A significant fraction of the high-level nuclear waste produced from fuel reprocessing operations at the Savannah River Site (SRS) must be pretreated to remove 137Cs, 90Sr and alpha-emitting radionuclides (i.e., actinides) prior to disposal onsite as low level waste. Separation processes planned at the SRS include caustic side solvent extraction for 137Cs and sorption onto monosodium titanate (MST) for 90Sr and alpha-emitters. The predominant alpha-emitting radionuclides in the highly alkaline waste solutions include plutonium isotopes 238Pu, 239Pu and 240Pu. This paper describes the planned Sr/actinide separation process and summarizes recent tests and demonstrations with simulated and actual tank waste solutions.

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