Download or read book Transuranic TRU Waste Repackaging at the Nevada Test Site written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper describes the activities required to modify a facility and the process of characterizing, repackaging, and preparing for shipment the Nevada Test Site's (NTS) legacy transuranic (TRU) waste in 58 oversize boxes (OSB). The waste, generated at other U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites and shipped to the NTS between 1974 and 1990, requires size-reduction for off-site shipment and disposal. The waste processing approach was tailored to reduce the volume of TRU waste by employing decontamination and non-destructive assay. As a result, the low-level waste (LLW) generated by this process was packaged, with minimal size reduction, in large sea-land containers for disposal at the NTS Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC). The remaining TRU waste was repackaged and sent to the Idaho National Laboratory Consolidation Site for additional characterization in preparation for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The DOE National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office and the NTS Management and Operating (M & O) contractor, NSTec, successfully partnered to modify and upgrade an existing facility, the Visual Examination and Repackaging Building (VERB). The VERB modifications, including a new ventilation system and modified containment structure, required an approved Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis prior to project procurement and construction. Upgrade of the VERB from a radiological facility to a Hazard Category 3 Nuclear Facility required new rigor in the design and construction areas and was executed on an aggressive schedule. The facility Documented Safety Analysis required that OSBs be vented prior to introduction into the VERB. Box venting was safely completed after developing and implementing two types of custom venting systems for the heavy gauge box construction. A remotely operated punching process was used on boxes with wall thickness of up to 3.05 mm (0.120 in) to insert aluminum bronze filters and sample ports to prevent sparking during penetration. A remotely operated cold-drilling process with self-drilling, self-tapping titanium coated spark-resistant filters was used for boxes with wall thickness of up to 6.35 mm (0.25 in). The box headspace was sampled for the presence of flammable gases. To further accelerate the project schedule, an innovative treatment process was used. Several of the OSBs were re-assayed and determined to be mixed low-level waste (MLLW) which allowed treatment, followed by disposal in the Mixed Waste Disposal Unit at the NTS Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC). The MLLW boxes were certified using real-time radiography and overpacked into custom-built polyethylene-lined macroencapsulation containers. The polyethylene-lined lid was welded to the poly-lined box using automatically controlled resistance heating through embedded wiring in the lid. The work was performed under the existing Documented Safety Analysis since plastic welding is accomplished at low temperature and does not introduce the risks of other macroencapsulation processes, such as welding stainless steel containers. The macroencapsulation process for MLLW not only accelerated the schedule by reducing the number of boxes requiring size reduction, but it also resulted in significantly improved safety with as low as reasonable achievable levels of exposure to workers plus reduced cost by eliminating the need to perform repackaging in the VERB.

Download or read book Sorting and Characterizing Oversized Boxes of Transuranic Waste at the Nevada Test Site written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Characterization activities conducted inside the Visual Examination and Repackaging Building at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Complex on the Nevada Test Site.

Download or read book Establishment of a Facility for Intrusive Characterization of Transuranic Waste at the Nevada Test Site written by and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper describes design and construction, project management, and testing results associated with the Waste Examination Facility (WEF) recently constructed at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The WEF and associated systems were designed, procured, and constructed on an extremely tight budget and within a fast track schedule. Part 1 of this paper focuses on design and construction activities, Part 2 discusses project management of WEF design and construction activities, and Part 3 describes the results of the transuranic (TRU) waste examination pilot project conducted at the WEF. In Part 1, the waste examination process is described within the context of Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) characterization requirements. Design criteria are described from operational and radiological protection considerations. The WEF engineered systems are described. These systems include isolation barriers using a glove box and secondary containment structure, high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration and ventilation systems, differential pressure monitoring systems, and fire protection systems. In Part 2, the project management techniques used for ensuring that stringent cost/schedule requirements were met are described. The critical attributes of these management systems are described with an emphasis on team work. In Part 3, the results of a pilot project directed at performing intrusive characterization (i.e., examination) of TRU waste at the WEF are described. Project activities included cold and hot operations. Cold operations included operator training, facility systems walk down, and operational procedures validation. Hot operations included working with plutonium contaminated TRU waste and consisted of waste container breaching, waste examination, waste segregation, data collection, and waste repackaging.

Download or read book Special Analysis of Transuranic Waste in Trench T04C at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site Nevada Test Site Nye County Nevada Revision 1 written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Special Analysis (SA) was prepared to assess the potential impact of inadvertent disposal of a limited quantity of transuranic (TRU) waste in classified Trench 4 (T04C) within the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The Area 5 RWMS is a low-level radioactive waste disposal site in northern Frenchman Flat on the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The Area 5 RWMS is regulated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under DOE Order 435.1 and DOE Manual (DOE M) 435.1-1. The primary objective of the SA is to evaluate if inadvertent disposal of limited quantities of TRU waste in a shallow land burial trench at the Area 5 RWMS is in compliance with the existing, approved Disposal Authorization Statement (DAS) issued under DOE M 435.1-1. In addition, supplemental analyses are performed to determine if there is reasonable assurance that the requirements of Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 191, Environmental Radiation Protection Standards for Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level, and Transuranic Radioactive Wastes, can be met. The 40 CFR 191 analyses provide supplemental information regarding the risk to human health and the environment of leaving the TRU waste in T04C. In 1989, waste management personnel reviewing classified materials records discovered that classified materials buried in trench T04C at the Area 5 RWMS contained TRU waste. Subsequent investigations determined that a total of 102 55-gallon drums of TRU waste from Rocky Flats were buried in trench T04C in 1986. The disposal was inadvertent because unclassified records accompanying the shipment indicated that the waste was low-level. The exact location of the TRU waste in T04C was not recorded and is currently unknown. Under DOE M 435.1-1, Chapter IV, Section P.5, low-level waste disposal facilities must obtain a DAS. The DAS specifies conditions that must be met to operate within the radioactive waste management basis, consisting of a performance assessment (PA), composite analysis (CA), closure plan, monitoring plan, waste acceptance criteria, and a PA/CA maintenance plan. The DOE issued a DAS for the Area 5 RWMS in 2000. The Area 5 RWMS DAS was, in part, based on review of a CA as required under DOE M 435.1-1, Chapter IV, Section P.(3). A CA is a radiological assessment required for DOE waste disposed before 26 September 1988 and includes the radiological dose from all sources of radioactive material interacting with all radioactive waste disposed at the Area 5 RWMS. The approved Area 5 RWMS CA, which includes the inventory of TRU waste in T04C, indicates that the Area 5 RWMS waste inventory and all interacting sources of radioactive material can meet the 0.3 mSv dose constraint. The composite analysis maximum annual dose for a future resident at the Area 5 RWMS was estimated to be 0.01 mSv at 1,000 years. Therefore, the inadvertent disposal of TRU in T04C is protective of the public and the environment, and compliant with all the applicable requirements in DOE M 435.1-1 and the DAS. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency promulgated 40 CFR 191 to establish standards for the planned disposal of spent nuclear fuel, high level, and transuranic wastes in geologic repositories. Although not required, the National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office requested a supplemental analysis to evaluate the likelihood that the inadvertent disposal of TRU waste in T04C meets the requirements of 40 CFR 191. The SA evaluates the likelihood of meeting the 40 CFR 191 containment requirements (CRs), assurance requirements, individual protection requirements (IPRs), and groundwater protection standards. The results of the SA indicate that there is a reasonable expectation of meeting all the requirements of 40 CFR 191. The conclusion of the SA is that the Area 5 RWMS with the TRU waste buried in T04C is in compliance with all requirements in DOE M 435.1-1 and the DAS. Compliance with the DAS is demonstrated by the results of the Area 5 RWMS CA. Supplemental analyses in the SA indicate there is a reasonable expectation that the TRU in T04C can meet all the requirements of 40 CFR 191. Therefore, inadvertent disposal of a limited quantity of TRU in a shallow land burial trench at the Area 5 RWMS does not pose a significant risk to the public and the environment.

Download or read book Long Term Performance of Transuranic Waste Inadvertently Disposed in a Shallow Land Burial Trench at the Nevada Test Site written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1986, 21 m3 of transuranic (TRU) waste was inadvertently disposed in a shallow land burial trench at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site on the Nevada Test Site. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) TRU waste must be disposed in accordance with Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 191, Environmental Radiation Protection Standard for Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level, and Transuranic Radioactive Wastes. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is the only facility meeting these requirements. The National Research Council, however, has found that exhumation of buried TRU waste for disposal in a deep geologic repository may not be warranted when the effort, exposures, and expense of retrieval are not commensurate with the risk reduction achieved. The long-term risks of leaving the TRU waste in-place are evaluated in two probabilistic performance assessments. A composite analysis, assessing the dose from all disposed waste and interacting sources of residual contamination, estimates an annual total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) of 0.01 mSv, or 3 percent of the dose constraint. A 40 CFR 191 performance assessment also indicates there is reasonable assurance of meeting all requirements. The 40 CFR 191.15 annual mean TEDE for a member of the public is estimated to reach a maximum of 0.055 mSv at 10,000 years, or approximately 37 percent of the 0.15 mSv individual protection requirement. In both assessments greater than 99 percent of the dose is from co-disposed low-level waste. The simulated probability of the 40 CFR 191.13 cumulative release exceeding 1 and 10 times the release limit is estimated to be 0.0093 and less than 0.0001, respectively. Site characterization data and hydrologic process modeling support a conclusion of no groundwater pathway within 10,000 years. Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis indicates that there is reasonable assurance of meeting all regulatory requirements. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the results are insensitive to TRU waste-related parameters. Limited quantities of TRU waste in a shallow land burial trench can meet DOE performance objectives for disposal of TRU waste and contribute negligibly to disposal site risk. Leaving limited quantities of buried TRU waste in-place may be preferred over retrieval for disposal in a deep geologic repository.

Download or read book A Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 191 Evaluation of Buried Transuranic Waste at the Nevada Test Site written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1986, 21 m3 of transuranic (TRU) waste was inadvertently buried in a shallow land burial trench at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site on the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office is considered five options for management of the buried TRU waste. One option is to leave the waste in-place if the disposal can meet the requirements of Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 191, 'Environmental Radiation Protection Standard for Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level, and Transuranic Radioactive Wastes'. This paper describes analyses that assess the likelihood that TRU waste in shallow land burial can meet the 40 CFR 191 standards for a geologic repository. The simulated probability of the cumulative release exceeding 1 and 10 times the 40 CFR 191.13 containment requirements is estimated to be 0.009 and less than 0.0001, respectively. The cumulative release is most sensitive to the number of groundwater withdrawal wells drilled through the disposal trench. The mean total effective dose equivalent for a member of the public is estimated to reach a maximum of 0.014 milliSievert (mSv) at 10,000 years, or approximately 10 percent of the 0.15 mSv 40 CFR 191.15 individual protection requirement. The dose is predominantly from inhalation of short-lived Rn-222 progeny in air produced by low-level waste disposed in the same trench. The transuranic radionuclide released in greatest amounts, Pu-239, contributes only 0.4 percent of the dose. The member of public dose is most sensitive to the U-234 inventory and the radon emanation coefficient. Reasonable assurance of compliance with the Subpart C groundwater protection standard is provided by site characterization data and hydrologic processes modeling which support a conclusion of no groundwater pathway within 10,000 years. Limited quantities of transuranic waste in a shallow land burial trench at the NTS can meet the requirements of 40 CFR 191.

Download or read book Project Plans for Transuranic Waste at Small Quantity Sites in the Department of Energy Comples 10522 written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Carlsbad Office (LANL-CO), has been tasked to write Project Plans for all of the Small Quantity Sites (SQS) with defense related Transuranic (TRU) waste in the Department of Energy (DOE) complex. Transuranic Work-Off Plans were precursors to the Project Plans. LANL-CO prepared a Work-Off Plan for each small quantity site. The Work-Off Plan that identified issues, drivers, schedules, and inventory. Eight sites have been chosen to deinventory their legacy TRU waste; Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, General Electric-Vallecitos Nuclear Center, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory-Area 300, Nevada Test Site, Nuclear Radiation Development, Sandia National Laboratory, and the Separations Process Research Unit. Each plan was written for contact and/or remote handled waste if present at the site. These project plans will assist the small quantity sites to ship legacy TRU waste offsite and de-inventory the site of legacy TRU waste. The DOE is working very diligently to reduce the nuclear foot print in the United States. Each of the eight SQSs will be de-inventoried of legacy TRU waste during a campaign that ends September 2011. The small quantity sites have a fraction of the waste that large quantity sites possess. During this campaign, the small quantity sites will package all of the legacy TRU waste and ship to Idaho or directly to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The sites will then be removed from the Transuranic Waste Inventory if they are de-inventoried of all waste. Each Project Plan includes the respective site inventory report, schedules, resources, drivers and any issues. These project plans have been written by the difficult waste team and will be approved by each site. Team members have been assigned to each site to write site specific project plans. Once the project plans have been written, the difficult team members will visit the sites to ensure nothing has been overlooked and to verify the inventory. After each site has approved their project plan, the site will begin writing procedures and packaging/repackaging their waste. In some cases the sites have already begun the process. The waste will be shipped after all of the waste has been characterized and approved.

Download or read book Treating Transuranic TRU alpha Low level Waste at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge Tennessee written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Application to Ship Nonmixed Transuranic Waste to the Nevada Test Site for Interim Storage Waste Cerification Program written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report documents various regulations on radioactive waste processing and discusses how the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant will comply with and meet these requirements. Specific procedures are discussed concerning transuranic, metal scrap, salt block, solid, and glove box wastes.

Download or read book Characterization of Remote Handled Transuranic Waste for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2002-09-28 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) disposes of plutonium-contaminated debris from its 27 nuclear weapons facilities at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), an underground repository in Carlsbad, New Mexico. After four years of operational experience, DOE has opportunities to make changes to the costly and time-consuming process of "characterizing" the waste to confirm that it is appropriate for shipment to and disposal at WIPP.  The report says that in order to make such changes, DOE should conduct and publish a systematic and quantitative assessment to show that the proposed changes would not affect the protection of workers, the public, or the environment.

Download or read book Advanced Technology for Repackaging TRU Waste written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 5 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC), the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the Office of Science and Technology's Transuranic and Mixed Waste Focus Area (TMFA), and the Savannah River Site's Solid Waste Management Division (SWD) are working to develop a system to repackage drummed, mixed, transuranic (TRU) waste. The system is known as the Handling and Segregation System for 55-gallon drums (HANDSS-55). HANDSS-55 is designed to be a semi-remotely operated, modular, waste conditioning system that would open 55-gallon drums containing mixed TRU-waste, sort and segregate the contents of the drum, and separately repackage the acceptable waste and the non-compliant waste.

Download or read book Nevada Test Site Annual Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book RESULTS OF THE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT FOR THE CLASSIFIED TRANSURANIC WASTES DISPOSED AT THE NEVADA TEST SITE written by and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most transuranic (TRU) wastes are destined for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). However, the TRU wastes from the cleanup of US nuclear weapons accidents are classified for national security reasons and cannot be disposed in WIPP. The US Department of Energy (DOE) sought an alternative disposal method for these ''special case'' TRU wastes and from 1984 to 1987, four Greater Confinement Disposal (GCD) boreholes were used to place these special case TRU wastes a minimum of 21 m (70 ft) below the land surface and a minimum of 200 m (650 ft) above the water table. The GCD boreholes are located in arid alluvium at the DOE's Nevada Test Site (NTS). Because of state regulatory concerns, the GCD boreholes have not been used for waste disposal since 1989. DOE requires that TRU waste disposal facilities meet the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) requirements for disposal of TRU wastes, which are contained in 40 CFR 191. This EPA standard sets a number of requirements, including probabilistic limits on the cumulative releases of radionuclides to the accessible environment for 10,000 years. The DOE Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV) has contracted with Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) to conduct a performance assessment (PA) to determine if the TRU waste emplaced in the GCD boreholes complies with the EPA's requirements. Sandia has completed the PA using all available information and an iterative PA methodology. This paper overviews the PA of the TRU wastes in the GCD boreholes [1]. As such, there are few cited references in this paper and the reader is referred to [1] and [2] for references. The results of the PA are that disposal of TRU wastes in the GCD boreholes easily complies with the EPA's 40 CFR 191 safety standards for disposal of TRU wastes. The PA is undergoing a DOE Headquarters (DOE/HQ) peer review, and the final PA will be released in FY2001 or FY2002.

Download or read book Application to Ship Nonmixed Transuranic Waste to the Nevada Test Site for Interim Storage written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Nevada Test Site Perspective on Characterization and Loading of Legacy Transuranic Drums Utilizing the Central Characterization Project written by J. F. Norton and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Nevada Test Site (NTS) has successfully completed a multi-year effort to characterize and ship 1860 legacy transuranic (TRU) waste drums for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a permanent TRU disposal site. This has been a cooperative effort among the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO), the U.S. Department of Energy, Carlsbad Field Office (DOE/CBFO), the NTS Management and Operations (M & O) contractor Bechtel Nevada (BN), and various contractors under the Central Characterization Project (CCP) umbrella. The success is due primarily to the diligence, perseverance, and hard work of each of the contractors, the DOE/CBFO, and NNSA/NSO, along with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy, Headquarters (DOE/HQ). This paper presents, from an NTS perspective, the challenges and successes of utilizing the CCP for obtaining a certified characterization program, sharing responsibilities for characterization, data validation, and loading of TRU waste with BN to achieve disposal at WIPP from a Small Quantity Site (SQS) such as the NTS. The challenges in this effort arose from two general sources. First, the arrangement of DOE/CBFO contractors under the CCP performing work and certifying waste at the NTS within a Hazard Category 2 (HazCat 2) non-reactor nuclear facility operated by BN, presented difficult challenges. The nuclear safety authorization basis, safety liability and responsibility, conduct of operations, allocation and scheduling of resources, and other issues were particularly demanding. The program-level and field coordination needed for the closely interrelated characterization tasks was extensive and required considerable effort by all parties. The second source of challenge was the legacy waste itself. None of the waste was generated at the NTS. The waste was generated at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL), Lynchburg, Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS), and a variety of other sites over 20 years ago, making the development of Acceptable Knowledge a significant and problematic effort. In addition, the characterization requirements, and data quality objectives for shipment and WIPP disposal today, were non-existent when this waste was generated, resulting in real-time adjustments to unexpected conditions.

Download or read book Nevada Test Site Environmental Report 2003 October 2004 written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Supplement Analysis of Transuranic Waste Characterization and Repackaging Activities at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory in Support of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Test Program written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This supplement analysis has been prepared to describe new information relevant to waste retrieval, handling, and characterization at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) and to evaluate the need for additional documentation to satisfy the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The INEL proposes to characterize and repackage contact-handled transuranic waste to support the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Test Phase. Waste retrieval, handling and processing activities in support of test phase activities at the WIPP were addressed in the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the WIPP. To ensure that test-phase wastes are properly characterized and packaged, waste containers would be retrieved, nondestructively examined, and transported from the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) to the Hot-Fuel Examination Facility for headspace gas analysis, visual inspections to verify content code, and waste acceptance criteria compliance, then repackaging into WIPP experimental test bins or returned to drums. Following repackaging the characterized wastes would be returned to the RWMC. Waste characterization would help DOE determine WIPP compliance with US Environmental Protection Agency regulations governing disposal of transuranic waste and hazardous waste. Additionally, this program supports onsite compliance with Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requirements, compliance with the terms of the No-Migration Variance at WIPP, and provides data to support future waste shipments to WIPP. This analysis will help DOE determine whether there have been substantial changes made to the proposed action at the INEL, or if preparation of a supplement to the WIPP Final Environmental Impact Statement (DOE, 1980) and SEIS (DOE, 1990a) is required. This analysis is based on current information and includes details not available to the SEIS.