Cementitious waste forms (CWFs) are an important component of the strategy to immobilize high-level nuclear waste resulting from plutonium production by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).Technetium ( 9 9 Tc) is an abundant fission product of particular concern in CWFs due to the high solubility and mobility of pertechnetate, TcO 4 -, the stable form of technetium in aerobic environments. CWFs can more effectively immobilize 9 9 Tc if they contain additives that reduce mobile TcO 4 -to immobile Tc(IV) species. Leaching of 9 9 Tc from reducing CWFs that contain Tc(IV) is much slower than for CWFs containing TcO 4 -. Previous X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) studies showed that he Tc(IV) species were oxidized to TcO 4 -in reducing grout samples prepared on a laboratory scale. Whether the oxidizer was atmospheric O 2 or NO 3 -in the waste simulant was not determined. In actual CWFs, rapid oxidation of Tc(IV) by NO 3 -would be a concern, whereas oxidation by atmospheric O 2 would be of less concern due to the slow diffusion and reaction of O 2 with the reducing CWF. To address this uncertainty, two series of reducing grouts were prepared using TcO 4 -containing waste simulants with and without NO 3 -. In the first series of samples, the TcO 4 -was completely reduced using Na 2 S, and the samples were placed in containers that permitted O 2 diffusion. In these samples, all of the technetium was initially present as a Tc(IV) sulfide compound, TcS x , which was characterized using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) 2 spectroscopy, and is likely Tc 2 S 7 . The TcS x initially present in the grout samples was steadily oxidized over 4 years. In the second series of samples, all of the TcO 4 -was not initially reduced, and the grout samples were placed in airtight containers. In these samples, the remaining TcO 4 -continued to be reduced as the samples aged, presumably due to the presence of reducing blast furnace slag. When samples in the second series were exposed to atmosphere, the lower-valent technetium species were rapidly oxidized to TcO 4 -.KEYWORDS technetium, cement, grout, nuclear waste BRIEFS The speciation of technetium in reducing grout samples was followed using X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. The reduced technetium species were susceptible to oxidation by oxygen, but nitrate had no observable effect over the duration of the experiment.
MANUSCRIPT TEXTIntroduction Immobilization of the high-level nuclear waste created during plutonium production by