Skip to main content

Organics in a Hanford mixed waste revisited: myriad organics and chelator fragments unmasked

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry volume 296, pages 523–530 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

The analysis of a highly radioactive mixed waste, a double-shell slurry (DSS-1) waste from the U.S. DOE’s Hanford Site, originally published in 1988, yielded only a 1.2 % accounting of its total organic content (TOC), whereas the analysis of another mixed waste yielded 94.9 %. In this report, the reanalysis of DSS-2, which was carried out immediately, but previously unpublished, using an analysis scheme specifically adapted to the waste’s physicochemical properties, is described. The TOC accounting climbed to 72.3 %, unmasking a complex mixture of semivolatile and hydrophilic organics, including numerous oxidation and/or degradation products. Reevaluation of the DSS-2 data now reveals the presence of several chelator fragments, including nitrosated species.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (Canada)

Notes

  1. ® Milli-Q is a registered trademark of Millipore Corp., Bedford, MA.

  2. ® Contrad 70 is a registered trademark of Curtis Matheson Scientific Inc., Houston, TX.

References

  1. Toste AP, Lechner-Fish TJ, Hendren DJ, Scheele RD, Richmond WG (1988) J Radioanal Nucl Chem 123(2):149

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Means JL, Alexander CA (1981) Nucl Chem Waste Manag 2:183

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Premuzic ET, Manaktala HK (1984) Scoping study of the alternatives for managing waste containing chelating decontamination chemicals, National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Springfield, VA, NUREG/CR-2721

  4. Silviera DJ (1981) The potential influence of organic compounds on the transport of radionuclides from a geologic repository, PNL, Richland, WA, PNL-3414

  5. Davis MS (1983) The impact of LWR decontaminations on solidification, waste disposal and associated occupational exposure, NTIS, Springfield, VA, NUREG/CR-3444

  6. Killey RWD, McHugh JO, Champ DR, Cooper EL, Young JL (1984) Environ Sci Technol 18:148

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Means JL, Crerar DA, Duguid JO (1978) Science 200:1477

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Toste AP, Kirby LJ, Pahl TR (1984) Role of organics in the subsurface migration of radionuclides in groundwater. In: Barney GS, Navratil JD, Schulz WW (eds) Geochemical behavior of disposed radioactive waste, vol 246. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, p 251

  9. Environmental Protection Agency (1982) Test methods for evaluating solid waste: physical/chemical methods, SW-846, 2nd edn, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, pp. 3540/1, 3550/1, 8240/1, 8270

  10. Mckay HAC (1984) Science and technology of tributyl phosphate. In: Schulz WW, Navratil JD (eds) Applications of tributyl phosphate in nuclear fuel processing, vol 1, Chap 1. CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, p 1

  11. Windholtz, S Budavari, LY, Stroumtsos, MN Fertig (eds) (1976) The Merck index: an encyclopaedia of chemicals and drugs, 9th edn. M. Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, pp 136–142

  12. Delegard CH, Barney GS, Gallagher SA (1984) Effects of Hanford high-level waste components on the solubility and sorption of cobalt, strontium, neptunium, plutonium, and americium. In: Barney GS, Navratil JD, Schulz WW (eds) Geochemical behavior of disposed radioactive waste, vol 246. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, p 95

  13. Toste AP (2001) J Radioanal Nucl Chem 249(2):283

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Toste AP, Polach KJ, Ohnuki T (2005) J Radioanal Nucl Chem 263(3):559

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Grant KE, Mong GM, Lucke RB, Campbell JA (1996) J Radioanal Nucl Chem 211(2):383

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Campbell JA, Clauss SA, Grant KE, Hoopes V, Lerner BD, Lucke RB, Mong GM, Rau J, Steele R (1994) Flammable gas safety program, analytical methods development: FY 1994 progress report, PNL, Richland, WA, PNL-10127

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to John Green and Gary Richardson for their work in the shielded cell. Earl Martin shared invaluable insights on the chemistry and history of the DSS waste. David Hendren operated the GC/MS system. A young Quentin Dirks helped to whip a very, very early draft of the manuscript into shape. Most of the research described in this article was originally performed at Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL), now a national lab (PNNL), which is operated by Battelle Memorial Institute for the United States Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC05-76RL01830.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemistry Department, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, 65897, USA

    A. P. Toste

  2. Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, Houston, TX, 77002, USA

    T. J. Lechner-Fish

  3. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 99352, USA

    R. D. Scheele

Authors
  1. A. P. Toste
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. T. J. Lechner-Fish
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. R. D. Scheele
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. P. Toste.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Toste, A.P., Lechner-Fish, T.J. & Scheele, R.D. Organics in a Hanford mixed waste revisited: myriad organics and chelator fragments unmasked. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 296, 523–530 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-012-2126-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-012-2126-y

Keywords

  • Nuclear waste
  • Organic analysis
  • Chelating/complexing agents
  • Chelator/complexor fragments
  • GC/MS