Separation of Strontium-90 from Hanford High-Level Radioactive Waste

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Abstract
Current guidelines for disposing of high-level radioactive wastes stored in underground tanks at the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site call for vitrifying high-level waste (HLW) in borosilicate glass and burying the glass canisters in a deep geologic repository. Disposition of the low-level waste (LLW) is yet to be determined, but it will likely be immobilized in a glass matrix and disposed of on site. To lower the radiological risk associated with the LLW form, methods are being developed to separate 90Sr from the bulk waste material so this isotope can be routed to the HLW stream. A solvent extraction method is being investigated to separate 90Sr from acid-dissolved Hanford tank wastes. Results of experiments with actual tank waste indicate that this method can be used to achieve separation of 90Sr from the bulk waste components. Greater than 99% of the 90Sr was removed from an acidic dissolved sludge solution by extraction with di-t-butylcyclohexano-18-crown-6 in 1-octanol (the SREX process). The major sludge components were not extracted.

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