Radioactive Waste Incineration-Ash Pellets Sintered with Borosilicate Glass

Abstract

In Japan, low-level radioactive wastes discarded by research institutions and hospitals are packed into containers and stored. Volume reduction by incineration and compression processing are sometimes attempted; alternatively, the wastes are left in an unprocessed state because neither landfill sites nor disposal methods have been established. Especially, low-level radioactive waste incineration ash presents great problems of security, safety, and stability in inventory location. A safe and appropriate disposal processing method is desired because the bulk density of ash is low; the ash is also easily dispersed. Volume reduction and stabilization for low-level radioactive waste incineration ash were verified for low-temperature sintering method using glass bottle cullet. The proposed method was useful for easy treatment of low-level radioactive waste incineration ash. This report describes the difference between soda lime glass (cullet) and borosilicate glass for the RI ash sintering, and characteristics of RI volatilization and elution from the sintered radioactive waste pellets. The borosilicate glass is used for glass melt solidification of high-level radioactive waste.