CHEMICAL PROCESSING WASTE REMEDIATION IN THE PLUTONIUM-238 SUPPLY PROGRAM

Oak Ridge National Laboratory's (ORNL's) Plutonium-238 Supply Program (PSP) continues to progress toward the development of a matured production campaign plan to supply the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with heat source (HS) ²³⁸Pu (PuO₂). As the processing steps for target dissolution, plutonium processing, neptunium purification, and new target fabrication reach full scale production, the routine operation for waste disposition from these steps must match these strides. While current methodologies for caustic and acidic aqueous waste remediation is further along on the process maturation scale, the treatment of organic waste lacks a defined pathway in the removal process. Efforts within the PSP are currently underway to address challenges associated with new waste removal criteria and provide a removal pathway for solid and liquid organic, acidic, and caustic radioactive waste generated in Pu-238 production campaigns.