Stability evaluation of a cement based waste form to microbially induced degradation

In this study the current Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) protocol is used to evaluate the stability of Tuskegee cement/cobalt chloride waste form in the presence of Thiobacillus thiooxidans (T. thiooxidans). A critical examination of this protocol and identified limitations are reported also. Tuskegee cement/cobalt chloride waste forms were shown to exhibit considerable instability to microbial degradation as indicated by significant physical deterioration, and increased leaching of calcium and cobalt on exposure to T. thiooxidans. The instability was aggravated with higher levels of cobalt chloride content of the waste forms. The degradative capability of T. thiooxidans closely followed its ability to significantly decrease the pH of its environment. Inherent limitations in the NRC protocol were observed which could lead to serious result interpretation errors. The use of a T. thiooxidans culture that is significantly lower in pH in comparison to the control medium could lead to an overestimation of the degradative effect of T. thiooxidans, while the use of a culture that is substrate limited could result in an underestimation of T. thiooxidans capability.