Radioactively Contaminated Aqueous and Solid PCBs Waste Management

Abstract

PCBs are broken down naturally in the environment in the presence of sunlight through a process known as photolysis; however, this process is extremely slow and can take a long period of time. Accelerating photolysis with the help of environmentally friendly and abundantly available light sensitive semiconductor catalysts was tested at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) through a photocatalysis process with the objective of breaking down PCBs in a short time period. This paper reviews some of the photodegradation pathways as potential treatment methods in degrading PCBs efficiently and economically. Preliminary test results are presented and discussed.