PACRIM S34: Glass and Ceramics for Nuclear Waste Treatment and Sequestration

Effectively immobilizing radioactive waste in materials that will safely endure for hundreds to thousands of years relies on the treatment of waste and its incorporation into chemically and mechanically robust waste forms. Strategies are being developed to manage waste streams from current reactors and next generation systems (e.g., molten salt reactors), as well as recycling processes (e.g., PUREX, electrochemical reprocessing). Although commercialization of these reactors is decades away, it is desirable to create more efficient approaches that improve waste processing and expedite completion of large-scale nuclear waste sequestration. Achieving this goal will require development of new treatments and waste form approaches that are matched to specific isotopes and waste streams. Additionally, waste forms should effectively and safely meet isotope-specific requirements for long-term storage while assuring minimal environmental risk.

This symposium will bring together the technical community to share recent advances related to all aspects of nuclear waste treatment and sequestration, including solubility, complexation, speciation, separations, waste form matrices, species transport, environmental issues, water purification, and radiation effects in waste forms. The symposium will foster knowledge sharing and networking for technological leaders within industry, national institutions, and academia involved in treatment and sequestration of nuclear waste and related environmental issues.

Proposed sessions

• Separation of radionuclides from waste streams
• Salt separation technologies (e.g., dehalogenation, oxidative precipitation)
• Waste form matrices – synthesis and characterization
• Species transport in the environment
• Removal of radionuclides from aqueous environments
• Radiation effects in waste forms

Organizers

• Hans-Conrad zur Loye, University of South Carolina, USA, zurloye@mailbox.sc.edu
• Krista Carlson, University of Utah, USA, krista.carlson@utah.edu
• John McCloy, Washington State University, USA, john.mccloy@wsu.edu
• Kazuyoshi Uruga, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Japan
• Wooyong Um, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea
• Kai Xu, Wuhan University of Technology, China
• Brendan Kennedy, The University of Sydney, Australia
• Dan Gregg, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Australia