QUALIFICATION OF CAST IRON WASTE CONTAINERS MANUFACTURED BY MELTING OF RADIOACTIVE SCRAP METAL

The CEA has recycled about 1000 metric tons of contaminated metallic waste by melting in the G3 steelworks to produce cast iron containers for use in conditioning waste for disposal at the Aube surface disposal site operated by the French national radioactive waste management agency (ANDRA). Cylindrical containers with a useful volume of 1.1 m3 were manufactured from prefabricated steel molds into which the molten metal was poured. A metallurgical characterization and test program was defined to allow qualification by ANDRA as \"durable containers\" suitable for conditioning radioactive waste. Tests were conducted with simulated nonradioactive waste packages to assess the gas and water tightness, fire resistance, load and drop resistance of the cast iron containers, and the thickness of each container was verified by ganuna scanning. All the results met the initial program criteria and objectives. Test specimens were taken from one container for metallurgical characterization, tensile and fracture toughness testing and corrosion testing. The mechanical test results were consistent with the expected values and confmned the nature of the material. Corrosion test results obtained under conditions similar to those of the ANDRA disposal site (concrete water) showed satisfactory corrosion resistance. Based on the overall test results, these cast iron shells can be qualified as \"durable containers\" suitable for conditioning of radioactive waste for surface disposal.