Among long-lived radioactive constituents in the Hanford tank waste, Tc presents a unique challenge in that it exists predominantly in the liquid phase, generally in the anionic form of pertechnetate, TcO4-, which is highly volatile at low-activity waste (LAW) vitrification melter temperatures and mobile in the Hanford site’s subsurface environment. The complex behavior of Tc under storage, treatment, and immobilization conditions significantly affects its management options, which to-date remain uncertain. In strongly alkaline environments, Tc exists as pertechnetate, TcO4- (oxidation state +7), and in the reduced forms (oxidation state
Revised: August 25, 2017 |
Published: November 24, 2015