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 …

We present here computer modeling efforts to describe the time-dependent pressurization and gas-phase mole fractions inside sealed canisters containing actinide materials packaged with small (0.12 - 0.5 wt. %) amounts of water. The model is run using Chemkin software, and the chemical reaction mechanism includes gas generation due to radiolysis of adsorbed water, interfacial chemical reactions, and adsorption/desorption kinetics of water on PuO2 materials. The ultimate goal is to provide a verifiable computer model that can be used to predict problematic gas generation in storage forms and assure design criteria for short-term storage and transportation of less than well-characterized (with respect to gas generation) material classes. Our initial efforts are intended to assess pressurization and gas-phase mole fractions using well-defined 3013 container test cases. We have modeled gas generation on PuO2 with water loading up to 0.5 wt. %, at 300 and 525 K, for time frames of 3 years. Estimates of the initial H2 generation rates were determined using RadCalc and employed in the Chemkin model to assess time- and coverage-dependent system behavior. Results indicate that canister pressurization due to radiolysis is a relatively slow process, with pressure increases at 300 K of approximately 1.5 atm. for 5000 g …

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Various transport systems have been studied for the transportation of waste packages and buffer materials from the ground surface to the underground radioactive waste disposal facility, such as a lift (vertical shaft type) and a vehicle (inclined tunnel type)(1). This paper introduces pneumatic capsule pipeline system as a new method for the transportation. The system is designed to transport pneumatically waste packages and buffer materials between the surface and the underground as shown in Fig. 1. The system is also used to transport excavated debris, equipment and materials during construction. It is economical to utilize the system for air ventilation in addition to be used for transportation. The capsule moving in the shaft can be controlled at appropriate speed by adjusting the air pressure in the shaft. This paper discusses the applicability of the system to the geological disposal based on analytical simulation and experimental study.

Siempelkamp Nukleartechnik GmbH is engaged in the optimization of decommissioning processes for several years. With respect of the complexity of the projects, the time frame and the budget it is necessary to find more effective ways to handle those tasks in the near future. The decommissioning and dismantling will be achieved in six steps taking into account that some processing equipment can be dismantled before and the rest only after the High Active Liquid Waste Concentrate (HAWC) has been vitrified approximately by mid of 2005. After the successful beginning of the remote dismantling of the main process cells from March 2000, the next remote dismantling project at the WAK was initiated April 2000.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration of the Nevada Operations Office (NNSA/NV) operates and maintains two active facilities on the Nevada Test Site (NTS) that dispose defense-generated low-level radioactive waste (LLW), mixed radioactive waste, and ''classified waste'' in shallow trenches and pits. The operation and maintenance of the LLW disposal sites are self-regulated by the DOE under DOE Order 435.1. This Order requires formal review of a performance assessment (PA) and composite analysis (CA; assessment of all interacting radiological sources) for each LLW disposal system followed by an active maintenance program that extends through and beyond the site closure program. The Nevada disposal facilities continue to receive NTS-generated LLW and defense-generated LLW from across the DOE complex. The PA/CAs for the sites have been conditionally approved and the facilities are now under a formal maintenance program that requires testing of conceptual models, quantifying and attempting to reduce uncertainty, and implementing confirmatory and long-term background monitoring, all leading to eventual closure of the disposal sites. To streamline and reduce the cost of the maintenance program, the NNSA/NV is converting the deterministic PA/CAs to probabilistic models using GoldSim, a probabilistic simulation computer code. The output of probabilistic models …

As various issues make the continued usage of high-level waste storage tanks attractive, there is an increasing need to sharpen the assessment of their structural integrity. One aspect of a structural integrity program, nondestructive evaluation, is the focus of this paper. In September 2000, a program to support the sites was initiated jointly by Tanks Focus Area and Characterization, Monitoring, and Sensor Technologies Crosscutting Program of the Office of Environmental Management, Department of Energy (DOE). The vehicle was the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, one of the National Science Foundation's Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers that is operated in close collaboration with the Ames Laboratory, USDOE. The support activities that have been provided by the center will be reviewed. Included are the organization of a series of annual workshops to allow the sites to share experiences and develop coordinated approaches to common problems, the development of an electronic source of relevant information, and assistance of the sites on particular technical problems. Directions and early results on some of these technical assistance projects are emphasized. Included are the discussion of theoretical analysis of ultrasonic wave propagation in curved plates to support the interpretation of tandem synthetic aperture focusing data to detect flaws in …

High level waste (HLW) partitioning concept includes separation of a long-lived fraction following by its immobilization in ceramics. Improved process flow sheet suggested for implementation at PA ''Mayak'' implies production of a long-lived HLW fraction with rare earth elements (REE) as major components, Am and Cm as minor constituents, and only traces of U, Pu, and corrosion products (iron group elements). Because most of the elements occurred are trivalent, one of the most promising host phase is supposed to be REE aluminate or ferrate with perovskite structure. Major advantages of the perovskite are incorporation of trivalent REEs and actinides, simultaneous incorporation of residual corrosion products, flexibility of perovskite structure allowing accommodation of traces of tetravalent actinides (U, Pu), high chemical durability, and high HLW volume reduction. High melting points of the perovskites makes problematic melting route, therefore, cold pressing and sintering method is more preferable. In order to reduce sintering temperature pre-treatment of ceramic batches with high mechanical energy has been studied.

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It is planned to dismantle the TRIGA reactor facility at the Medical University of Hannover (MHH). Radioactive waste resulting from this dismantling will be disposed of externally, any remaining materials as well as the building structures will then be measured to ensure there is no residual activity. In preparation for this and to plan the techniques which will be used to dismantle the reactor, calculations were made in order to determine the amount of activity and the dose rates for the reactor tank and its inside components as well as for the biological shield and its radial beam tube.

This paper describes the ongoing integrated life-cycle optimization efforts to achieve both design flexibility and design stability for activities associated with the Waste Treatment Plant at Hanford. Design flexibility is required to support the Department of Energy Office of River Protection Balance of Mission objectives, and design stability to meet the Waste Treatment Plant construction and commissioning requirements in order to produce first glass in 2007. The Waste Treatment Plant is a large complex project that is driven by both technology and contractual requirements. It is also part of a larger overall mission, as a component of the River Protection Project, which is driven by programmatic requirements and regulatory, legal, and fiscal constraints. These issues are further complicated by the fact that both of the major contractors involved have a different contract type with DOE, and neither has a contract with the other. This combination of technical and programmatic drivers, constraints, and requirements will continue to provide challenges and opportunities for improvement and optimization. The Bechtel National, Inc. team is under contract to engineer, procure, construct, commission and test the Waste Treatment Plant on or ahead of schedule, at or under cost, and with a throughput capacity equal to or …

Envirocare of Utah, Inc. operates a Low Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW) and 11e. disposal facility in the Utah west dessert. Envirocare disposes of LLRW in above ground cells. A seven-foot excavation lined with two feet of clay comprises the cell floor. Approximately 22 feet of waste is then placed in the cell in one-foot thick compacted lifts. The cover system consists of a nine-foot clay radon barrier and three-foot rock erosion barrier. This is required to prevent radon emissions at the surface of the radon barrier from exceeding 20 pCi/m2s, the radon release standard in Criterion 6 of 10 CFR 40. The required thickness of the current clay radon barrier cover was based on the original radon flux model used to evaluate the safety of Envirocare's proposed LLRW and 11e.(2) license operations. Because of the lack of actual measurements, universally conservative values were used for the long-term moisture content and the radon diffusion coefficients of the waste and radon barrier material. Since receiving its license, Envirocare has collected a number of samples from the radon barrier and waste material to determine their actual radon attenuation characteristics, including the long-term moisture content and the associated radon diffusion coefficient. In addition, radon …

Due in large part to the number of nuclear facilities that make up the DOE complex, DOE-EM work has historically been paperwork intensive and driven by extensive regulations. Requirements for non-nuclear facilities are often grouped with those of nuclear facilities, driving up costs. Kaiser-Hill was interested in applying a commercial model to demolition of these facilities and wanted to apply necessary and sufficient standards to the work activities, but avoid applying unnecessary requirements. Faced with demolishing hundreds of uncontaminated or non-radiologically contaminated facilities, Kaiser-Hill has developed a subcontracting strategy to drastically reduce the cost of demolishing these facilities at Rocky Flats. Aiming to tailor the demolition approach of such facilities to more closely follow commercial practices, Kaiser-Hill recently released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the demolition of the site's former central administration facility. The RFP significantly reduced requirements for compliance with specific DOE directives. Instead, the RFP required subcontractors to comply with health and safety requirements commonly found in the demolition of similar facilities in a commercial setting. This resulted in a number of bids from companies who have normally not bid on DOE work previously and at a reduced cost over previous approaches. This paper will discuss the …

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.

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.

The development of the nuclear techniques in Romania and the commissioning of the WWR-S research reactor belonging to the Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering-(NIPNE) demand to deal with the storage and disposal of radioactive waste. The institute decided to store the radioactive waste inside a building that belonged to the Defense of Capital City System (the Army) called ''Fort'' which is located on the Magurele site. There are still about 800 packages containing cement conditioned radioactive in the storage facility of NIPNE which need to be repackaged, because they are in an advanced state of degradation. The new package obtained the regulatory design approval. It consists in an internal basket in which the degraded package are placed, a cement containment system, and an external cask in which the basket are placed and conditioned with the cement.

During the second session of the 107th Congress, the House and Senate will consider many different budgetary measures. Most of these measures will pertain to FY2003 (which will begin on October 1, 2002) and beyond, but some may make adjustments to the budget for FY2002. As the congressional session progresses, this issue brief will describe House and Senate action on major budgetary legislation within the framework of the congressional budget process and other procedural requirements.

Rocky Flats Closure Project (Site) includes several multi-year decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) projects which, over the next four years, will dismantle and demolish four major plutonium facilities, four major uranium facilities, and over 400 additional facilities of different types. The projects are currently generating large quantities of transuranic, low-level, mixed, hazardous, and sanitary wastes. A previous paper described the initial conceptual estimates and methods, and the evolution of these methods based on the actual results from the decommissioning of a ''pilot'' facility. The waste estimating method that resulted from that work was used for the waste estimates incorporated into the current Site baseline. This paper discusses subsequent developments on the topic of waste estimating that have occurred since the baseline work. After several months of operation under the current Site baseline, an effort was initiated to either validate or identify improvements to the waste basis-of-estimate. Specific estimate and estimating method elements were identified for additional analysis based on the element's potential for error and the impact of that error on Site activities. The analysis took advantage of actual, more detailed data collected both from three years additional experience in decommissioning a second plutonium facility and from experience in deactivating certain …

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The search for concrete radioactive waste management generates bitter debates, and mobilizes not only in the restricted circles of convinced supporters and opponents, but also in relatively large circles of the civil society. How would it be possible to go forward in such a situation and ensure in both the short and long terms a valid and socially acceptable management of radioactive waste? In this presentation, a few elements of reflection are proposed: on French experience as I understand it after three years as Chairman of Andra; on the results of the Forum for Stakeholders Confidence created by the OECD/NEA; and on the comments of EDRAM, an association of managers from major waste-management organizations; to those, I should add the observation of a European Project called COWAM (Communities Waste Management), consisting of a group of local communities confronted with radioactive-waste management.

After more than 20 years of carefully planned and reviewed scientific field work by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Geological Survey, and numerous other organizations, Secretary of Energy Abraham concluded in January that the Yucca Mountain site is suitable, within the meaning of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, for development as a permanent nuclear waste and spent fuel repository. In February, the Secretary recommended to the President that the site be developed for licensed disposal of these wastes, and the President transmitted this recommendation to Congress. This paper summarizes key technical and national interest considerations that provided the basis for the recommendation. It also discusses the program's near-term plans for repository development if Congress designates the site.

This paper presents a discussion of the demolition of the Building 788 cluster at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS) in Golden, Colorado. The Building 788 Cluster was a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permitted storage facilities and ancillary structures. Topics covered include the methods employed for Project Planning, Regulatory Compliance, Waste Management, Hazard Identification, Radiological Controls, Risk Management, Field Implementation, and Cost Schedule control, and Lessons Learned and Project Closeout.

In a period of approximately 40 years prior to 1994, the German Federal Government had spent about {approx} 15 billion to promote nuclear technology. These funds were earmarked for R&D projects as well as demonstration facilities which took up operation between 1960 and 1980. These BMBF (Federal Ministry for Research) facilities were mainly located at the sites of the federal research centers at Juelich and Karlsruhe (the research reactors AVR, FR2, FRJ-1, KNK, and MZFR, the pilot reprocessing plant WAK) but included also the pilot plants SNR-300 and THTR-300 for fast breeder and high-temperature gas-cooled reactor development, respectively, and finally the salt mine Asse which had been used for waste emplacement prior to conversion into an underground research laboratory. In the meantime, almost all of these facilities were shut down and are now in a state of decommissioning and dismantling. This is mainly due to the facts that R&D needs are satisfied or do not exist any more and that, secondly, the lack of political consensus led to the cancellation of advanced nuclear technology.