RADIOACTIVE WASTES 63 



interactions between the radionuclides and the river environment. The effect of these mate- 

 rials on the ocean environment and ocean resources must be evaluated on the basis of their 

 physical, chemical, and biological behavior in the particular marine environment involved. 

 The return of radioactive materials to man is one of the basic considerations in such an 

 evaluation. 



6. It is a general consensus that recovery from highly radioactive fuel reprocessing 

 wastes of specific fission products such as strontium-90, cesium- 137, and others, for their 

 beneficial utilization would not appreciably affect the waste disposal problem nor significantly 

 aid in its solution. It is emphasized that recovery of specific isotopes is an entirely different 

 problem from that of essentially complete removal of all the radionuclides of concern (de- 

 contamination factors of the order of 10*) to facilitate waste disposal. Several processes are 

 being investigated which are theoretically capable of achieving the indicated removal of in- 

 dividual isotopes, but much additional research and development is required before any of 

 these processes could be relied upon to give these removals on a production basis. Recovery 

 of fission products would reduce the problem of heat dissipation in the residual wastes, but 

 would have little influence on the overall safety or cost of waste control. The problem of dis- 

 posing of the fission product radiation sources after they have served their useful purpose as 

 a radiation device would remain. 



7. At one time, sub-micron size particulate contaminants in gaseous effluents presented 

 difficult engineering problems from the standpoint of maintaining concentrations of radio- 

 active materials in air within tolerance limits. Equipment and facilities such as high efficiency 

 filters, deep-bed sand and fiber filters, and iodine and rare gas removal units have been de- 

 veloped for this purpose. As advanced reactor concepts are developed utilizing higher tem- 

 peratures and various gaseous coolants, new problems involving the handling or processing of 

 large-volume high-activity gases may be expected. Off-gases resulting from the conversion of 

 high-level wastes to an inert, solid form and the removal of certain gases from reactor con- 

 tainment vessels under emergency conditions present problems which may require further de- 

 velopment work. Currently, research and development in the treatment of gaseous effluents 

 are directed toward improving efficiencies and capabilities of air cleaning systems with em- 

 phasis on the development of filtration equipment for removal of particulates at the high 

 temperatures needed for advanced power and military reactor systems. 



In the future, krypton-85 probably will be separated from power reactor fuel reprocessing 

 off-gases because of its potential long-term hazard. These interfering off-gases will require 

 treatment before rare gas removal. This problem has yet to be fully defined but is one not 

 encountered heretofore in fuel reprocessing off-gas treatment. 



8. The transportation of highly radioactive materials, including irradiated fuel elements 

 and sealed sources, and the greater distribution of by-product materials around the country 

 have resulted in new technical and administrative problems in the transportation field. The 

 ever-increasing number of shipments of radioactive materials has multiplied the accident 

 hazard potential, including that of accidental releases of radionuclides to the environment. 

 States and municipalities are adopting transportation regulations of their own. In light of 

 continuing developments in the field of radiation safety, existing Federal agency regulations 

 applicable to interstate shipments need review, and probably revision and modification. 



The engineering design of shipping containers is based on limited data. To date, the 

 development of container design criteria, based on theoretical and experimental analysis in 

 conjunction with dynamic testing, has not been accomplished. In order to determine container 



