The U.S. Department of Energy and Envirocare of Utah, Inc. have joined forces to encase radioactive lead in melted recycled plastic. DOE's Idaho Operations Office, which leads the department's mixed waste focus area, recently signed a cost-shared cooperative agreement with Envirocare. Macroencapsulation, a DOE-developed technology, will be used by Envirocare to treat radioactive lead, considered a mixed waste because it is both hazardous and radioactive.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Science and Technology Clyde Frank said macroencapsulation is the first in a series of technologies to be demonstrated at Envirocare to treat mixed waste. According to Frank, the agreement will sidetrack the need for expensive storage of mixed waste.
As part of
the $2 million agreement, Envirocare will accept shipments of
radioactively contaminated lead from selected DOE sites and
encapsulate it in plastic. The "macro" in
macroencapsulation refers to the process's acceptance of bulk
waste; the waste doesn't have to be shredded or broken down into
smaller pieces. During macroencapsulation, waste is suspended in
a drum and encapsulated within molten, recycled plastic, such as
milk jugs. As the plastic surrounding the waste cools, it hardens
into a form that immobilizes the waste, preventing migration of
contaminants into the environment. The stabilized waste form can
withstand conditions such as harsh chemicals encountered at
disposal sites, making it suitable for burial at Envirocare's
landfill.
The macroencapsulation technology was developed at DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York with support from the Office of Science and Technology.
