Progress and Challenges of Radioactive Waste Management in Thailand

Ordinary-Portland-cement solidification of Cs-137 contaminated electric arc furnace dust from steel production industry in Thailand

“…In 2018, around 880 tons of radioactive EAFD were found in the steel production factory in Thailand and the EAFD was contaminated with Cs-137 in high activity concentrations ranging from 420 to 486,680 Bq/kg [ 26 ]. These Cs-137 activity levels are extremely high in comparison with those of the Croatian (6.83–20.9 Bq/kg) EAFD [ 2 ], and the Canadian EAFD (555–1110 Bq/kg) [ 27 ].…”

“…These Cs-137 activity levels are extremely high in comparison with those of the Croatian (6.83–20.9 Bq/kg) EAFD [ 2 ], and the Canadian EAFD (555–1110 Bq/kg) [ 27 ]. In Thailand, the Cs-137 EAFD is considered as radioactive waste and classified as low-level radioactive waste (LLW) [ 26 , 28 , 29 ]. As a result, such radioactive dust must be controlled by the Nuclear Energy for Peace Act [ 30 , 31 ] and managed according to its supporting regulation, the Ministerial Regulation on Radioactive Waste Management, B.E.…”

“…A recent attempt has been made to utilize the leaching process to reduce the activity level of the EAFD and reuse the Cs-137 leached in the preparation of 137 Cs/ 137m Ba generators [ 32 ]. Moreover, the author research group is now performing a series of lab-scale experiments (e.g., EAFD washing, Cs-137 removal by co-precipitation process, and EAFD conditioning) so as to find out a suitable approach for managing this dust waste [ 26 , [33] , [34] , [35] ]. Immobilization of the Cs-137 EAFD in cement matrix is the focus of this work because of its low cost and simple operation [ 36 , 37 ].…”