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Abstract

The decontamination of contaminated graphite, in particularly of irradiated graphite. According to the present invention, this means a method of separating volatile radionuclides from contaminated graphite and transforming the graphite together with non-volatile radionuclides into a form which is suitable for final disposal. The method according to the present invention comprises the step of heating up the contaminated graphite for obtaining treated graphite, a step of compacting the treated graphite for obtaining a molded body and optionally a step of embedding the treated graphite in a matrix material for obtaining a sheathed molded body. The molded body comprising the treated graphite can be finally disposed and stored under low safety requirements depending on the country-specific requirements. So the volume of such material which requires a particularly laborious and thus particularly cost-intensive final disposal and storage, in particularly an underground storage in deep ground regions, can considerably be reduced. The last one also results in considerably reduced costs, when contaminated graphite which accrues every year in high amounts has to be disposed.

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First Claim