Smelting radioactive material

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:38:05 GMT
" Johannesburg - South Africa's Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk on Friday gave the green light for the construction of a smelter for radioactive nuclear waste at the site of the Pelindaba nuclear facility outside Pretoria. The facility would be used to process about 140,000 tons of waste of varying levels of radioactivity, said van Schalkwyk. No "viable alternative" for treating nuclear waste in South Africa had been found, he said in his written decision. Some of the radioactive metal equipment used in South Africa's secretive apartheid-era uranium enrichment programme, under which it developed six and a half nuclear bombs, are to be melted down. The green light for the smelter came despite objections from residents and anti-nuclear and environmental activists. South Africa recently approved plans to resume uranium enrichment. The country has a nuclear-fired electricity plant at Koeberg near Cape Town."
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/100620.html

1976 Jun 01 Feasibility study of a portable smelter for scrap metals

"The use of a portable smelter to process uranium-contaminated scrap metals was studied.^Objectives were to convert scrap metal located at many diverse sites into a form which would be suitable for unlicensed sale and reduce the problems associated with storing the scrap.^The Foundry Design Company study indicated the portable smelter concept was feasible from an equipment and transportation standpoint.^Capital costs for a 5-ton/hour (steel) nominal capacity unit were estimated to be $2,349,000.^Technical evaluation indicates that all the common metals considered, i.e., iron, nickel, copper, and aluminum, are amenable to uranium decontamination by smelting except aluminum.^An economic evaluation of the processing of the 30,000 tons of steel scrap to be generated by the Cascade Improvement Program by a portable smelter was made based upon information supplied by Foundry Design Company, plus the assumption that the product metal could be sold for $120.00 per ton.^This evaluation indicated a net return of $2,424,000 to the government could be realized.^The Health and Safety study indicated no major problems of this nature would be encountered in operating a portable smelter.^The legal review indicated the proposed operation fell within the authority of existing regulations.^Consideration of possible conflicts with regard to competition with the private sector was suggested.^(DLC)"
http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/product.biblio.jsp?osti_id=7269860