Full-scale tests of sulfur polymer cement and non-radioactive waste in heated and unheated prototypical containers

Sulfur polymer cement has been demonstrated to be superior to portland cement in the stabilization of numerous troublesome low- level radioactive wastes, notably mixed waste fly ash, which contains heavy metals. EG G Idaho, Inc. conducted full-scale, waste-stabilization tests with a mixture of sulfur polymer cement and nonradioactive incinerator ash poured over simulated steel and ash wastes. The container used to contain the simulated waste for the pour was a thin-walled, rectangular, steel container with no appendages. The variable in the tests was that one container and its contents were at 65{degree}F (18{degree}C) at the beginning of the pour, while the other was preheated to 275{degree}F (135{degree}C) and was insulated before the pour. The primary goal was to determine the procedures and equipment deemed operationally acceptable and capable of providing the best probability of passing the only remaining governmental test for sulfur polymer cement, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's full-scale test. The secondary goal was to analyze the ability of the molten cement and ash mixture to fill different size pipes and thus eliminate voids in the resultant 24 ft{sup 3} monolith