Environmental Management Technology-Development Program at the Department of Energy 1995 Review (1996) / Chapter Skim
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CROSS-CUTTING AREAS AND TECHNOLOGIES OF IMPORTANCE
CROSS-CUTTING AREAS AND TECHNOLOGIES OF IMPORTANCE
Pages 81-102
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From page 81... ...
While site~ific development may be justified on the basis that the wastes and remediation targets vary from one location to another, it often leads to duplication of effort or to gaps in technology development This problem of uncoordinated R&D activity on topics of generic interest across the focus areas and sites is addressed in the main body of this report In some of the five foa~area working papers in Appendix A, the wastemanagement activities have been classified in the sequence: · characterization, retrieval, treatment, st~bili7~6on, and · disposal. This sequence, which seems to apply fairly well to the tank waste, mixed waste, and landfill areas, can be used as a framework to treat the CEMT evaluation and discussion of EM-50 activities.
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From page 82... ...
Disposal of solid, stabilized wastes may take place in conventional landfills or in highly secure, radioactive waste repositones. Whatever We disposal mode, monitoring of the disposal site may be needed for long periods of fume.
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From page 83... ...
DOE seems to have embraced this philosophy in its cross cutting efforts for site characterization (e.g., the SEAMIST_~3 and related work that has been perfonned at the Savannah River Site)
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From page 84... ...
development and use of electrical resistance topography to track subsurface heat differentials should be expanded into other areas (perhaps the tracking of separate phase liquids)
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From page 85... ...
A particularly important proper is moisture content, because it is believed that 2~30 percent water is needed to prevent explosions from reaction of organic components with the nitrates present in many of the tanks. A thence neutron technique is in advanced development at Hanford, but an electromagnetic induction technique may peanut measurement of moisture content at greater ranges (one foot or morel.
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From page 86... ...
Development of advanced sensors and monitoring techniques is important to all five focus areas and plays a critical role in the characterization of tank wastes, as noted in the "Waste Charactenzation" section above. Monitors that paralyze gas composition are needed to characterize the headspace in tanks; the air in work places and forage areas; and emissions Dom incinerators, plasma hearths, and other waste~reatment facilities.
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From page 87... ...
A hitherto unattained level of cooperation and coordination will be needed to fit all the pieces together optimally. · Matching technology development to the evolving needs of the waste management and environmental restoration programs.
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From page 88... ...
, in cooperation win Morgantown Energy Technology Center RETCH, has ongoing projects with industry and academia to develop solutions for DORM problems (IJSDOE, l99Sa,b, in press)
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From page 89... ...
Laboratory automation development is underway for the analysis of materials from underground storage tanks at Hanford and samples from other process operations. Autonomous robotic systems are under development for He view Non of Awns of low~evel waste stored in warehouses at Fernald, Oak Ridge, Idaho, Rocly Flats, and Hanford Related Robotics Development Activities DOD and NASA have in-house R&D programs in robotics.
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From page 90... ...
More immediately, however, both the costs and risks of disposing of tank wastes at Savannah River, Hanford and the Idaho National Engineenug Laboratory ONEL3 (as well as calcined wastes at MEL) are directly related to the Society of sedations in the wastes to be vivified (see section on "Vitrification" below)
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From page 91... ...
The optimal balance of processing cost and risk versus disposal cost and risk generally involves a modest number of stations steps. Detenn~ng this balance is a major challenge in the proposal that the separations and vitrification processing of the Hanford tank wastes be privahzed If the contractor were to do an inadequate separation of high-and low~evel wastes, the cost of hig~level storage to be borne by DOE would be excessive.
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From page 92... ...
These materials, developed under ESP contact have been brought to pilot scale or commercial production and have been tested on tank wastes or simulants from Savannah River, Oak Ridge, MEL, and Hanford win encouraging results. The CSTs, now commercially available from Un~versi~ of Penn~rl~ Molecular Sieves as IONSIV E-910 and 911, have proven vet edge with decontamination factors of one million for Cs and 10,000 for Sr Crown et al., 19961.
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From page 93... ...
The ESP program seems to be managed quite effec~ve}y. There has been considerable emphasis on undemanding specific needs for separations in We remediation of tank wastes and other mixed waste streams.
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From page 94... ...
Modern incinerators, adequately deigned and operated, can comply completely with the most stringent environmental regulations. The Subcommittee on Mixed Wastes will contribute to the evaluation of types and operational conditions of incinerators that meet relevant environmental criteria and identify areas for furler development, if needed.
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From page 95... ...
Cations are in the early construction stages at the Oak Ridge and Emerald sites. The potential applications of vitrification to radioactive wastes are very broad, including MEW and LLW from the Ford waste tanks, Tutu vitrification of wastes in the soil at several sites, and thorium and radium residues at the Fernald Site Mom extraction of uranium from very rich Belgian Congo ores during the Manhattan Project.
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From page 96... ...
Therefore, recogruang that final evaluations depend on the selection of a site or geologic formation, was~rea~anent or conditioning must be considered as pare of any waste~ipposal program. Removing hazardous waste materials from an undesirable location (e.g., contaminant plume, disused production or laboratory facilities, unacceptable disposal sites3 is open essential.
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From page 97... ...
Choice of Disposal Sites The acceptability of a given waste type and waste Ann in a given c isposal site depends on two deferent evaluation measures: . the confining power of the natural and engineered barriers, including the waste form, which will prevent the radionuclides or tome chemicals from being released into the environment for several scenarios, and that will meet the regulatory criteria applicable to He specific disposal site.
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From page 98... ...
DOE should establish a list of the disposal options considered for waste disposal, both nationally and at each local site, and the constraints that these options impose on the waste composition. The waste form should then be specified, based on generic and site~5c risk assessments.
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From page 99... ...
Therefore, for each landfill reclamation project DOE should consider potential disposal sites where these rims and costs are lmown Und1 this information is available, the decision for treating a landfill site cannot be complete. New Technologies for Waste Disposal The R&D in the area of landfills addresses issues such as confinement or site charactenzabon (geology, hydrology)
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From page 100... ...
1989. Proddings of He Third Topical Meeting on Robotics and Remote Systems, Charleston, S.C., March 13-16, 1989 American Nuclear Society (ANS)
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From page 101... ...
l995b. Environmental Technology Development Through Industrial Partnership: Agenda, Abstracts and Visuals, Ounce of Science and Technology, Morgantown Energy Technology Center, Morgantown, W.Va October 3-~.
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From page 102... ...
Proceedings of the Conference on Environmental Technology Development Through :~dus~ial Partnership, Office of Science and Technology, Morgantown Energy Technology Center, Morgantown, W.Va. Yates, S.F., A
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