CURING TIME EFFECT ON THE FRACTION OF 60Co FROM CEMENT MATRIX

Cement has been successfully used in Radioactive Waste Management to immobilize a wide range of waste including filter sludges, ion-exchange resins and evaporator concentrates produced in nuclear power plants. In any assessment of cement-immobilized radwaste composites, leach of radionuclides (60Co, 137Cs, 54Mn ...) is an important factor, for it must be assumed that the composite material will eventually come into contact with leachant solutions.[1,2] Cement and concrete are widely used in low-level waste management both as a means of solidifying waste and for containment of dry or liquid wastes.At present there is also widespread interest in the use of near-surface concrete trench system for the disposal of radwaste materials.Typical concrete is a mixture of cement , sand, water in various proportions,that together determine the structural properties and tightness of the poured material.