AUTHOR=Singh Bhupendra Kumar , Kim Jueun , Pak Donghun , Kim Kyungwon , Um Wooyong 

TITLE=Technetium (Tc)/Rhenium (Re) solubility and leaching behavior from waste forms: An overview

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nuclear Engineering

VOLUME=1

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nuclear-engineering/articles/10.3389/fnuen.2022.1112080

DOI=10.3389/fnuen.2022.1112080

ISSN=2813-3412

ABSTRACT=<p>Technetium-99 (<sup>99</sup>Tc), a radionuclide generated from nuclear industry is a great environmental concern because of its long half-life (2.13 × 10<sup>5</sup> years) and high mobility in environment. Therefore, apposite management of <sup>99</sup>Tc is imperative to control its hazardous radiological impact on humans and other livings. So far, the major strategy implementation has been the solidification and immobilization of <sup>99</sup>Tc radioactive waste in various matrices as waste forms and disposal in deep geological repository. However, by passing the time, <sup>99</sup>Tc may leach out/solubilize from the waste forms under different geochemical/environmental conditions. In this minireview, we discuss some key contributions towards the solubility of <sup>99</sup>Tc and rhenium (Re; a well-known surrogate of <sup>99</sup>Tc) from different waste forms. Specifically, we review the solubility of <sup>99</sup>Tc from glass, cement, ceramic, and geopolymer waste forms. The final section (conclusion) presents a short summary and future challenges need be addressed to impede the solubility of <sup>99</sup>Tc from the designed waste forms. We believe this minireview will be beneficial to provide a significant insight on the solubility of <sup>99</sup>Tc from aforementioned waste forms and in the design of robust matrices to minimize/prevent <sup>99</sup>Tc migration in various environments.</p>