LEACHING BEHAVIOR OF TRITIUM FROM A HARDENED CEMENT PASTE

Leaching of tritium from a hardened cement paste into an aqueous phase has been studied to assess the safety of solidification of the tritiated liquid waste with cement. Leaching tests were carried out in accordance with the method recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The leaching fraction was measured as functions of the waste-cement wt ratio ( Wa C), temperature of leachant and curing time. The tritium leachability of cements follows the order: alumina cement > Portland cement > slag cement. The fraction of tritium leached increases with increasing Wa C and temperature and decreasing curing period. A deionized water as a leachant gives a slightly higher leachability than the synthetic sea water. The coating of the specimen surface with bitumen reduces the leachability to about 5% of its value for the specimen without coating. © 1979.