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Appendix D Disposal Sites and Operationsi BARNWELL, SOUTH CAROLINA Chem-Nuclear's Barnwell, South Carolina, low-level radioactive waste facility has been in commercial operation since 1971. The 235-acre facility occupies property owned by the State of South Carolina ant! leased to Chem-Nuclear Systems. The Barnwell Waste Management Facility operates under the authority of Radioactive Material License 097 issued by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). About 28 million cubic feet or 90°/O of the available disposal volume has been used. Much of low-level radioactive waste looks like ordinary trash. It consists of contaminated wood, concrete, glass, metal, fabric, paper and resins. All waste accepted for disposal must be in a dry, solid form. No liquid waste is accepted for disposal. No toxic chemical waste or high-level radioactive wastes, such as spent fuel Tom nuclear reactors, are acceptable at the disposal site. . . $. Prior to disposal, the radioactive waste is packaged inside containers for safe handling and transport. Once at the Barnwell site, these waste containers are placed in large concrete vaults located in engineered earthen trenches (disposal cells) excavated up to 25 feet below grade. ~ Information in this Appendix was based in internet material posted by each operator, as noted herein. It has not been evaluated by the committee. 59
The principal disposal area is the trench itself. Just as the waste must be in a dry, solid form, the design of the trench the vaults anr1 the methnA of filling them k'~Pr~c; the , . ~ . . ~ A,, ^ ,, ~ ~$,~_411 1~lJ~ LIl~ waste dry. By minimizing the contact between the waste and rainwater, the disposal system reduces the possibility of radioactive materials entering the natural environment. The clay and sand soil of the Barnwell facility has been in place for millions of years. Each trench excavated in this material includes a drainage collection system sloping toward a French drain that leads to a sump. Standpipes allow monitoring of rainwater should it enter the trench. A sand layer covers the bottom of the trench. Technicians at the disposal site place the waste containers in large concrete containers, or vaults. When a vault is full, its concrete lid is put in place. One to two additional vaults may be placed on top until the vaults are stacked up to three high. Vaults provide long- term structural stability for the completed trench. Backs soil is placed around and over the filled concrete vaults. Finally, an engineered cap consisting of multiple layers of sand, clay, high density polyethylene and top soil covers the trench area. Shallow rooted grasses planted on top of the cap control erosion. This cap serves as a barrier to help isolate the trench from rainwater infiltration. Since 1990, Chem-Nuclear has installed engineered caps on older, filled trenches at the disposal site. A buffer zone he.tw~n the tr`~n~hPc ulna the n~ar-ct Err Fir AWAY ^ additional margin of safety. ~~ _- ~~ ~~·~1~ ~lw~lt,y Aces> all The Barnwell site is one of the world's most heavily studied and monitored parcels of land. A comprehensive environmental monitoring program includes air, surface water, groundwater, vegetation and soil samples. In addition to an extensive network of monitoring wells both on and off-site, an on-site weather station records wind speed, temperature and humidity. Low-level radioactive waste decays relatively quickly to insignificant levels. The rate of decay and the concentration of radionucTides varies widely from one kind of low- leve] waste to another. Of the waste disposed at the Barnwell facility, about 90 percent of the radioactivity will have decayed within 100 years after the site closes. A long term care fund is set up and held in escrow by the state to pay for monitoring and maintenance during the institutional control period. SOURCE: <http:// www.chemnuclear.com~ 60 Interim Report
CLIVE, UTAH Envirocare of Utah disposes of waste material in above-ground, engineered disposal cells located near Clive, Utah. The cells are patterned after DOE and EPA specifications that meet 40 CFR 264 and NRC disposal requirements. Mixed waste materials are placed using the same procedures as for low level radioactive and NORM materials. Disposal Practices Debris Waste . Regular Debris. Envirocare's procedures for placement of all non-soil like or solid debris material is designed to minimize the possibility of voids that would compromise cell integrity through settlement. Regular sized debris is placed in 12-inch lifts, each of which is compacted to 90 percent of its optimum density in a continuous cut ant! cover process. . Oversized Debris. Materials that exceed the dimensions specified as "regular" in ~ . ~ .. . . . . Envirocare s Radioactive Materials License (at this date, 12' x 12' x 10") and/or materials with density greater than 70 pounds per cubic foot, are handled one of two ways: 1) Materials are placed in the lift and soil is compacted in and around the debris to eliminate voids; 2) Materials are placed in forms in the cell, after which a controlled low strength material (CESM) or "flowable fill" is poured to create a monolithic form to fill the void spaces. Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM! Disposal operations for material have been performed in accordance with Envirocare's Radioactive Material License (UT 2300249~. Envirocare accepts and disposes of NORM material for direct disposal. NORM material is mainly shipped bulk via rail. Envirocare currently has the capacity to dispose of 2 Million cubic yards of NORM waste. Low-I~evel Radioactive Waste . Envirocare is licensed to accept Class A Low-Level Radioactive Waste for disposal. The State of Utah, an NRC-Agreement State, maintains the licensing responsibility for low-level waste management under the Envirocare Radioactive Materials License. 1 le.(2! Byproduct Material The disposal of 1 le.~2) waste is in accordance with Envirocare's 1 le.~2) materials license (SMC-15 59) issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Envirocare accepts and disposes of 1 le.~2) byproduct material for direct disposal. Interim Report 61
Mixed Waste Envirocare's Clive, Utah site is a Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) facility that is licensed by the State of Utah and the EPA to receive, possess, use, treat, and dispose of mixed radioactive materials. Envirocare's RCRA Part B permit authorizes the disposal of both characteristic and listen! wastes meeting land disposal restrictions. Treatment Practices Envirocare has constructed additional structures to expand its mixed waste operations. A second building now houses a large treatment ant! storage area, drum stabilization process, and large mixed waste stabilization technology, in addition to PCB and Organics removal technologies. The building is designed as a multi-purpose RCRA containment facility. The mixed waste treatment facility incorporates treatment technologies designed to reduce toxicity of waste materials prior to disposal. Current mixed waste technologies are shown below; future capabilities, currently in development, include treatment for mercury and organic s. Stabilization Deactivation Neutralization Re due ti on/Ox) date on Chemical Fixation Polymer Encapsulation Envirocare's stabilization facility is permitted to treat ~ 50 tons of material per day, while the permits do not restrict the macroencapsulation facility to particular capacity. Each treatment process involves development of a treatment formula, which is created by conducting bench-scale testing of the waste material using commercially available treatment chemicals. Disposal of the treated residue occurs after verification that the material meets applicable treatment standards. SOURCE: ~http://envirocareutah.com~ RICHLAND, WASHINGTON U.S. Ecology disposes of USNRC Class A, B and C low-level radioactive waste at its site near Richiand, Washington. This site has successfully operated on the Department of Energy's Hanford Reservation since 1965. The facility also o ffers permanent isolation of exempt source and byproduct material, as well as naturally occurring and accelerator- pro~u`;~u raa~oac~ve materials (NARM) from customers worldwide, including universities, nuclear power plants, mining companies, medical centers, manufacturing, petrochemical and biotechnology companies, military installations and numerous other government agencies. The RichIand site offers more than 45 million cubic feet of unused 62 Interim Report
disposal capacity sufficient to accept large quantities of waste well into the 21 st century. GRAND VIEW, IDAHO U.S. Ecology Idaho operates a fully permitted treatment and disposal facility for chemically hazardous wastes near Grand View, Idaho. The Army Corps of Engineers is currently disposing of FUSRAP wastes at this site. The site offers industry-standard ant! patented processes to safely treat and dispose of a broad range of RCRA hazardous waste, certain naturally occurring radioactive materials, and PCB wastes. Services include: Hazardous, PCB and NORM waste disposal Stabilization of metal bearing wastes Encapsulation of debris Full PCB transformer processing Liquid waste evaporation Patented K06 ~ steel mill waste "delisting" treatment The site is located in the Owyhee Desert of southwestern Idaho, a region with an arid climate, deep groundwater, and favorable geology the right conditions for permanent waste isolation. Located on a major rail line, US Ecology Idaho's rail transfer facility offers cost-effective access. Wastes arrive by railcar from throughout theUnited States. At the on-site railhead, gondola and hopper car shipments can be received and unloaded around the clock. Intermodal containers can be received by truck or rail. U.S. Ecology Idaho also accepts waste in drums, super sacks, roll-off containers, intermodal containers and dump trucks. SOURCE: ~http://www.americanecology.com~ Interim Report .. .. 63
