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Appendix D ·eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee EMSP Overview and HEW Research Program The Department of Energy's EMSP was created in 1996 by the 1 04th Congress within the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act to stimulate basic research for environmental cleanup of the nation's nuclear weapons complex. Congress directed the department to "provide sufficient attention and resources to longer-term basic science research which needs to be done to ulti- mately reduce cleanup costs . . . develop a program that takes advantage of laboratory and university expertise, and . . . seek new and innovative cleanup methods to replace current conventional approaches which are often costly and ineffective" (Congress, 1 996~. The mission of the EMSP is the following:4 · develop a targeted, long-term basic research agenda to reduce cleanup costs and risks to workers and the public; · bridge the gap between broad fundamental research and needs-driven applied technology; and · serve as a stimulus for focusing the nation's science infrastruc- ture on critical environmental problems. Since its inception in 1996, the EMSP has awarded 306 research pro- jects in seven environmental management problem areas, classified as fol lows: 1 . H igh-level waste 2. Mixed and transu ran ic waste ~ Environmental Management Science Program Annual Report. FY 2000. DOE/EM-05 69. [On I i ne] . Avai lable: http://emsp.em.doe.gov/pdfs/2000ann ual. pdf [May 23, 2001 ]. A p p e n d i x D 115
3. Deactivation and decommissioning 4. Subsurface contamination Spent nuclear fuel Nuclear materials Health, ecology, and risk The year 2000 breakdown of EMSP funding by problem area are shown i n Figu re D. 1 . A selection of the "most successfu I projects" as defined by the EMSP, including eight projects that have been imple- mented i nto the appl fed TEA program, is shown i n Sidebar D. 1 . Office of Environmental Management and the EMSP The EMSP is a collaborative partnership between the EM and the SC. The Office of Science and Technology (OST), within EM, and the Office of Basic Science, within SC, manage the EMSP, and the DOE's Idaho Operation Office administers it. The organization chart of the EMSP is shown in Figure D.2. The OST provides the EM with basic research, risk assessment, and technology development and deploy- ment in nuclear weapons cleanup activities. The EMSP is in charge of the basic research part of the OST program. The EMSP research has explicit links to problem holders including technical staff, managers, and stakeholder advisory groups at the sites. The EMSP collaborates particularly closely with applied research and development units within OST called "focus areas." The focus areas FIGURE D. 1 Year 2000 breakdown of EMSP funding by problem area. The total funding through 2000 awards for the EMSP budget Mixed Waste has been $254.3 million. In 10% 2001 the total EMSP appro- priations were $37 million. SOURCE: DOE- Environmental Management Science Program. High-Level Waste 26% Health/Ecology/ ~ Deactivation & Risk Decommissioning 1 0% 8% Subsurface Contamination ~1 41 % - - Nuclear Materials 3% L Spent Nuclear Fuel 2% H ~ G H - L E V E E W A S T E
SIDEBAR D.1 EMSP"SUCCESS STORIES' As identified by the EMSP, examples of successful research projects within the HEW problem area (the project identification number is shown in parenthesis) are the following: Chemical Speciation of Strontium, Americium, and Curium in High Level Waste: Predictive Modeling of Phase Partitioning During Tank Processing (HLW54621)* On-Line Slurry Viscosity and Concentration Measure as a Real-Time Stream Characterization Tool (HLW54890) Quantifying Silica Reactivity in Subsurface Environments: Controls of Reaction Affinity and Solute Matrix on Quartz and SiO2 Glass Dissolution Kinetics (HLW55042)* Design and Synthesis of the Next Generation of Crown Ethers for Waste Separations (HLW55087)* An Alternative Host Matrix Based on Iron Phosphate Glasses for the Vitrification of Specialized Nuclear Waste Forms (MW55110) Acoustic Probe for Solid-Gas-Liquid Suspensions (HLW55179) · Research Program to Investigate the Fundamental Chemistry of Technetium (HLW60296) · New Silicotitanate Waste Forms: Development and Characterization (HLW60345)* · Architectural Design Criteria for F-Block Metal Ion Sequestering Agents (MW54679) · Supramolecular Chemistry of Selective Anion Recognition for Anions of Environmental Relevance (MW54864) The NOX System in Nuclear Waste (HLW55229) Reactivity of Peroxynitrite: Implications for Hanford Waste Management and Remediation (HLW59982) New Anion-Exchange Resins for Improved Separations of Nuclear Materials (MW54770) · Novel Miniature Spectrometer for Remote Chemical Detection (MW60231) Foaming in Radioactive Waste Treatment and Immobilization Processes (HLW60143)* Millimeter-Wave Measurements of High-Level and Low-Activity Glass Melts (HLW65435)* · Rational Design of Metal Ion Sequestering Agents (HLW60362)* · Precipitation and Deposition of Aluminum-Containing Phases in Tank Wastes (HLW65411) *EMSP projects now integrated within TFA programs. develop technologies to address radioactive and hazardous waste issues focusing on specific problems. For HLW-related research, the EMSP closely collaborates with the TFA, which is concerned with HEW in the tanks and processing operations. Although they address the same problems, the TFA and EMSP pro- grams are very different. The former has a short-term focus and aims at applied research. The latter addresses the more fundamental issues of underlying science and engineering technology and has a longer time frame to develop new and original science. The EMSP also col- A p p e n d i x D 117
1 1 ' 1 Under Secretary for Nuclear Security . . Under Secretary for . Support Staff Office of Science - Advanced Scientific Computing Resources ~ Office of Science and Technology - Fusion Energy Sciences High Energy and Nuclear Physics Basic Energy Sciences - Biological & Environmental Research Assistant Secretary for Environmental Mananement Idaho Operations Office Technology Development and Demonstration . Assistant Manager for Research & Development . Technology Application Long-Term Stewardship Basic and Applied Research \ \ \ \ .1 EMSP Office of R&D Technical Support Energy R&D Division Environmental R&D Division Science Program Office FIGURE D.2 EMSPorganiza- laborates with the Site Technical Coordinating Groups (STCGs) in tion chars within the Office charge of compiling a list of science needs and communicating tech- ofEnvironmental nology issues among site projects, technology providers, DOE sites, Management.SOURCE: regulators, and other stakeholders. DOE-Environmental A "science need," as defined by the EMSP, is a cleanup problem, Management Science either now or in the future, that cannot be addressed practically with Program. current knowledge or technology. In the past, science needs were identified exclusively by stakeholder input. A stakeholder is anyone with an interest in DOE activities or anyone who may be affected by DOE activities. Previously, science needs for the EMSP2 were drawn mainly from the STCGs and the focus areas. High-level waste research needs were usual Iy identified by the TEA. Figure D.3 illustrates the EMSP selection process for research awards. From the identification of needs, the EMSP develops a solici tation for research proposals among universities and national labora- tories. Proposals undergo a two-step review. The first is for scientific merit by an external panel of experts under the auspices of DOE's SC. The second consists of an EM relevance review, performed in collabo- ration with TEA staff to ensure that the research project has a high potential to contribute, directly or indirectly, to the cleanup of the sites. The projects are funded on a three-year basis, with the possibili- ty of renewal. Renewals are also submitted to the same two-step com- petitive peer review process. 2The EMSP needs database is accessible via the World Wide Web (at the URL http://emsp .em.doe.gov). H ~ G H - L E V E E W A S T E 118
NAS and other advisory groups FIGURE D.3 Process for the selection of EMSP research projects. Research needs are submitted by the Site Technical Coordinating Groups (STCGs) and by the NationalAcademy of Sciences (NAS), among others. SOURCE: DOE- Environmental Management Science Program. A p p e n d i x D 119
