A CATALYTIC OXIDATION STUDY AND REGULATORY ANALYSIS OF TRITIATED MIXED WASTE

The United States biomedical research and development community faces very limited disposal options for the mixed waste generated by their research activities. For some waste, e.g. tritiated mixed waste of high tritium content, there is no satisfactory disposal route. As concerns regarding land burial and potential environmental releases mount, it is essential to develop processes for ensuring that contaminated materials may be disposed in an environmentally benign manner. Scientists in the pharmaceutical industry regularly use tritium and carbon-14 in research and drug development projects, and process solvents are contaminated. These activities generate moderate volumes of mixed waste with Curies (Ci) of tritium activity, or mCi of carbon-14. In contrast, academic institutions conducting life science and biomedical research produce large volumes of mixed waste with small radioactivity levels. When faced with unsatisfactory long-term storage or poor disposal options, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) decided to conduct a tritiated mixed waste treatability study, using Catalytic Chemical Oxidation (CCO) technology. We will ensure the appropriate legal status of this waste by obtaining an Equivalent Treatment Determination for the oxidation approach, and Delisting the oxidized products. Following these actions, the products will be disposed as low-level radioactive waste (LLRW), at a permitted LLRW facility. From this study we have identified a suitable treatment technology and a reasonable management and disposal route for tritiated mixed waste of high specific activity, which has been generated through our biomedical research and development projects. We have included a brief review of several other oxidation technologies, a discussion of oxidation mechanisms for some specific waste components, and a short guide to our interpretation of the relevant regulations