Reduction of Radioactive Waste from Remediation of Uranium-Contaminated Soil

Abstract

Great amounts of solid radioactive waste (second waste) and waste solution are generated from the remediation of uranium-contaminated soil. To reduce these, we investigated washing with a less acidic solution and recycling the waste solution after removal of the dominant elements and uranium. Increasing the pH of the washing solution from 0.5 to 1.5 would be beneficial in terms of economics. A high content of calcium in the waste solution was precipitated by adding sulfuric acid. The second waste can be significantly reduced by using sorption and desorption techniques on ampholyte resin S-950 prior to the precipitation of uranium at pH 3.0.