20 feet deep and 20 feet In diameter, one might be able to fuse this clay flux material.
|
From page 61... ...
4, the set up is as follows: In the inner conta~er is acid aluminum nitrate waste plus the clay flux mixture, surrounded with foam glass, ~d with vermiculite ~ the outer container. The diameter of the Inner container is 12 inches, the foam glass conta~ner is 20 Aches, the trot pot outer cottager is 36 Aches, the height is 48 Aches, and the inner liquid is 24 inches.
|
From page 62... ...
The second win be 20 feet deep and 20 feet in diameter with an Ternary ~nataDed heater. The Bird step is Me same size pit, approximately.
|
From page 63... ...
If, on the other hancl, you put in larger power you produce that temperature in much shorter time alla I suspect you would brig about much lower energy cost. think the energy is important, not the power.
|
From page 64... ...
MR. STRUXNESS: Part of our answer is self-fusion anti lowfir~ng temperature, and 'there is a feeling that uses wiD be found for some of these fission products, and it wouici be nice if we comb immobilize them until then rather tha~pump them into art inaccessible place .
|
From page 65... ...
For example: if you have an aqueous type of reactor and process it at the spot you would have high level waste right at the reactor site. On the other hand, with the heterogenous reactors, fuel element`; can be shipped to the chemical procese~g plot.
|
From page 66... ...
Some citizens object to hang radioactive waste s hauled acres s their water supply.
|
From page 67... ...
DR. LINDSEY: We have not transported liquid wastes.
|
From page 68... ...
DR. MORTON: ~ don't have any specific data with regard to transportation of high level wastes, but our experiments with low or intermediate level lead us to thank that transportation in a container is going to be uneconomic and not feasible for more the" very short dista~ces.
|
From page 69... ...
There is mower factor that enters into it. If the fuel elements are highly enriched you have to limit the number that go into the cask.
|
From page 70... ...
There has been no shipment of liquid waste; possibly on a modified basis of 200 gallons In a container of 4 suches of lead sb~elding it would appear more economical.
|
From page 71... ...
Morgan: liquid reactor waste costs $14 a gallon to ship. The discussion has moved on to talk of concentration and refrigeration, and to the removal of Humbug.
|
From page 72... ...
The homogeneous reactor materials can be shipper} just as can the heterogeneous elements. The peaces sing on the heterogeneous system consists of drawing a small amount off the reactor, arid shipped it as the reactor fuel element, ~ suspect.
|
From page 73... ...
We are working Inch practically Apache power reactor groups =~ designs ofchen~calprocess~ng plants to purity reactor fuels. The variations are certainly complex: Lathe government reactor prograxn Here are -~about five kinds ofreactors, and He A.~.C.is encouraging He developmentofnew types oireactors.
|
From page 74... ...
The problem is not just to rid the fuel of the fission products, but also to process rapidDy so as to minimize the inventory costs of fissionable uranium. It takes a lot of reactors to retake it economical to run a chemical processing plant; but on the other hand, aU of the different reactor plants must have some on-the-site purification ~ order to cut clown the amount of ire uranium.
|
From page 75... ...
There also win be a waste problem with us until the chemical processing and reactor treatments have been stabilized on a product that can be dealt with easily.
|
From page 76... ...
We decided on two premises for our discussions: one, that the disposal should be safe; and, two, that we MUIR formulate basic principles governing disposal during what we hope win be orclerly ~d rational development of the Poultry ~ the future. ~ ogler to obtain a clearer idea of the magnitude of the wastedispos=1 problem, the following calculation was made: Suppose that begiruiing ~ ~960, nuclear power-were produced at ~ rate eq~ to the present entire power output of the United States, and the waste products diluted to the extent of 50 gallons of water per gram of :Eission products, were injected]
|
From page 77... ...
The various other phases of the deep disposal question were discussed in considerable detail by the committee, and finally a subcommi~ee drew up a summary of the conclusions which were approved and read as follows: The committee has accepted as premises Me following: A That the nuclear waste, if ';tored underground, should be isolated as permanently as possible from contact with sieving organisms; B
|
From page 78... ...
That prior to the introduction of nuclear waste liquids into the reservoir, We problems of heat dissipation, clogging of reservoir space, and chemical reaction with the reservoir rock and fluids be evaluated. CHAIRMAN HESS: Does anyone wish to discuss this report or offer any amen~nents?
|
From page 79... ...
Above the water table b. Below the water table.
|
From page 80... ...
be pouter} out that only those areas with low water table, which would largely limit his matter to some of the western areas, wouic] be usable.
|
From page 81... ...
DR. HUBBERT: We can say ten or fifteen thousand feet is thoroughly practical, although in many cases depths of 5,000 to 10,000 feet ,- or even le ~ a, may be satisfactory .
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.