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Sodium strontium phosphate nonahydrate (NaSrPO4·9H2O) found in Hanford nuclear waste

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Abstract

The Hanford site, near Richland, WA, in the U.S.A., has legacy radioactive waste left over from plutonium production. Strontium-90 and its short-lived daughter Y-90 account for about half of the radioactivity of the waste, yet there has been limited understanding of the speciation of strontium in the waste. The speciation of strontium will drive its behavior during any waste separation or treatment options, and may determine the Sr-90 source term to the environment after tank closure. A strontium-bearing phase containing sodium, phosphorus, and oxygen, was found in Hanford waste using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Polarized light microscopy determined that this phase was isotropic so had to have a cubic structure. NaSrPO4·9H2O is the only known cubic phase containing these EDS observable elements. These results confirm that NaSrPO4·9H2O is present, so the solubility of this species may drive the behavior of strontium in the waste.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC as part of the Tank Operations Contract with the United States Department of Energy, Office of River Protection.

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  1. Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC, Richland, WA, USA

    Jacob G. Reynolds, Gary A. Cooke & Daniel L. Herting

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  1. Jacob G. Reynolds
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  2. Gary A. Cooke
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  3. Daniel L. Herting
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Correspondence to Jacob G. Reynolds.

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Reynolds, J.G., Cooke, G.A. & Herting, D.L. Sodium strontium phosphate nonahydrate (NaSrPO4·9H2O) found in Hanford nuclear waste. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 326, 435–443 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-020-07296-1

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