Chemical characterization, leach and adsorption studies of solidified low-level wastes

Laboratory and field leaching experiments were conducted on solidified low-level waste from a commercial boiling water reactor. Chemical and radionuclide analyses performed on samples collected from the field and laboratory experiments indicate strong adsorption of **1**3**4**,**1**3**7Cs and **8**5Sr onto the Hanford soil. Approximately 0. 5% of the available **6**0Co leached from the waste forms and migrated through the soil with a retardation factor of 1. Chemical constituents present in the reactor waste streams and found at elevated levels in the field and laboratory leachates include: sodium (1383 mg/L), sulfate (2230 mg/L), and nitrate (435 mg/L field only). Plausible solid phases that could be controlling the chemical and radionuclide concentrations in the leachate were identified using the MINTEQ geochemical computer code.