In situ vitrification of transuranic wastes: An updated systems evaluation and applications assessment

In situ vitrification (ISV) is a process whereby joule heating immobilizes contaminated soil in place into a durable glass and crystalline waste form. Numerous technological advances made during the past three years in the design, fabrication, and testing of the ISV process are discussed. Performance analysis of ISV focuses on process equipment, element retention (in the vitrified soil during processing), melt geometry, depth monitors, and electrodes. The types of soil and waste processed by ISV are evaluated as process parameters. Economic data provide the production costs of the large-scale unit for radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes (wet and dry). The processing of transuranic-contaminated soils are discussed with respect to occupational and public safety. Alternative applications and operating sequences for various waste sites are identified. The technological data base warrants conducting a large-scale radioactive test at a contaminated soil site at Hanford to provide a representative waste form that can be evaluated to determine its suitability for in-place stabilization of transuranic-contaminated soils.

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