"The U.S. Bureau of Mines successfully melted soil and mixtures of soil and simulated, thermally oxidized transuramic radionuclide-contaminated wastes from the Subsurface Disposal Area of the Radiation Waste Management Complex at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. The waste mixtures contained about 0.5 pct cerium oxide as a surrogate for transuranic radionuclide elements, and two of the mixtures contained additions of titanium and zirconium oxides to produce tailored glass-ceramic final waste forms. Over 52,000 lb of material were melted at feed rates up to 1,500 lb/h and with continuous tapping of slag to achieve volume reduction of about 55 pct. Product slag accounted for 83.5 pct of the total charge 2.4 pct reported to a metal ingot, 1.8 pct was recovered from the air pollution control system, and 12.3 pct was unrecovered, noncondensable gases for the shakedown plus 5-day continuous tests." - NIOSHTIC-2 NIOSHTIC no. 20039399

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health