The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) has developed draft documentation to present the proposed Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) remote-handled (RH-) transuranic (TRU) waste characterization program to its regulators, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New Mexico Environment Department. Compliance with Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 191 and 194; the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (PL 102-579); and the WIPP Hazardous Waste Facility Permit, as well as the Certificates of Compliance for the 72-B and 10-160B Casks, requires that specific waste parameter limits be imposed on DOE sites disposing of TRU waste at WIPP. The DOE-CBFO must control the sites' compliance with the limits by specifying allowable characterization methods. As with the established WIPP contact handled TRU waste characterization program, the DOE-CBFO has proposed a Remote-Handled TRU Waste Acceptance Criteria (RH-WAC) document consolidating the requirements from various regulatory drivers and proposed allowable characterization methods. These criteria are consistent with the recommendation of a recent National Academy Sciences/National Research Council to develop an RH-TRU waste characterization approach that removes current self imposed requirements that lack a legal or safety basis. As proposed in the draft RH-WAC and other preliminary documents, the DOE-CBFO RH-TRU waste characterization program …

Weiss Associates (WA) performs a broad range of environmental restoration/waste management (ER/WM) activities for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) at the former Laboratory for Energy-Related Health Research (LEHR), University of California, Davis (UC Davis). Over the last three years, the LEHR ER/WM program transitioned from a baseline packaging system of steel, 2.7 cubic meter (3.5-cubic yard) B-25 boxes to a 7.0 cubic meter (9.1-cubic yard) soft-sided container (Lift Liner) system. The transition increased efficiencies in processing, packaging, and storage, and when combined with decreased procurement costs, achieved a $402,000 cost savings (Table I). Additional disposal costs between $128,600 and $182,600 were avoided by minimizing void space. Future cost savings by the end of fiscal year 2003 are projected between $250,640 and $1,003,360.

After the completion of detailed studies of the suitability the twin-mine Bartensleben-Marie, situated in the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt (Germany), was chosen in 1970 for the disposal of low and medium level radioactive waste. The waste emplacement started in 1978 in rock cavities at the mine's fourth level, some 500 m below the surface. Until the end of the operational phase in 1998 in total about 36,800 m{sup 3} of radioactive waste was disposed of. The Morsleben LLW/ILW repository (ERAM) is now under licensing for closure. After completing the licensing procedure the repository will be sealed and backfilled to exclude any undue future impact onto man or the environment. The main safety objective is to protect the biosphere from the harmful effects of the disposed radionuclides. Furthermore, classical or conventional requirements call for ruling out or minimizing other unfavorable environmental effects. The ERAM is an abandoned rock salt and potash mine. As a consequence it has a big void volume, however small parts of the cavities are backfilled with crushed salt rocks. Other goals of the closure concept are therefore a long-term stabilization of the cavities to prevent a dipping or buckling of the ground surface. In addition, groundwater protection …

The aim of this paper is to present a general overview of the radioactive releases impact generated by Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP), Bulgaria to the environment and public. The liquid releases presented are known as the so called controlled water discharges, that are generated after reprocessing of the inevitable accumulated liquid radioactive waste in the plant operation process. The radionuclides containing in the liquid releases are given in the paper as a result of systematic measuring. Database for radiation doses evaluation on the public around Kozloduy NPP site is developed using IAEA LADTAP computerized program. The computer code LADTAP represents realization of a model that evaluates the public dose as a result of NPP releases under normal operation conditions. The results of this evaluation were the basic licensing document for a new liquid release limit.

The Site Recommendation (SR) process for the potential repository for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level nuclear waste (HLW) at Yucca Mountain, Nevada is underway. Fulfillment of the requirements for substantially complete containment of the radioactive waste emplaced in the potential repository and subsequent slow release of radionuclides from the Engineered Barrier System (EBS) into the geosphere will rely on a robust waste container design, among other EBS components. Part of the SR process involves sensitivity studies aimed at elucidating which model parameters contribute most to the drip shield and waste package degradation characteristics. The model parameters identified included (a) general corrosion rate model parameters (temperature-dependence and uncertainty treatment), and (b) stress corrosion cracking (SCC) model parameters (uncertainty treatment of stress and stress intensity factor profiles in the Alloy 22 waste package outer barrier closure weld regions, the SCC initiation stress threshold, and the fraction of manufacturing flaws oriented favorably for through-wall penetration by SCC). These model parameters were reevaluated and new distributions were generated. Also, early waste package failures due to improper heat treatment were added to the waste package degradation model. The results of these investigations indicate that the waste package failure profiles are governed by the manufacturing …

The nuclear fuel cycle is designed to be very international, with some specialist activities (e.g. fuel fabrication, reprocessing, etc.) being confined to a few countries. Nevertheless, political and public opposition has in the past been faced by proposals to internationalise the back-end of the cycle, in particular waste disposal. Attitudes, however, have been changing recently and there is now more acceptance of the general concept of shared repositories and of specific proposals such as that of Pangea. However, as for national facilities, progress towards implementation of shared repositories will be gradual. Moreover, the best vehicle for promoting the concept may not be a commercial type of organization. Consequently the Pangea project team are currently establishing a widely based Association for this purpose.

Formation of two pyrochlore ceramics with formulations CaZr0.25U0.75Ti2O7 and CaUTi2O7 within the temperature range 1000-1500 C from batches prepared by grinding of oxide powders in a mortar and an activator with hydrostatic yokes AGO-2U as well as soaking of a Ca, Zr, and Ti oxide mixture with uranylnitrate solution was studied. The pyrochlore ceramics are produced through intermediate calcium uranate formation. Phase formation reactions in the batch pre-treated in the AGO-2U unit were completed within the temperature range 1000-1100 C that is lower than in the batches prepared by two other methods.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of River Protection (ORP) is leading the River Protection Project (RPP) which is responsible for the disposition of 204,000 cubic meters (54 million gallons) of high-level radioactive waste that have accumulated in large underground tanks at the Hanford Site since 1944. ORP continues to make good progress on improving the capability to treat Hanford tank waste. Design of the waste vitrification facilities is proceeding well and construction will begin within the next year. Progress is also being made in reducing risk to the worker and the environment from the waste currently stored in the tank farms. Removal of liquids from single-shell tanks (SSTs) is on schedule and we will begin removing solids (salt cake) from a tank (241-U-107) in 2002. There is a sound technical foundation for the waste vitrification facilities. These initial facilities will be capable of treating (vitrifying) the bulk of Hanford tank waste and are the corners tone of the clean-up strategy. ORP recognizes that as the near-term work is performed, it is vital that there be an equally strong and defensible plan for completing the mission. ORP is proceeding on a three-pronged approach for moving the mission forward. First, …

Environmental restoration of the Gunite and Associated Tanks (GAAT) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) was a priority to the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) because of their age and deteriorating structure. These eight tanks ranging up to 170,000 gallons in capacity were constructed in 1943 of a Gunite or ''sprayed concrete material'' as part of the Manhattan Project. The tanks initially received highly radioactive waste from the Graphite Reactor and associated chemical processing facilities. The waste was temporarily stored in these tanks to allow for radioactive decay prior to dilution and release into surface waters. Over time, additional wastes from ongoing ORNL operations (e.g., isotope separation and materials research) were discharged to the tanks for storage and treatment. These tanks were taken out of service in the 1970s. Based on the structure integrity of GAAT evaluated in 1995, the worst-case scenario for the tanks, even assuming they are in good condition, is to remain empty. A recently completed interim action conducted from April 1997 through September 2000 removed the tank liquids and residual solids to the extent practical. Interior video surveys of the tanks indicated signs of degradation of the Gunite material. The tanks continued to receive …

The bitumenized waste drum facility (ERFB) is built on the Marcoule site and is intended to handle the historic bitumenized waste of the site, that were conditioned in metallic drums. The purpose of the facility is to retrieve the drums stored in pits, condition them in stainless steel overpacks and produce packages ready to be shipped to the multipurpose interim storage (EIP) facility. The ERBF includes a mobile frame structure capable to shift from one pit to another. It is used to recover drums and characterizes them (weight, radiological properties, etc.) and to repack them according to their state. The first operation results are provided.

This paper describes recent developments in the field of nuclear waste management in Canada with a focus on management of nuclear fuel waste. Of particular significance is the April 2001 tabling in the Canadian House of Commons of Bill C-27, An Act respecting the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste. At the time of finalizing this paper (January 15, 2002), Bill C-27 is in Third Reading in the House of Commons and is expected to move to the Senate in February. The Nuclear Fuel Waste Act is expected to come into force later in 2002. This Act requires the three nuclear utilities in Canada owning nuclear fuel waste to form a waste management organization and deposit funds into a segregated fund for nuclear fuel waste long-term management. The waste management organization is then required to perform a study of long-term management approaches for nuclear fuel waste and submit the study to the federal government within three years. The federal government will select an approach for implementation by the waste management organization. The paper discusses the activities that the nuclear fuel waste owners currently have underway to prepare for the formation of the waste management organization. As background, the paper reviews …

Managing the operation of large commercial spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, such as UP3 and UP2-800 in La Hague, France, requires an extensive analytical program and the shortest possible analysis response times. COGEMA, together with its engineering subsidiary SGN, decided to build high-performance laboratories to support operations in its plants. These laboratories feature automated equipment, safe environments for operators, and short response times, all in centralized installations. Implementation of a computerized analytical data management system and a fully automated pneumatic system for the transfer of radioactive samples was a key factor contributing to the successful operation of the laboratories and plants.

Since the early eighties, several studies have been carried out in Belgium with respect to a repository for the final disposal of low-level radioactive waste (LLW). In 1998, the Belgian Government decided to restrict future investigations to the four existing nuclear sites in Belgium or sites that might show interest. So far, only two existing nuclear sites have been thoroughly investigated from a geological and hydrogeological point of view. These sites are located in the North-East (Mol-Dessel) and in the mid part (Fleurus-Farciennes) of the country. Both sites have the disadvantage of presenting poor geological and hydrogeological conditions, which are rather unfavorable to accommodate a surface disposal facility for LLW. The underground of the Mol-Dessel site consists of neogene sand layers of about 180 m thick which cover a 100 meters thick clay layer. These neogene sands contain, at 20 m depth, a thin clayey layer. The groundwater level is quite close to the surface (0-2m) and finally, the topography is almost totally flat. The upper layer of the Fleurus-Farciennes site consists of 10 m silt with poor geomechanical characteristics, overlying sands (only a few meters thick) and Westphalian shales between 15 and 20 m depth. The Westphalian shales are …

The Subsurface Contaminants Focus Area (SCFA), a DOE-HQ EM-50 organization, is hosted and managed at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina. SCFA is an integrated program chartered to find technology and scientific solutions to address DOE subsurface environmental restoration problems throughout the DOE Weapons Complex. Since its inception in 1989, the SCFA program has resulted in a total of 269 deployments of 83 innovative technologies. Until recently, the primary thrust of the program has been to develop, demonstrate, and deploy those remediation technology alternatives that are solutions to technology needs identified by the DOE Sites. Over the last several years, the DOE Sites began to express a need not only for innovative technologies, but also for technical assistance. In response to this need, DOE-HQ EM-50, in collaboration with and in support of a Strategic Lab Council recommendation directed each of its Focus Areas to implement a Lead Laboratory Concept to enhance their technical capabilities. Because each Focus Area is unique as defined by the contrast in either the type of contaminants involved or the environments in which they are found, the Focus Areas were given latitude in how they set up and implemented the Lead Lab Concept. The …

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Coordinated research program ''Improvement of Safety Assessment Methodologies for Near Surface Disposal Facilities'' (ISAM) has developed improved safety assessment methodology for near surface disposal facilities. The program has been underway for three years and has included around 75 active participants from 40 countries. It has also provided examples for application to three safety cases--vault, Radon type and borehole radioactive waste disposal facilities. The program has served as an excellent forum for exchange of information and good practices on safety assessment approaches and methodologies used worldwide. It also provided an opportunity for reaching broad consensus on the safety assessment methodologies to be applied to near surface low and intermediate level waste repositories. The methodology has found widespread acceptance and the need for its application on real waste disposal facilities has been clearly identified. The ISAM was finalized by the end of 2000, working material documents are available and an IAEA report will be published in 2002 summarizing the work performed during the three years of the program. The outcome of the ISAM program provides a sound basis for moving forward to a new IAEA program, which will focus on practical application of the safety assessment …

The Faultless underground nuclear test, conducted in central Nevada, is the site of an ongoing environmental remediation effort that has successfully progressed through numerous technical challenges due to close cooperation between the U.S. Department of Energy, (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration and the State of Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP). The challenges faced at this site are similar to those of many other sites of groundwater contamination: substantial uncertainties due to the relative lack of data from a highly heterogeneous subsurface environment. Knowing when, where, and how to devote the often enormous resources needed to collect new data is a common problem, and one that can cause remediators and regulators to disagree and stall progress toward closing sites. For Faultless, a variety of numerical modeling techniques and statistical tools are used to provide the information needed for DOE and NDEP to confidently move forward along the remediation path to site closure. A general framework for remediation was established in an agreement and consent order between DOE and the State of Nevada that recognized that no cost-effective technology currently exists to remove the source of contaminants in nuclear cavities. Rather, the emphasis of the corrective action is on identifying the …

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has completed experiments involving 15 each, 250- liter experimental test containers of transuranic (TRU) heterogeneous waste immersed in two types of brine similar to those found in the underground portion of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). To dispose of the waste without removing the brine from the test containers, LANL added commercially available cross-linked polyacrylate granules to absorb the 190 liters of brine in each container, making the waste compliant for shipping to the WIPP in a Standard Waste Box (SWB). Prior to performing the absorption, LANL and the manufacturer of the absorbent conducted laboratory and field tests to determine the ratio of absorbent to brine that would fully absorb the liquid. Bench scale tests indicated a ratio of 10 parts Castile brine to one part absorbent and 6.25 parts Brine A to one part absorbent. The minimum ratio of absorbent to brine was sought because headspace in the containers was limited. However, full scale testing revealed that the ratio should be adjusted to be about 15% richer in absorbent. Additional testing showed that the absorbent would not apply more than 13.8 kPa pressure on the walls of the vessel and that the absorbent …

Technetium is one of the most prominent problems since its most stable specie in the environment, the pertechnetate ion, is highly mobile and considered as a long-term hazard in nuclear waste disposal. Because of the small activities of 99Tc relative to other fission products 137Cs or 90Sr, and its long half-life time (t1/2 = 2.1 x 105 yrs), 99Tc is one of the key isotopes that should always be analyzed in the radioactive liquid waste streams from the reprocessing industry where the largest concentrations are to be expected. Furthermore, as a pure beta-emitter, 99Tc has to be isolated from the intermediate level waste (ILW) stream prior to any measurement in such complex media. We have developed a method for 99Tc extraction providing recommendations that will be useful for extracting it from acid and basic ILW. The extraction of 99Tc from ILW by dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DB18C6) has been investigated and a simplex optimization of key parameters involved in the procedure has allowed us to set u p their best values. Experiments have been carried out on synthetic and real effluents from La Hague reprocessing plant, France, and results show that DB18C6 is highly selective towards 99Tc. The application of this procedure has …

A study was performed to develop a strategy for the removal of fuel-containing material (FCM) from the Chernobyl Unit 4 Shelter and for the related waste management. This study was performed during Phase 1 of the Shelter Implementation Plan (SIP) and was funded by the Chernobyl Shelter Fund. The main objective for Phase 2 of the SIP is to stabilize the Shelter and to construct a New Confinement (NC) by the year 2007. In addition, the SIP includes studies on the strategy and on the conceptual design implications of the removal of FCM from the Shelter. This is considered essential for the ultimate goal, the transformation of the Shelter into an environmentally safe system.

The Department of Energy owns a number of nuclear materials that require physical protection. This protection is required for the materials in transit as well as in storage. The resource capacity for protecting these materials in transit was allowed to decline after the end of the cold war. As Records of Decision regarding the disposition of surplus special nuclear materials (SNM) are implemented, the Department's secure transportation workload will increase dramatically. New resources cannot be added fast enough to support the growth in work scope unless secure shipping operations become more efficient. This paper describes our effort to model integrated secure shipping operations and to recommend changes to shipping plans that reduce workload and increase capacity.

OAK-B135 Floral organ identity is controlled by combinatorial action of homeotic genes expressed in different territories within the emerging flower. This review discusses recent progress in our understanding of floral homeotic genes, with an emphasis on how their region-specific expression is regulated.

The Rocky Flats Closure Site (Site) is in the process of stabilizing residual nuclear materials, decommissioning nuclear facilities, and remediating environmental media. A number of contaminated facilities have been decommissioned, including one building, Building 779, that contained gloveboxes used for plutonium process development but did little actual plutonium processing. The actual costs incurred to decommission this facility formed much of the basis or standards used to estimate the decommissioning of the remaining plutonium-processing buildings. Recent decommissioning activities in the first actual production facility, Building 771, implemented a number of process and procedural improvements. These include methods for handling plutonium contaminated equipment, including size reduction, decontamination, and waste packaging, as well as management improvements to streamline planning and work control. These improvements resulted in a safer working environment and reduced project cost, as demonstrated in the overall project efficiency. The topic of this paper is the analysis of how this improved efficiency is reflected in recent unit costs for activities specific to the decommissioning of plutonium facilities. This analysis will allow the Site to quantify the impacts on future Rocky Flats decommissioning activities, and to develop data for planning and cost estimating the decommissioning of future facilities. The paper discusses the …

The Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP) funds basic science research that will lead to reduced remediation cost, schedule, technical uncertainties, and risk for DOE's environmental clean up. The Tanks Focus Area (TFA) has partnered with EMSP to accomplish those same objectives for DOE's largest and most expensive remediation effort--to retrieve and immobilize the highly radioactive wastes that are our nation's chief nuclear defense program legacy. TFA has been tasked to facilitate success of the EMSP investment. The key for EMSP projects to contribute to this remediation effort is communication. First, scientists need to understand much more about how their scientific results would be used than they could ever learn from the original EMSP solicitation or by reading the referenced DOE needs statements. Second, the scientists' results must be communicated to the site problem holders in a usable form and in a timely manner such that important information gaps can still be filled by the EMSP project. Research results can be used in a variety of ways besides deployment of new hardware or a new process. When results are USED the site problem holders become ''users''. The important aspect that research results are to be used is captured in the TFA …

At the beginning of the design and construction of the STAR Detector, the collaboration assigned a team of physicists and engineers the responsibility of coordinating the construction of the detector. This group managed the general space assignments for each sub-system and coordinated the assembly and planning for the detector. Furthermore, as this group was the only STAR group with the responsibility of looking at the system as a whole, the collaboration assigned it several tasks that spanned the different sub-detectors. These items included grounding, rack layout, cable distribution, electrical, power and water, and safety systems. This paper describes these systems and their performance.