Environmental Research & Technology Division

Technology Development & Applications Group

Thermoplastic Process Treatability for
Contaminated Hearth Ash in the Republic of Belarus

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Collaboration with the Republic of Belarus Institute of Power Engineering Problems/Academy of Sciences (IPEP/Ac. of Sci.)

Background

In the Republic of Belarus, five administrative regions (Oblasts) covering about 40,000 km² and a population of 2.2 million people were contaminated as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Approximately 20,000 km² have radioactivity levels in excess of 5 Ci/km² and more than 1200 small towns and villages are located within the contaminated zone. Forests growing in these regions constitute about 20% of the total forested area in Belarus. Thus the Chernobyl accident has had significant and lasting impact on the major source of residential heat and cooking fuel for many rural residents, but no institutional controls are currently in place for the safe disposal of the resulting contaminated hearth ash. Uncontrolled disposal of the ash (at an estimated 20,000 tons/yr), can lead to increased radiologic exposures due to direct inhalation and ingestion and indirect pathways such as contaminated gardens and drinking water supplies.

Objectives

This effort, sponsored by the DOE Industrial Partnering Program, will investigate the feasibility of using thermoplastic encapsulation technologies developed at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) to treat radioactive hearth ash generated as a result of burning wood contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear accident. BNL and the Institute of Power Engineering Problems (IPEP) at the Belarus Academy of Sciences will collaborate to complete bench- and pilot-scale treatability studies. Based on the results of treatability studies, additional activities including field demonstration and commercialization are planned. Future activities are dependent on identifying an industrial partner(s) and additional international funding sources.

Task Summary

IPEP/Ac. of Sci subtasks include: 1) characterize the source term (e.g., extent of contamination, number of households using contaminated wood, volume and mass burned), 2) collect representative hearth ash samples for treatability studies, 3) analyze samples for radioisotopes, activity levels, particle size and distribution, and moisture content, and 4) ship samples of hearth ash for bench-scale and pilot-scale testing in the U.S. BNL subtasks include development and testing of sulfur polymer final waste forms for treatment of Belarus hearth ash. Following completion of bench-scale testing, a pilot-scale feasibility test will be conducted in conjunction with Scientific Ecology Group (SEG), Oak Ridge, TN.

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Last Modified: November 12, 2009
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One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by the Research Foundation for the State University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

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