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Paper

Energy: Emerging Topics

Nuclear Power

Session: Corrosion and Material Protection in Nuclear Systems

Chemical and Radiation Effects from Hanford Tank Waste on Long-term Performance of Ag/AgCl Reference Electrodes (C2026-00071)

Monday, March 16, 2026
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM Central
Location: 371 DE
Earn .5 PDH
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Jason Page, Melinda Fagundes, James Peterson, Sheewa Feng
The chemical and radioactive waste at the Hanford Site is currently stored in 149 single-shell tanks and 28 double-shell tanks made from carbon steel. The alkaline tank waste, including the supernatant and solid saturated with interstitial liquid, is highly conductive and functions as an electrolyte. Under some environmental conditions, corrosion, typically in the form of general corrosion, pitting corrosion, and stress corrosion cracking, may occur that needs to be controlled to avoid tank waste leak to the environment. This work studied the chemical and radiation effects from Hanford tank waste on long-term performance of single junction Ag/AgCl reference electrodes for corrosion potential monitoring. Electrodes from two different manufacturers having very dissimilar designs were studied using potential measurement against a well-maintained saturated calomel electrode and electrochemical impedance measurements over three years. Post-test analyses were conducted on some failed electrodes using destructive and non-destructive techniques. The extent of electrode degradation and failure probability depended greatly on the electrode design and environmental conditions. Both chemicals and radiation affected the long-term performance of the Ag/AgCl reference electrodes.