Radiochemical techniques play an important role in nuclear waste manag
ement studies at the Centre for Analytical Research in the Environment
. Current research includes the measurement of atmospheric emissions f
rom a reprocessing plant, modelling of environmental pathways, and eva
luation of reactor materials for the prediction of releases from ultim
ate disposal sites. A radiochemical separation procedure has been deve
loped for I-129, which has been applied to a study of emissions from t
he Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant. Atmospheric emissions, rainf
all, grass, milk and wild food are analysed to model the ultimate fate
of I-129. A new procedure has been developed for measuring sub-ppm co
ncentrations of chlorine in archive steel samples as part of programme
to produce an inventory of arisings of Cl-36 from nuclear power stati
ons. The method has been extended to other reactor materials and this
paper describes the application of the radiochemical method for Magnox
alloys, mild steel and cast iron.