TOXICITY CHARACTERISTIC LEACHING PROCEDURE APPLIED TO RADIOACTIVE SALTSTONE CONTAINING TETRAPHENYLBORATE: DEVELOPMENT OF A MODIFIED ZERO-HEADSPACE EXTRACTOR

Abstract

In order to assess the effect of extended curing times at elevated temperatures on saltstone containing Tank 48H waste, saltstone samples prepared as a part of a separate study were analyzed for benzene using a modification of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) method 1311 Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP). To carry out TCLP for volatile organic analytes (VOA), such as benzene, in the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) shielded cells (SC), a modified TCLP Zero-Headspace Extractor (ZHE) was developed. The modified method was demonstrated to be acceptable in a side by side comparison with an EPA recommended ZHE using nonradioactive saltstone containing tetraphenylborate (TPB). TCLP results for all saltstone samples tested containing TPB (both simulant and actual Tank 48H waste) were below the regulatory limit for benzene (0.5 mg/L). In general, higher curing temperatures corresponded to higher concentrations of benzene in TCLP extract. The TCLP performed on the simulant samples cured under the most extreme conditions (3000 mg/L TPB in salt and cured at 95 C for at least 144 days) resulted in benzene values that were greater than half the regulatory limit. Taking into account that benzene in TCLP extract was measured on the same order of magnitude as the regulatory limit, that these experimental conditions may not be representative of actual curing profiles found in the saltstone vault and that there is significant uncertainty associated with the precision of the method, it is recommended that to increase confidence in TCLP results for benzene, the maximum curing temperature of saltstone be less than 95 C. At this time, no further benzene TCLP testing is warranted. Additional verification would be recommended, however, should future processing strategies result in significant changes to salt waste composition in saltstone as factors beyond the scope of this limited study may influence the decomposition of TPB in saltstone.