Fabric (woven – knitted – or nonwoven textile or cloth – etc.) – Nonwoven fabric – Including particulate material other than strand or fiber...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-05
2001-09-04
Cole, Elizabeth M. (Department: 1771)
Fabric (woven, knitted, or nonwoven textile or cloth, etc.)
Nonwoven fabric
Including particulate material other than strand or fiber...
C442S380000, C442S414000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06284681
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Contamination of the environment is a growing concern in the United States and in the world. As a result, there have been many inventions which have tried to effect the safe storage of hazardous waste such as radionuclides, hazardous metals, soluble contaminants, medical waste, and other hazardous materials.
Geological disposal of these wastes is one common approach. Typically, these wastes are contained by providing multiple levels of various types of physical barriers surrounding the hazardous waste to prevent migration into the environment. The barriers can include, for example, waste containers, vaults, engineered backfill materials, and barriers mats. Each subsequent barrier is designed to contain the hazardous material should the earlier barrier fail. Some of the previous inventions include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,464,463, 4,321,158, 3,988,258, and 3,274,784. While all the aforementioned patents for hazardous material barriers may perform satisfactorily in specific situations, there is room for improvement in the art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide interactive barrier compositions capable of reducing the migration of hazardous material into the environment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of inhibiting release of hazardous materials into the environment.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a reactive multi-layer composite mat for radioactive and hazardous waste containment.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a backfill composition capable of reducing the migration of hazardous materials including radionuclides, hazardous metals and soluble contaminants into the environment.
These and other objects of the invention may be provided as part of a mixed waste disposal system and facility. The mixed waste facility area makes use of a reactive multi-layer composite mat comprising at least one reactive agent for stabilizing hazardous material. Containers of waste materials are placed in proximity to the composite mats. Additional reactive backfill may be added to further surround the waste material. A water resistant cap is placed over the mat/waste/backfill area.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the reactive multi-layer composite mat has an active layer having at least one reactive agent, a backing material onto which the active layer is placed, and a fronting material which covers the other side of the active layer so that the active layer is positioned between the backing and fronting materials.
In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, a reactive backfill for stabilizing hazardous waste comprises cement, fly ash, sand, water, and reagents. The reactive agents can be ion exchange resins, zeolites, iron powders, blast furnace slag, titanate compounds, phosphate compounds, or attapulgite clay. The attapulgite clay may be heat treated (calcined) which modifies the surface crystal structure and provides improved adsorptive capabilities. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the reactive backfill is made less permeable by water by the addition of a clay such as bentonite.
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Karraker David G.
Langton Christine A.
Narasimhan Rajendran
Cole Elizabeth M.
Dority & Manning PA
Ruddock Ula C.
Westinghouse Savannah River Company
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