RADIOACTIVE WASTES 61 



(2) storage of this solid material in selected geological formations with current emphasis on 

 salt beds, (3 ) the direct discharge of liquids to selected geologic strata such as salt cavities or 

 deep permeable fomiations. One of the more promising approaches involves the conversion 

 of high-level wastes to a solid form (preferably chemically inert) with subsequent storage of 

 these solids in salt formations. A prototype 60-gallon per hour (gph) fluidized bed calcina- 

 tion plant for converting aluminum nitrate wastes to a solid oxide form is now under construc- 

 tion at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP). This plant will be in operation during 

 1961. Future plans call for the adaptation of this plant to treatment of wastes from processing 

 of stainless steel and zirconium-type fuel elements. In addition to the fluidized bed method 

 of reducing wastes to solids, other systems being studied for this purpose include a rotary ball 

 kiln, a radiant-heat spray calciner and a pot calciner. Solutions to the highly radioactive 

 chemical reprocessing waste problem appear feasible from an engineering standpoint, but at 

 least several years of pilot plant and field scale testing will be required to "prove out" pro- 

 posed systems. 



2. As nuclear energy operations continue to expand and facilities become more con- 

 centrated, it is likely that in restricted areas, the capacity of the environment (i.e., the atmos- 

 phere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere) for safely receiving radioactive effluents will be ap- 

 proached. Accordingly, more efficient methods for the treatment of large-volume low-level 

 waste will be required. Development of treatment processes capable of producing waste ef- 

 fluents of near drinking water quality will probably be needed for low- and intermediate-level 

 liquid wastes. Development work will also be required on increasing treatment efficiencies 

 for the removal of hazardous isotopes, such as strontium and cesium, from laboratory wastes. 

 New concepts for power reactors, involving different types of fuel elements and organic and 

 inorganic coolants and moderators, and also utilizing higher temperatures and pressures, are 

 sure to be developed. To serve them, it will be necessary to develop improved and more ef- 

 ficient handling and disposal systems for a wider variety of contaminated materials. 



The utilization of specific geologic formations, which are not accessible to potable water 

 or other natural resources, is being investigated as a possible solution to the highly radioactive 

 reprocessing waste disposal problem. The increasing utilization of the environment for as- 

 similating low- or intermediate-level waste effluents, gives increasing incentive for determining 

 the feasibility of discharging wastes of these categories from various nuclear energy operations 

 into deep permeable formations. Technical problems, such as heat dissipation, corrosion and 

 plugging of the receiving geologic formation, do not appear to be fomiidable for these wastes 

 because of their lower concentrations and smaller total quantities of radioactive materials and 

 their less complex and restrictive chemical nature. 



3. An expanding nuclear industry, with its increasing numbers of power and test re- 

 actors, more extensive use of radioisotopes, the advent of industrial chemical processing, etc., 

 intensifies the requirement for specific environmental studies in order to assess quantitatively 

 the impact of these operations on man and his natural resources. Certain techniques, pro- 

 cedures and fundamental principles may be generally applicable in such investigations, but 

 the variability of each site environment makes it essential that local investigation be carried 

 out in order to obtain engineering data which are directly related to the location, design, con- 

 struction, and operation of specific nuclear facilities. There has been a substantial increase 

 in the number of detailed environmental studies at proposed and operating nuclear facilities. 

 A greater emphasis on this phase of the atomic energy program is visualized during the next 



