Wasteform Development Laboratory

Facility

Wasteform Development Laboratory

The Wasteform Development Laboratory—also known as the "glass lab"—is used to investigate glass, glass-ceramic, grout, metal, and metal-ceramic wasteforms that will withstand corrosion over geologic time. This includes supporting the nation's nuclear waste vitrification efforts at Hanford.

Red-hot molten glass is poured from a metal pot.

PNNL helped pioneer nuclear waste vitrification efforts starting in the late 1960s. Our research has since expanded to include a variety of activities related to commercial glass and materials science, including grout, metals, and ceramics.

PNNL’s Wasteform Development Lab (previously known as the “glass lab”) is key to the nation’s quest for the safe, long-term storage of nuclear waste.

Specifically, our researchers are looking to isolate actinides and radionuclides generated during energy production (including past plutonium production at the Hanford site), used nuclear fuel recycling, and legacy waste from other remediation sites.

PNNL helped pioneer nuclear waste vitrification efforts in the 1960s—we developed the technology for the ceramic joule-heated slurry-fed melters used at the West Valley and Savannah River sites.

We have since expanded our research capabilities to include glass, glass-ceramic, grout, metal, and metal-ceramic wasteforms that will withstand corrosion over geologic time. We also are working to increase the throughput capability of the waste treatment plants. For example, our researchers are expanding our understanding of how the waste—which is dissolved in the glass—transitions through the glass feed to the final pour.

Researchers can turn liquid nuclear waste into glass, a process called vitrification. This process is being studied at PNNL's Wasteform Development Laboratory. As a solid, the waste is easier and safer to store. | PNNL 2020

Research in the Wasteform Development Laboratory is primarily conducted by PNNL’s Radiological Materials technical group in support of DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) and Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), and in partnership with DOE contractors.

Based in the Life Sciences Laboratory 2 (LSL2), the Wasteform Development Lab offers a broad range of capabilities, including:

• Glass and materials science

• Process engineering and development

• Interfacial Sciences and Rheology

Watch a Facebook Live video tour of the Wasteform Development Laboratory with PNNL expert John Vienna and the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy's Alisa Trunzo.