The Murmansk Initiative-RF (MI) was conceived to provide the Russian Federation (RF) with the capacity to manage low-level liquid radioactive waste (LLRW) and comply with the requirements of the London Convention that prohibit ocean dumping. The trilateral project among Norway, the RF, and the United States of America (U.S.) began in 1994 and was the first to utilize exclusively Russian subcontractors to upgrade and expand an existing LLRW treatment plant on the premises of RTP Atomflot in Murmansk, Russia. The project moved quickly through the design phase. Progress during the construction phase was somewhat slower because of difficulties with acquisition of hardware, inexperience with automated instrumentation and control equipment, and unexpected design changes in the cementation unit. The project advanced into the test-operation phase, which is currently underway, in June 2001. Initial runs with liquid waste have revealed that procedures for unloading spent ion-exchange sorbents could be improved and that sludges formed during removal of alkaline-earth metals should be compacted in order for the facility to operate at its full potential. Resolution of these issues is expected within the next few months.

Moving hazardous chemicals presents the risk of exposure for workers engaged in the activity and others that might be in the immediate area. Adverse affects are specific to the chemicals and can range from minor skin, eye, or mucous membrane irritation, to burns, respiratory distress, nervous system dysfunction, or even death. A case study is presented where in the interest of waste minimization; original shipping packaging was removed from a glass bottle of nitric acid, while moving corrosive liquid through a security protocol into a Radiological Control Area (RCA). During the transfer, the glass bottle broke. The resulting release of nitric acid possibly exposed 12 employees with one employee being admitted overnight at a hospital for observation. This is a clear example of administrative controls to reduce the generation of suspect radioactive waste being implemented at the expense of employee health. As a result of this event, material handling procedures that assure the safe movement of hazardous chemicals through a security protocol into a radiological control area were developed. Specifically, hazardous material must be transferred using original shipping containers and packaging. While this represents the potential to increase the generation of suspect radioactive waste in a radiological controlled area, arguments …

In Italy following a referendum held in 1987, nuclear energy has been phased out. Since 1998, a general site selection process covering the whole Italian territory has been under way. A GIS (Geographic Information System) methodology was implemented in three steps using the ESRI Arc/Info and Arc/View platforms. The screening identified approximately 0.8% of the Italian territory as suitable for locating the LLW Repository. 200 areas have been identified as suitable for the location of the LLW Repository, using a multiple exclusion criteria procedure (1:500,000), regional scale (1:100.000) and local scale (1:25,000-1:10,000). A methodology for evaluating these areas has been developed allowing, along with the evaluation of the long term efficiency of the engineered barrier system (EBS), the characterization of the selected areas in terms of physical and safety factors and planning factors. The first step was to identify, on a referenced FEPs list, a group of geomorphological, geological, hydrogeological, climatic and human behavior caused process and/or events, which were considered of importance for the site evaluation, taking into account the Italian situation. A site evaluation system was established ascribing weighted scores to each of these processes and events, which were identified as parameters of the new evaluation system. The …

Naturally occurring radioactive material is technologically concentrated in the piping in systems in the oil and gas industry, especially in the offshore facilities. The activity, mainly Ra-226, in the scales in the systems are often at levels classified as low level radioactive waste (LSA) in the industry. When the components and pipes are descaled for maintenance or recycling purposes, usually by high-pressure water jetting, the LSA scales arising constitute a significant quantity of radioactive waste for disposal. A new process is under development for the treatment of scales, where the radioactive solids are separated from the inactive. This would result in a much smaller fraction to be deposited as radioactive waste. The radioactive part recovered from the scales will be reduced to a stable non-metallic salt and because the volume is significantly smaller then the original material, will minimize the cost for disposal. The pipes, that have been cleaned by high pressure water jetting can either be reused or free released by scrapping and melting for recycling.

The Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor (BGRR) Historical Site Assessment (BNL 1999) identified contamination inside the Below Grade Ducts (BGD) resulting from the deposition of fission and activation products from the pile on the inner carbon steel liner during reactor operations. Due to partial flooding of the BGD since shutdown, some of this contamination may have leaked out of the ducts into the surrounding soils. The baseline remediation plan for cleanup of contaminated soils beneath the BGD involves complete removal of the ducts, followed by surveying the underlying and surrounding soils, then removing soil that has been contaminated above cleanup goals. Alternatively, if soil contamination around and beneath the BGD is either non-existent/minimal (below cleanup goals) or is very localized and can be ''surgically removed'' at a reasonable cost, the BGD can be decontaminated and left in place. The focus of this Department of Energy Accelerated Site Technology Deployment (DOE ASTD) project was to determine the extent (location, type, and level) of soil contamination surrounding the BGD and to present this data to the stakeholders as part of the Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) process. A suite of innovative characterization tools was used to complete the characterization of the soil surrounding the …

DOE's Office of River Protection (ORP) is readying itself to commence construction of a Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) that will start the process of turning Hanford tank waste into glass. The plant is state-of-the art and includes reasonable flexibility to improve operations as technology and operational understandings improve. During its 40 year design life the plant has the capability to treat half of the total volume of tank waste and reduce risk to the public by up to ninety percent. Looking beyond initial processing towards the project end state, however, it is apparent that ORP's baseline approach is part of the issue raised by the DOE Secretary when he said that $300 billion and 75 years is too costly and too long for DOE's environmental cleanups. ORP has reviewed its cost and schedule drivers and has started identifying areas where better technologies and risk-based strategies could substantially decrease its life cycle cost and schedule. Specific technologies under consideration will be discussed along with expected return on investment. ORP is totally committed to taking all steps necessary during cleanup to protect human health and the environment and to comply with appropriate regulations and commitments. But, ORP is also very conscious of …

This paper describes the progress on cleanup of the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP), an environmental management project located south of Buffalo, NY. The WVDP was the site of the only commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing facility to have operated in the United States (1966 to 1972). Former fuel reprocessing operations generated approximately 600,000 gallons of liquid high-level radioactive waste stored in underground tanks. The U.S. Congress passed the WVDP Act in 1980 (WVDP Act) to authorize cleanup of the 220-acre facility. The facility is unique in that it sits on the 3,345-acre Western New York Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC), which is owned by New York State through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has overall responsibility for the cleanup that is authorized by the WVDP Act, paying 90 percent of the WVDP costs; NYSERDA pays 10 percent. West Valley Nuclear Services Company (WVNSCO) is the management contractor at the WVDP. This paper will provide a description of the many accomplishments at the WVDP, including the pretreatment and near completion of vitrification of all the site's liquid high-level radioactive waste, a demonstration of technologies to characterize the remaining material in the …

In Russia, mixed oxide (MOX) fuel is produced in a pilot facility ''Paket'' at ''MAYAK'' Production Association. The Mining-Chemical Combine (MCC) has developed plans to design and build a dedicated industrial-scale plant to produce MOX fuel and fuel assemblies (FA) for VVER-1000 water reactors and the BN-600 fast-breeder reactor, which is pending an official Russian Federation (RF) site-selection decision. The design output of the plant is based on a production capacity of 2.75 tons of weapons plutonium per year to produce the resulting fuel assemblies: 1.25 tons for the BN-600 reactor FAs and the remaining 1.5 tons for VVER-1000 FAs. It is likely the quantity of BN-600 FAs will be reduced in actual practice. The process of nuclear disarmament frees a significant amount of weapons plutonium for other uses, which, if unutilized, represents a constant general threat. In France, Great Britain, Belgium, Russia, and Japan, reactor-grade plutonium is used in MOX-fuel production. Making MOX-fuel for CANDU (Canada) and pressurized water reactors (PWR) (Europe) is under consideration in Russia. If this latter production is added, as many as 5 tons of Pu per year might be processed into new FAs in Russia. Many years of work and experience are represented in …

RH TRU Waste is radioactive waste that requires shielding in addition to that provided by the container to protect people nearby from radiation exposure. By definition, the radiation dose rate at the outer surface of the container is greater than 200 millirem per hour and less than 1,000 rem per hour. The DOE is proposing a process for the characterization of RH TRU waste planned for disposal in the WIPP. This characterization process represents a performance-driven approach that satisfies the requirements of the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations for WIPP long-term performance, the transportation requirements of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Department of Transportation, as well as the technical safety requirements of RH TRU waste handling. The transportation, management and disposal of RH TRU waste is regulated by external government agencies as well as by the DOE itself. Externally, the characterization of RH-TRU waste for disposal at the WIPP is regulated by 20.4.1.500 New Mexico Administrative Code (incorporating 40 CFR 261.13) for the hazardous constituents and 40 CFR 194.24 for the radioactive constituents. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission certifies the shipping casks and the transportation system must meet DOT regulations. Internally, the DOE …

In the technical paper there is presented the information on the basic equipment and more than thirty-year experience of RFNC-VNIIEF activities in the sphere of producing highly enriched isotopes of actinide elements--thorium, uranium, neptunium, plutonium, americium and curium--for scientific researches and practical applications. Electromagnetic separator and radiochemical methods provide obtaining of superpure isotope samples for nuclear-physical radiometric and mass-spectrometric equipment, and also as tracers when analyzing environmental contamination. There are presented the structure of the laboratory occupied with these isotopes electromagnetic separation as well as the nomenclature and characteristics of the specimens supplied. There are stated science and engineering elaborations of technologies aimed at producing alpha-ray radiating radionuclides--thorium-229, thorium-228, actinium-225, radium-224--for the purpose of anti-cancer therapy using bismuth-212 and bismuth-213 produced by the specially developed generators. There are presented the basic directions of cooperation with other Russian Institutes in developing this promising line of conversion.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 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 …

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.

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 …

Engineers at the Mining and Chemical Combine nuclear facility, located in Zheleznogorsk, Russia, have developed a pulsating mixer/sluicer to mobilize a layer of consolidated, hardened sludge at the bottom of their 12-m-diameter by 30-m-high nuclear waste tanks. This waste has resisted mobilization by conventional sluicing jets. The new pulsating mixer/sluicer draws tank liquid into a pressure vessel, then expels it at elevated pressure either through a set of submerged mixing jets or a steerable through-air jet. Four versions (or generations) of this technology have been developed. Following testing of three other Russian mobilization and transfer systems at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a first generation of the new pulsating mixer/sluicer was identified for possible waste retrieval applications in U.S. high-level waste tanks (1). A second-generation pulsating mixer/sluicer was developed and successfully deployed in Tank TH-4 at the Oak Ridge Reservation, located in Tennessee, United States (2). A third-generation pulsating mixer/sluicer with a dual nozzle design was developed and is being tested for possible use by the Hanford Site's River Protection Project to retrieve waste from Tank 241-S-102, a single-shell tank containing radioactive saltcake and sludge. In cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy Tanks Focus Area, the Mining and Chemical Combine …

This paper describes the organization, planning and initial implementation of a DOE OST program to deploy proven, cost effective technologies into D&D programs throughout the complex. The primary intent is to accelerate closure of the projects thereby saving considerable funds and at the same time being protective of worker health and the environment. Most of the technologies in the ''toolkit'' for this program have been demonstrated at a DOE site as part of a Large Scale Demonstration and Deployment Project (LSDDP). The Mound Tritium D&D LSDDP served as the base program for the technologies being deployed in this project but other LSDDP demonstrated technologies or ready-for-use commercial technologies will also be considered. The project team will evaluate needs provided by site D&D project managers, match technologies against those needs and rank deployments using a criteria listing. After selecting deployments the project will purchase the equipment and provide a deployment engineer to facilitate the technology implementation. Other cost associated with the use of the technology will be borne by the site including operating staff, safety and health reviews etc. A cost and performance report will be prepared following the deployment to document the results.

The operation of the Weldon Spring Uranium Feed Materials Plant in St. Charles, MO between 1958 and 1966 resulted in the migration and emplacement of radioactive contaminants into surface water drainage systems. Multiple drainage systems, receiving from a variety of waste discharge points, combined to create unique and unexpected depositional environment. Discovery and investigation of the depositional environments was a significant technical challenge due to the complex nature of sediment movement and emplacement. The objective of this investigation was to show that application of the knowledge of geomorphic processes is an essential element of a complete stream characterization, pursuant to risk analysis and remediation. This paper sets out to describe many of the expected and unexpected findings of the investigations by the Weldon Spring Site Remedial Action Project (WSSRAP) into the placement and rework of contaminated sediments in stream systems. Information from this paper will be useful to other agencies and contractor personnel faced with the challenge of locating and quantifying contaminated sediments in seemingly haphazard fluvial depositional conditions.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the challenges faced by Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company in making the transition from an operating nuclear power plant to an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). Maine Yankee (MY) is a 900-megawatt Combustion Engineering pressurized water reactor whose architect engineer was Stone & Webster. Maine Yankee was put into commercial operation on December 28, 1972. It is located on an 820-acre site, on the shores of the Back River in Wiscasset, Maine about 40 miles northeast of Portland, Maine. During its operating life, it generated about 1.2 billion kilowatts of power, providing 25% of Maine's electric power needs and serving additional customers in New England. Maine Yankee's lifetime capacity factor was about 67% and it employed more than 450 people. The decision was made to shutdown Maine Yankee in August of 1997, based on economic reasons. Once this decision was made planning began on how to accomplish safe and cost effective decommissioning of the plant by 2004 while being responsive to the community and employees.