Research and development activities: high-level waste immobilization program. Quarterly progress report, January-March 1979

Abstract

Through the High-Level Waste Immobilization Program, the Pacific Northwest Laboratory is conducting research on the solidification of high-level radioactive waste. this program is to develop waste glass compositions and reliable processes for their manufacture. January through March of 1979. A major goal of This progress report describes the research and development activities for The Nuclear Waste Vitrification Project (NWVP) culminated this quarter in the production of two canisters of fully radioactive waste glass. Liquid waste, made from zirconium-clad U02 power reactor fuel with an average burnup of 25,000 MWd/MT, was converted to glass by the in-can melting process-thus demonstrating the availability of a method for immobilizing the highest-level waste from the nuclear fuel cycle. An intrinsic-gama melt-level detection system was tested during the NWVP demonstrations. The results showed that if a sufficient number of collimators are used the system will track the melt surface with a precision of 1 in. during the filling of cans with waste glass.