Characterization of waste products prepared from radioactive contaminated clayey soil cemented according to the GEODUR process

Radioactive contaminated soil may arise due to accidents of various types or may be detected during decommisioning of nuclear installations. Ordinary surface soil cannot normally be conditioned using conventional cementation processes since the content of humic materials retards or prevents the solidification.

An additive available from the Danish firm Geodur A/S makes it possible to circumvent this difficulty and to produce a monolithic, nondusting waste type using rather small amounts of cement. The report describes work on characterization of such a cemented waste product prepared on basis of clayey top soil from the Risø area.

The claimed advantages of the process was verified, and data for the compression strength (low), hydraulic conductivity (satisfactory) and other pore structure-related properties are given for the obtained products. Unfortunately the behaviour of cesium and strontium, representing two of the most relevant radionuclides, was not too promising.

The retention of cesium is satisfactory, but less good than for the untreated soil. Greatly improved cesium retention after drying of the materials was noticed. Good retention of strontium is only obtained after reaction of the material with carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The behaviour of the two isotopes in other types of cemented waste is somewhat similar, but the decrease in retention compared with untreated soil makes the process less interesting as a possibility for remedial actions after accidents, etc.

Some further studies of the cemented soil waste are beeing made within the frame of the Nordic Nuclear Safety Studies. Elements forming low solublity components in the high pH environment in the cemented soil will probably be retained quite efficiently. This was demonstrated in case of Zn. (author) 11 tabs., 22 ills., 8 refs..