Solid Radioactive Waste Strategy Report.pdf - UK EPR

EPR UK
N° NESH-G/2008/en/0123
REV. A PAGE 63 / 257
Advantages
· Cost effective;
· Proven and compact design;
· Automatic operation.
Disadvantages
· Only suitable for dissolved ionic species (e.g. not suitable for particulate cobalt);
· Feed stream needs pH conditioning and may need pre-filtering since particulates in the
feed stream can foul (block) the ion-exchange beds or pass straight through the bed;
· A variation in pH or competing ions in the feed can cause the target ions to be displaced
back into solution.
7.3.6 Solid Waste Treatment By Segregation
Segregation ideally starts at the point of origin with in-situ separation processes. For example,
this includes sorting of the contaminated solid waste into categories that allows routing to further
treatment processes.
Solid Waste Segregation In The Controlled Area Workshop
Large and heterogeneous waste (e.g. worn out items) is either segregated in-situ or sent to the
controlled area workshop for segregation and size reduction using dedicated cutting equipment.
Components are repaired where possible to minimise waste production. However, it is not
always practicable to repair components in this way. For example, some pumps, valves and
motors cannot be repaired in-situ. These waste components will be reduced in size and sent for
treatment as appropriate [Refs.40 and 35]. Careful decontamination and size reduction can
facilitate the removal of the most contaminated areas on a redundant item. This may facilitate
only a small proportion of the waste being categorised as radioactive. The remainder of the
waste item can sent for disposal as controlled waste.
Solid Waste Segregation In A Sorting Box
A sorting box will be used to verify the efficiency of the in-situ separation of waste placed
directly into a disposal drum. In addition it will also serve as a primary segregation device to
safely separate waste in accordance with the selected downstream waste treatment technique.
The majority of the bulk solid waste material will be routed through the sorting box. The use of
this technique will permit manual sorting of the waste into the different waste types.
Application
· Segregation can be used for contaminated solid waste.