Design and Process Improvements on the Waste Treatment of Angra I and Angra II Power Plants in Brazil

Evolving differences, in Brazilian regulatory framework from the time Angra I was designed, in the beginning of the sixties, to the time of license evaluation, in the late seventies, resulted in the unacceptability of the original waste solidification system. The end products could not reach the necessary characteristics required for transport and storage and a redesign was necessary to improve the cementation process. In the case of Angra II, which uses a bituminisation system to solidify its low and intermediate level liquid wastes, some minor adjustments had to be done in the process and a new bitumen specification had to be developed to select a Brazilian material so that the system could perform adequately and meet the national requirements for safe transportation and storage.