Environmental fate and transport of the toxic air pollutant mercury (Hg) is currently a high-priority regional concern for the INEEL, and national and global concern for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). At the INEEL’s Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC), significant quantities (est. 40 kg/year) of Hg may have been released over 37 years of Environmental Management’s (EM) High-Level Waste (HLW) treatment operations. The EPA is very concerned about the continued global buildup of Hg in the atmosphere and aquatic ecosystems, and has recently invested heavily in Hg research to better understand its complex environmental cycling.1,2 The Environmental Sampling work began in FY99 as a joint INEEL/U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) field research effort to (a) better understand the fate and potential impacts of Hg emissions from the INEEL’s HLW treatment operations (operational component) and (b) contribute at a national level to the scientific understanding of local, regional, and global Hg fate and transport (research component). The USGS contributed snow sampling support in the field (Water Resources Division, Salt Lake City) and laboratory analysis of all samples (Wisconsin District Mercury Research Laboratory).

This report provides an update to the Sodium Bearing Waste (SBW) Technology Development Roadmap generated a year ago. It outlines progress made to date and near-term plans for the technology development work necessary to support processing SBW. In addition, it serves as a transition document to the Risk Management Plan (RMP) required by the Project per DOE Order 413.3, “Program and Project Management for the Acquisition of Capital Assets.” Technical uncertainties have been identified as design basis elements (DBEs) and captured in a technical baseline database. As the risks are discovered, assessed, and mitigated, the status of the DBEs in the database will be updated and tracked to closure.