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RESEARCH NEEDS
FOR
HIGH-LEVEL WASTE
STORED IN TANKS AND BINS AT U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SITES
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SCIENCE PROGRAM
Committee on Long-Term Research Needs for
Radioactive High-Leve~ Waste at
Department of Energy Sites
Board on Rad inactive Waste Management
Division on Earth and Life Studies
National Research Counci ~
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the
Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn
from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy
of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee
responsible for the report were chosen for their special competence and with
regard for appropriate balance.
Support for this study was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, under
Grant No. DE-FC01-99EW59049. All opinions, findings, conclusions, and rec-
ommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the Department of Energy.
International Standard Book Number: 0-309-07565-3
Additional copies of this report are available from:
National Academy Press
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Box 285
Washington, DC 20055
800-624-6242
202-334-3313 (i n the Wash i ngton Metropol itan Area)
http://www.nap.edu
Cover: The photographs in the background show one bin containing calcined
high-level waste at the Idaho Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (upper
left) and six tanks at the Hanford Site before they were buried (lower right).
Copyright 2001 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
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National Acaclemy of Sciences
National Acaclemy of Engineering
Institute of Meclicine
National Research Council
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating
society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research,
dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the
general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress
in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal gov-
ernment on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the
National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the char-
ter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstand-
ing engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its
members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for
advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also
sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages
education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers.
Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of
Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions
in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The
Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences
by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and,
upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and educa-
tion. Dr. Kenneth Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of
Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology
with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the feder-
al government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by
the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both
the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in
providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engi-
neering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies
and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair-
man and vice-chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
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COMMITTEE ON LONG-TERM RESEARCH NEEDS FOR HIGH-LEVEL
WASTE AT THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SITES
MICHAEL CORRADINI, Chair, University of Wisconsin, Madison
DAVID CAMPBELL, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (retired), Oak Ridge,
Tennessee
MICHELINE DRAYE, Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Paris, France
CHARLES DRUMMOND 111, Ohio State University, Columbus
PETER HAYWARD, Eutechnics Consulting, Inc., Pinawa, Manitoba, Canada
LINN HOBBS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
EDWARD LAHODA, Westinghouse Electric Science and Technology
Department, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
ROBIN ROGERS, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
BEN STERN BERG, U niversity of Arizona, Tucson
EDWIN ZEBROSKI, Elgis Consulting, Inc., Los Altos, California
LIAISON TO THE BOARD ON RADIOACTIVE WASTE
MANAG EMENT
ROBERT M. BERNERO, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (retired),
Gaithersburg, Maryland
STAFF
BARBARA PASTINA, Staff Officer
LAURA D. LLANOS, Senior Project Assistant
MATTHEW BAXTER-PARROTT, Project Assistant
iv
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BOARD ON RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
JOHN F. AHEARNE, Chair, Sigma Xi and Duke University, Research Triangle
Park, North Carolina
CHARLES MCCOMBIE, Vice-Chair, Consultant, Gipf-Oberfrick, Switzerland
ROBERT M. BERNERO, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (retired),
Gaithersburg, Maryland
ROBERT J. BUDNITZ, Future Resources Associates, Inc., Berkeley, California
GREGORY R. CHOPPI N. Florida State University, Tal lahassee
RODNEY EWING, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
JAMES H. JOHNSON, JR., Howard University, Washington, D.C.
ROGER E. KASPERSON, Stockholm Environment Institute, Sweden
NIKOLAY LAVEROV, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
JANE C.S. LONG, Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada, Reno
ALEXANDER MACLACHLAN, E.l. du Pont de Nemours & Company (retired),
Wilmington, Delaware
WILLIAM A. MILLS, Oak Ridge Associated Universities (retired), Olney,
Maryland
MARTI N J. STEI N DLER, Argonne National Laboratory (retired), Downers
Grove, Illinois
ATSUYU Kl SUZU Kl, U n iversity of Tokyo, Japan
JOHN J. TAYLOR, Electric Power Research Institute (retired), Palo Alto,
California
VICTORIA J. TSCH I N KEL, Landers and Parsons, Tal lahassee, F lorida
STAFF
KEVI N D. CROWLEY, Di rector
MICAH D. LOWENTHAL, Staff Officer
BARBARA PASTINA, Staff Officer
GREGORY H. SYMMES, Senior Staff Officer
JOH N R. Wl LEY, Sen for Staff Officer
SUSAN B. MOCKLER, Research Associate
TON I GREEN LEAF, Administrative Associate
DARLA J. THOMPSON, Senior Project Assistant/Research Assistant
LATRICIA C. BAI LEY, Senior Project Assistant
LAURA D. LLANOS, Senior Project Assistant
ANGELA R. TAYLOR, Senior Project Assistant
JAMES YATES, J R., Office Assistant
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List of Report Reviewers
·eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen
for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance
with procedures approved by the National Research Council Report
Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to pro-
vide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in
making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the
report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and
responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft
manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the delibera-
tive process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review
of this report:
Philip Clark, Sr., GPU Nuclear Corporation (retired)
Wil liam J. Hinze, Purdue University
Milton Levenson, Bechtel International (retired)
Werner Lutze, U n iversity of New Mexico
Dale Niesz, Rutgers University
Martin Steindler, Argonne National Laboratory
Victoria ]. Tschinkel, Landers and Parsons
Raymond G. Wymer, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (retired)
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many construc-
tive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the
conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the
report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by
Clarence Al len of the California Institute of Technology. Appointed by
the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain
that an independent examination of this report was carried out in
accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments
were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this
report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
i s t o f R e p o r t R e v i e w e r s
vii
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Preface
·~. ~
The objective of this study is to provide recommendations to the
U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Environmental Management
Science Program on the development of a long-term basic research
agenda to address problems in the management of high-level waste
(HLW) stored in tanks or bins at DOE sites. This report does not address
other H LW-related problems.
The complete statement of task is shown in Sidebar P.1 below. This
study was sponsored by DOE's Office of Environmental Management.
To accomplish this project, the National Research Council empanelled
a 1 0-member committee within the Board on Radioactive Waste
Management. The committee members were chosen for their expertise
in relevant domains such as HLW management issues at DOE sites, risk
assessment, nuclear and chemical engineering, radiation and analytical
chemistry, materials science and engineering, HLW processing and
· ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ .e
SIDEBAR P.1 STATEMENT OF TASK
The objective of this study is to provide recommendations to the Department of Energy's
Environmental Management (EM) Science Program on the development of a long-term basic research
agenda to address HLW problems at DOE sites.The report will accomplish the following:
Identify significant HLW problems that cannot be addressed effectively with current technolo-
g~es.
Recommend areas of research where the EM Science Program can make significant contribu-
tions to solving these problems and adding to scientific knowledge generally.
In recommending specific areas of research,the committee should take into account,where possible,
the agendas of other HLW-related research programs.The committee may also consider and make rec-
ommendations, as appropriate, on the processes by which (1 ) future research needs can be identified
and (2) successful research results can be applied to DOE's HLW problems.
P r e f a c e
ix
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immobilization forms, and geotechnical engineering. Two of the com-
mittee members were chosen from foreign countries (France and
Canada) with HEW and/or spent nuclear fuel management programs.
This study could not have been completed without the help of vari-
ous individuals and organizations. The committee would especially like
to thank Carolyn Huntoon, Gerald Boyd, Mark Gilbertson, and Ker-Chi
Chang of DOE's Office of Environmental Management for their contin-
ued support and assistance throughout this study. The committee
acknowledges the hard work of the individuals who organized site tours
and briefings. In particular, the committee thanks Don Woodrich,
(Handford Site), Jerome Morin, Thomas Gutmann, and Loucien
Papouchado (Savannah River Site). The committee also recognizes the
efforts of all the speakers who gave presentations during the informa-
tion-gathering phase of this study (see Appendix F).
The following individuals provided additional information to the
committee: Carol Jantzen, Ned Bibler, and Walter Tamosaitis (Savannah
River Site); Kenneth Picha, Theodore Pietrok, Kurt Gerdes, Joe Cruz, and
Pete Gibbons (Tanks Focus Area); Greg Mitchem, and Tony Knepp
(Hanford Site); Ian Pegg and Isabelle Muller (The Catholic University of
America); Robert Perdue (Westinghouse Science and Technology
Department); Yves Poitevin (Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique,
France); Jean -Pau I Mou I i n (Socitete General e pou r les Tech n iq ues
Nouvelles, France); and Maurice Tarnero (Compagnie Generale des
Mati eres N u c I eai res, Fran ce).
The committee also thanks the following staff of the National
Research Council's Board on Radioactive Waste Management for their
su pport, deaf ication, and hard work i n gu id i ng the report from its early
stages through publication: Barbara Pastina, Kevin Crowley, Laura
Llanos, and Matthew Baxter-Parrot.
This report reflects a consensus of the committee and has been
reviewed in accordance with the procedures of the National Research
Council. As is the normal practice of the National Academies, commit-
tee members do not represent the views of their institutions, but form
an independent body to author this report.
Michael Corradini
Chai rman
May 2001
S U B S U R F A C E S C ~ E N C E
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Contents
·~.e
Executive Summary
1 Introduction
2 Overview of HLW Challenges at DOE Sites
3 Characterization
4 Retrieval and Pretreatment
5 Immobilization
6 Tank Closure and Other Long-Term Issues
7 EMSP Research Portfolio: Technological Risk and
Desired Attributes
8 Summary
References
Appendixes
A I nterim Report
B Analysis of the EMSP Research Portfol
C Spent Nuclear Fuel Issues
E
F
G
H
'lo
EMSP Overview and HEW Research Program
Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
List of Presentations
Glossary
List of Acronyms
C 0 n t e n t s
7
13
28
37
48
65
77
83
87
97
108
1 1 4
1 1 5
120
124
126
133
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