ASTM_C_1412_-_99.pdf

Designation:C 1412 99Standard Practice forMicrowave Oven Dissolution of Glass ContainingRadioactive and Mixed Wastes1This standard is issued under the fixed designation C 1412;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon(e)indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This practice describes a microwave oven practice usedto dissolve glass samples that may contain nuclear wastes.Theresulting solutions are then used to determine metals andradionuclides in support of glass vitrification plant operationsand materials development programs.This practice can be usedto dissolve production glass samples,vitrified melter feeds,andsludges.1.2 This practice is introduced to provide the user with analternative means to Test Methods C 169 for dissolution ofwaste containing glass in shielded facilities.Test MethodsC 169 is not practical for use in such facilities and withradioactive materials.1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:C 169 Test Methods for Chemical Analysis of Soda-Limeand Borosilicate Glass2C 1109 Test Method for Analysis of Aqueous Leachatesfrom Nuclear Waste Materials Using Inductively CoupledPlasmaAtomic Emission Spectrometry3C 1111 Test Method for Determining Elements in WasteStreams by Inductively Coupled PlasmaAtomic Emis-sion Spectroscopy3C 1285 Test Methods for Determining Chemical Durabilityof Nuclear Waste Glasses:The Product Consistency Test(PCT)3C 1317 Practice for Dissolution of Silicate or AcidResis-tant Matrix Samples3C 1342 Practice for Flux Fusion Sample Dissolution33.Terminology3.1 Definitions:3.1.1 product consistency test(PCT)a series of test meth-ods as defined in Test Methods C 1285 that evaluate thechemical durability of homogenous and devitrified glasses bymeasuring the concentrations of chemical species releasedfrom a crushed glass to a test solution.4.Summary of Practice4.1 The glass samples are ground to a fine powder anddigested in a microwave oven using a mixture of hydrofluoricand nitric acids.The sample is then further digested after theaddition of hydrochloric acid and boric acid.Boron may beadded to the resulting solution to complex fluoride ions and toaid in the dissolution of lowsolubility metal fluorides.Thesolution is then analyzed for metals and radionuclides.4.2 Boron may interfere with determining certain elementsof interest,so the user may process two sample aliquots withone containing no added boron.5.Significance and Use5.1 This practice details microwave oven methods to dis-solve vitrified feed and product glasses for determining con-centrations of metals and radionuclides.Microwave ovendissolution of glass samples as described in this practice is usedto dissolve samples for subsequent analysis by plasma spec-trometric,atomic absorption,and radiochemical techniques.5.2 This dissolution method is suitable for dissolvingsamples of canistered glass containing nuclear wastes withanalyte recoveries that are suitable for process control,wasteacceptance,and durability testing as described in Refs 1 and 2.5.3 The practice will dissolve vitrified melter feed withrecovery of analytes satisfactory for glass plant process con-trol.5.4 This microwave dissolution practice,when used inconjunction with standard practices for alkaline flux fusion ofglass(Practices C 1342 and C 1317),can provide solutionsuitable for determining most metals,radionuclides,and anionsof interest.5.5 The solutions resulting from this practice(after neces-sary dilutions and preparations)are suitable for analysis byinductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy(ICP-AES)as described in Test Methods C 1109 and C 1111,inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry(ICP-MS),atomic absorption spectrometry,ion chromatography,and ra-diochemical methods.1This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee C-26 on NuclearFuel Cycle and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee C26.05 on Methods ofTest.Current edition approved January 10,1999.Published February 1999.2Annual Book of ASTM Standards,Vol 15.02.3Annual Book of ASTM Standards,Vol 12.01.1AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS100 Barr Harbor Dr.,West Conshohocken,PA 19428Reprinted from the Annual Book of ASTM Standards.Copyright ASTMNOTICE:Thisstandardhaseitherbeensupersededandreplacedbyanewversionordiscontinued.ContactASTMInternational(www.astm.org)forthelatestinformation.5.6 This practice can be used to dissolve glass samples forbulk characterizations in support of the PCT as described inTest Methods C 1285.6.Interferences6.1 Boron cannot be determi