RADIONUCLIDE COMPOSITION OF SOLID RADIOACTIVE WASTE FROM CONVERSION PRODUCTION

The paper overviews the study on the radionuclide composition of solid radioactive waste (RW) held in a near-surface storage facility at a conversion production site. The total α- and β-activity of the waste ranges from 1.2 to 1,250 kBq/kg and from 1.1 to 560 kBq/kg respectively. Three radioactive waste categories have been identified: those with the predominance of ²²⁶Ra in combination with short-lived daughter decay products (specific activity of up to 100 kBq/kg); waste with a predominant content of ²³⁸U in equilibrium with ²³⁴Th, ²³⁴Pa (specific activity of up to 30 kBq/kg); waste with a predominance of ²¹⁰Pb in equilibrium with ²¹⁰Bi and ²¹⁰Po (specific activity of 70 kBq/kg). The increased total alpha activity level is explained by ²³⁰Th found in the waste. At low ²²⁶Ra activities, one can focus on the total alpha activity levels to identify areas with possible high 210Po and 230Th activities. Most of the waste inventory contains uranium with its isotopic composition being similar to the natural one.

Keywords: radioactive waste, radionuclide analysis, thorium-230, radium-226, uranium.

Semenishchev V. S., Fomin A. V., Kulyashova E. N., Skripchenko S. Yu., Titova S. M., Nalivaiko K. A., Polyansky A. I. Radionuclide Composition of Solid Radioactive Waste from Conversion Production. Radioactive Waste, 2023, no. 3 (24), pp. 65—76. DOI: 10.25283/2587-9707-2023-3-65-76. (In Russian).