Overview of Kinectrics’ Innovative Solutions for Management of Challenging Radioactive and Mixed Wastes

Abstract

Historically, Mixed Waste (MW) drums from Canadian nuclear facilities containing Tritium and other (alpha as well beta-gamma emitting) radionuclides were shipped to a licensed US facility for destruction via incineration. The challenges and complexities associated with this approach include logistics of cross-border shipments and destruction costs (e.g., tritium surcharge). There have also been number of legacy mixed wastes (solids, liquids and sludges) from operational, maintenance and decommissioning activities at Canadian nuclear facilities that were initially deemed challenging or no-path forward/orphaned. Federally mandated deadlines for management of PCB wastes from nuclear facilities in Canada present another challenge to the industry and highlight the need to rapidly deploy innovative technologies developed by Kinectrics to destroy PCBs in radioactive waste, i.e., mixed wastes. Existing immobilization technologies employed at Canadian facilities for mixed waste (e.g., solidification with commercial super absorbent polymers) result in significant volume increases. This problem becomes particularly challenging due to limited options available for storage and final disposal of such waste. The objective of this paper is to present project case studies that provide an overview of the various innovative processes developed and successfully deployed by Kinectrics to address above mentioned challenges.