Experience in the Separation and Purification of Transplutonium Elements in the Transuranium Processing Plant at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Abstract

8y acceptance of this articia, th« publishar or racipicnt acknowlcdgas tha U.S. Qovarnmant'i right to ratain a nonaxclutivc, rayalty-fra* licanta in and to any copyright covering tha articia. MASTER Research sponsored by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy under contract W-7405-eng-26 with, the Union Carbide Corporation.

Status Summary of Chemical Processing Development in Plutonium-238 Supply Program

“…• Target dissolver-This Zr tank (T-70) is mounted in the floor of cubicle 7 so that irradiated targets may be placed into the tank via a covered access port in the top of the tank using manipulators. Dissolution processes have been implemented since the late 1960s, employing dissolution in caustic nitrate for removal of Al, followed by acid dissolution of actinide oxides (Burch et al 1970;King et al 1980;Felker 1995).…”

Californium purification and electrodeposition

“…The order of the purification is as follows. The cation exchange a-HIB column was performed in the traditional fashion, as discussed earlier, to recover a 252 Cf fraction free from 248 Cm and other decay products [7][8][9][10]. After the cation exchange a-HIB column, the 252 Cf material was converted to a chloride salt by taking it to dryness in HCl several times and dissolved in 2.0 M NH 4 SCN -0.1 M CH 2 O 2 (36 mL), and was passed through a TEVA column with a 1.5 cm ID and a 10 mL BV.…”

Plutonium working group report on environmental, safety and health vulnerabilities associated with the department`s plutonium storage. Volume II, Appendix B, Part 9: Oak Ridge site site team report

“…This study concluded that the facility is classified in the 'Low" hazard category. The contained calutrons and associated support and laboratory areas are described in the 1…”