Vitrification—the primary technology behind a $12.2 billion nuclear waste treatment facility under construction at Washington’s Hanford site—can keep radioactive contaminants safely out of the environment. Thanks to an 1,800-year-old shipwreck, Department of Energy researchers now have a better idea of just how long glass-sealed material can last.
The Tri-City Herald last week highlighted the work of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists Joseph Ryan and Denis Strachan, who recently acquired glass from archaeologists to examine how well it stood up to 18 centuries under water. They used advanced imaging technology to analyze glass samples from the sunken Roman ship Iulia Felix and the ruins of a Roman town, scrutinizing the material at an atomic level.
They found the glass had resisted corrosion well, and data generated by the research can be used to verify and improve computer models that predict how vitrification will contain nuclear waste over the millennia.
The ability of glass to permanently sequester nuclear waste is critical to DOE’s efforts to treat an estimated 56 million gallons of Cold-War-era waste at the Hanford site. Sixty percent complete as of July, the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant will blend waste with glass-forming chemicals, heat them to 1,149 C then cool the resulting material in stainless steel canisters, according to contractor Bechtel. Construction is scheduled to be complete in 2016, with operation scheduled to begin in 2019.