Possibility of salvaging spent graphite sleeves from the reactors of the Siberian chemical combine by incineration

Several thousand metric tons of spent graphite sleeves, which are being kept at solid-wastes storage facilities, have now been accumulated. The construction and state of most of the storages sites do not meet modem requirements because of the long time that these sites have been in operation and because the depths reach ground water, if the required protective barriers are absent. Consequently, there is a real danger that the radionuclides will contaminate the ground waters and the surrounding environment. To prevent this from happening, a system of measures must be instituted to put into place the required safety barriers or the sites must be liquidated. The results of an investigation of the radioactive contamination of spent graphite sleeves from the Siberian Chemical Combine are reported. These results show that the quite low contamination level of the sleeves permits salvaging them by incineration. In so doing, the risk of negative public-health effects in the region of the combine due to C-14 emissions into the atmosphere will be neglible.