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At least 361 records · Page 20
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Nuclear Waste Tank Emission Contributions to Particle Size Distribution

Pollutants from anthropogenic activities including industrial processes are ubiquitous to the environment. To understand the impact from industrial aerosol on climate and human health, industrial aerosol needs to be better characterized. Here, in this study, particle number concentrations were used as a proxy for atmospheric pollutants, which include both particles and gases. Particle concentration and size distribution were measured using a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) approximately 4.5 km from primary industrial areas at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC. Industrial areas include numerous nuclear waste storage and processing tanks. The SMPS data were divided into two groups depending on the wind direction measured onsite to categorize transport from the industrial area or from elsewhere. Industrial contributions were found to have a higher concentration of particles with sizes less than 200 nm, 859 ± 564 cm -3 , in comparison to non-industrial attributed particles, 733 ± 495 cm -3 on average from March-July 2021. For sizes larger than 200 nm, industrial and non-industrial particles have a similar concentration, 89 ± 59 cm -3 and 99 ± 61 cm -3 , with non-industrial concentrations being slightly larger. To confirm that industrial particles could travel to the sampling location, air dispersion modeling was completed for specific case studies during the sampling period. The atmospheric dispersion modeling results confirmed that particles released at the industrial areas reached the sampling location when the wind direction was favorable for transport from the industrial areas. The greater concentration of smaller-sized particles in industrial emissions has implications for typical particulate measurements (PM2.5), heath impacts, and climatological influences.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

332TFAD04 Tank Closure Plan

Enclosed is the 332TFAD04 Aboveground Tank Closure/Removal Plan for a tank regulated under Spill Prevention, Controls, and Countermeasures (SPCC) and Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA) regulations. This tank held diesel fuel for an emergency generator at Building 332. The generator is being replaced with a new unit that contains a belly tank, therefore this aboveground tank will no longer be in use and is being removed. The tank will be SPCC permanently closed on June 2, 2020.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2021

Installation of Lysimeters and Monitoring Wells in Support of the Revised Approach to E-Area Performance Monitoring

Savannah River Site (SRS) has developed a revised approach to performance monitoring of the E Area Low Level Waste Facility (ELLWF) that adds a saturated zone component to the existing vadose zone monitoring program (Kubilius, 2019). The revised approach specifies modifications to the vadose zone monitoring program, the addition of new lysimeters at Engineered Trench 3 (ET3), and the installation of water table monitoring wells to complement the existing well network surrounding the ELLWF. This project summary report is intended to provide the final construction details and layout for the new vadose zone lysimeters at ET3 and the water table monitoring wells installed as part of the new saturated zone component of the revised performance monitoring program.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

Reduced Temperature Cesium Removal from AP-101 Using Crystalline Silicotitanate

The Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) system, currently operational under Washington River Protection Solutions LLC (WRPS), sends initial low-activity Hanford waste tank supernate feed to the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility. In addition to entrained solids removal from the supernate, the primary goal of TSCR is to remove cesium-137 ( 137 Cs) by ion exchange, allowing contact handling of the liquid effluent product at the WTP. Crystalline silicotitanate (CST) ion exchange media, manufactured by Honeywell UOP, LLC (product IONSIV™ R9140-B), was selected as the ion exchange media at TSCR. Laboratory-scale ion exchange processing using TSCR prototypic unit operations continues to contribute toward WRPS establishing accurate process flowsheets for the individual feed campaigns planned for TSCR. This report describes the small-scale ion exchange testing with 14.0 L of diluted and filtered supernate from tank 241-AP-101 (AP-101DF) at 16 °C (62 °F) to demonstrate processing at temperature conditions that are more prototypic of what the TSCR system could experience during colder seasons of the year. Since CST Cs capacity increases with decreasing contact temperature, testing at the lower operating temperature will help to predict the maximum 137 Cs loading onto the CST in the TSCR system. One of the waste acceptance criteria (WAC) for the WTP Low-Activity Waste Facility is that the waste must contain less than 3.18×10 -5 Ci 137 Cs per mole of Na. For the AP-101DF tank waste to meet this criterion, only 0.144% of the influent 137 Cs concentration may be delivered to the WTP; this requires a Cs decontamination factor of 694. Testing with AP-101DF matched TSCR prototypic operations where a lead-lag configuration was used until the lag column reached the WAC limit, then a polish column was brought online for continued processing in a lead-lag-polish column configuration. Feed was processed at 1.9 bed volumes (BVs) per hour; the flowrate, in terms of contact time with the CST bed, matched the expected flowrate at TSCR. The Cs-decontaminated product was retained for vitrification testing (to be reported separately). The lead column reached 62% Cs breakthrough after processing ~1400 BVs of feed; the 50% Cs breakthrough occurred at 1250 BVs. Testing compared to previous AP-107 testing at 16 °C showed ~80 BV increases in volume processed to reach the WAC limit for both lead and lag columns. A similar slope in breakthrough curves for both tests indicates similar kinetic behavior, with variations in feed matrices (Na and Cs concentrations) likely responsible for the deviations in reaching the WAC limit. The Cs effluent from the lag column reached the WAC limit after processing 875 BVs. Anticipating this breakthrough point, the polish column was preemptively installed at 770 BVs. Cs breakthrough from the lag column began at 300 BVs, reaching 5.32×10 0 µCi/mL, or 5.6 % Cs breakthrough, after processing all 1400 BVs of feed. Table S.1 and Figure S.1 summarize the observed column performance and relevant Cs loading characteristics.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

Materials and Fuels Complex Operations Management Improvement Strategy for Fiscal Year 2023

The Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) has experienced substantial growth in terms of staff, research, and production in recent years. MFC operational performance has effectively kept pace with this growth. However, to capture the continuous improvement actions needed to improve effectiveness and increase the efficiency of our management systems, a broad operations management strategy is necessary. The MFC Operations Management Improvement (OMI) Strategy is complementary to the MFC Five-Year Mission and Investment Strategies and the MFC Management Plan. The OMI strategy is structured to address the management systems outlined in the Nuclear Facility Management Standard Operations Model. Selected management systems are evaluated independently in chapters that describe the prior 5 years of performance improvement, a description of improvement actions for the MFC staff that directly perform within or contribute to the management system, process improvements, and any needed equipment improvements. Chapter selection is based on a management system’s need for improvement. In some cases, management systems may be combined in a single chapter. Additional chapters are added to address subject areas not formally described in the standard operations model.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Low Level Calibration of Liquid Scintillation Counting

Liquid Scintillation Counting (LSC) is an analytical laboratory method that quantifies the concentrations of alpha and beta emitting isotopes. The LSC method can be utilized for the detection of tritium, both environmentally and at nuclear facilities. Most LSC samples are aqueous-based and prepared as a radioactive sample dissolved or suspended in a high efficiency scintillation cocktail that converts radioactive energy into light pulses. When placed in counting vials, the liquid scintillation cocktail allows for optical coupling in which energy is released from the samples radioactive decay, and transferred to the scintillator. That energy is then absorbed to produce excited electrons that fall back to their ground-state and emit a pulse of light that is detected by the liquid scintillation analyzers photomultiplier tubes. Quench is a signal attenuation due to physical, chemical, or color interferences. To compensate for quench, quench standards of a known concentration are implemented at increasing increments of quench per vial to create a quench curve. Quench standards can be purchased pre-made or customized from the manufacturer, however, there are several issues that arise from purchasing the pre-made quench standards. The main issues with ordering pre-made quench standards is that they use higher count values, between 30,000 and 250,000 disintegrations per minute (dpm) of tritium per vial and only come in glass vials. Using higher counting standards in glass vials makes it hard to see lower concentrations in plastic vials. Additionally, when using higher energy standards the accuracy of the calibration readings tend to be lower. On the other hand, making a set of quench standards in-house allows for the customization of the dpm concentration to roughly 1,500-3,000 and preparation in plastic vials. This allows for lower activity readings that results in closer precision of the samples' true concentration. Technical Objectives: Create a quench curve and calibrate the LSA for tritium. Verify the calibration of the quench curve prior to cross sample runs. Check calibration against Quality Control (QC) reference value. Conclusion: a tritium quench curve calibration was performed using a scintillation cocktail with ultima gold (AB and AB/F), acetone (only with AB), and water (only with AB/F). By performing the tritium quench curve calibration, the counting efficiency was correlated to various levels of quench. Calibration checks with quality control standards were also performed to verify that the calibration was correct. The observed results provided acceptable values that matched the quality control standard reference values with an acceptable uncertainty. The next step will be fine tuning and cross comparison checks with legacy instrumentation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

Technology Assessment for Radioiodine at the Hanford Site - 20240

An evaluation was conducted to assess the practicability of technologies of sufficient promise and maturity to warrant treatability tests for remediating radioiodine (I-129) in groundwater at the 200-UP-1 operable unit at the U.S. Department of Energy Hanford Site. Technologies were evaluated based on recent updated knowledge of subsurface iodine transport behavior at Hanford, and the effectiveness, implementability, and cost of potential treatment technologies for I-129. Because more than two-thirds of the iodine at Hanford is estimated to be present in its oxidized form as iodate, treatment technologies were evaluated with respect to addressing iodate. In situ treatments were identified as having limited implementability because the plume core is located directly beneath the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility disposal cells, a landfill used for the disposal of low-level radioactive, hazardous, and mixed wastes generated from Hanford cleanup activities. Further limitations in treatment technologies for radioiodine were due to the isotopic distribution of subsurface iodine. Data indicate that stable iodine (I- 127) concentrations are up to three orders of magnitude greater than I-129, limiting the effectiveness of potential technologies because they are not isotope-specific. Ex situ approaches also lacked the effectiveness and maturity required to treat I-129. Hence, the technology evaluation did not identify any technologies that needed treatability testing, driven by site and contaminant properties that hinder effectiveness and/or implementability of the technologies. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Enhanced Sustainability in Treatment of Contaminated Metals for Clearance and Recycling - 20290

Cyclife Sweden AB has, for more than 30 years, provided metal treatment services to the domestic and international nuclear industry with the aim of creating value through metal clearance and recycling. These operations are to a large extent based on the concept that the materials, after pre-treatment, including decontamination, will be melted for clearance. During the melting process, some nuclides separate from the metal while the remaining radioactivity becomes fully homogenized in the metal bath and the resulting ingots, along with the samples taken before casting At a time when activities to fight Climate Challenge are in focus, any savings in energy consumption, in addition to the positive environmental effect of recycling metals back to industry, is more than welcome. If the clearance of certain metallic items can be achieved safely, without using melting, it is the environmentally preferred option provided it carries a reasonable cost. It is even better if an object can go through a decontamination and clearance process prior to re-use inside or outside the nuclear sector. Cyclife Sweden is currently investing in a direct clearance process, to be operated in parallel with the melting process. This new process is expected to be fully operational in the late summer of 2020 and includes pre-treatment, decontamination and heavily shielded clearance measurement installations. The treatment will also allow clearance measurements of larger objects without the need for segmentation, along with allowing objects composed of different materials, like electric motors can be accepted for treatment. This paper gives an overview of the circular economy aspects in a nuclear back-end context, the Cyclife approach to further implement a circular economy approach in the processes, Material Acceptance Criteria for treatment, the facility set-up for the new process and how the melting route and the direct route can be combined in an efficient industrial scale process. To put the new capabilities into perspective, the two different treatment and clearance approaches, i.e. direct clearance and melting, are to be compared. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

US EPA Superfund Radon Vapor Intrusion Screening Level (RVISL) Electronic Calculator - 20340

Currently, there is no U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance on correlating soil or groundwater levels of radon with indoor radon concentrations at Superfund sites. EPA is developing the Radon Vapor Intrusion Level Calculator (RVISL) Calculator which is an online tool. The RVISL calculator: (1) lists three radon isotopes (Rn-219, Rn-220 and Rn-222) known to pose a potential cancer risk through the inhalation pathway; (2) provides generally recommended risk and Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements (ARAR) based preliminary remediation goals (PRG) for groundwater, soil gas (exterior to buildings and sub-slab) and indoor air for default target risk and ARAR based levels and exposure scenarios; and (3) allows calculation of site-specific PRGs based on user-defined target risk and ARAR based levels and exposure scenarios. EPA developed the RVISL calculator to help risk assessors, remedial project managers, and others involved with risk assessment and decision making at radioactively contaminated sites. (authors)

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DOE OSTI2025

Radiological Impact of 2024 Operations at the Savannah River Site

This report presents the environmental dose assessment methods and the estimated potential doses to the public from 2024 Savannah River Site (SRS) air and liquid radioactive releases. Also documented are potential doses from special-case exposure scenarios, such as the consumption of wildlife or goat milk.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

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Report will be submitted to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2021

Historical Data Analysis Supporting the Data Quality Objectives for the INL Site Environmental Soil Monitoring Program

This document represents the initial evaluation and soil monitoring proposed by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA) in 2015. The evaluation included analyses of historical soil monitoring data and soil inventories, current emission estimates, and modeled potential deposition/accumulation patterns. The initially proposed monitoring included a 5-year rotation of in-situ gamma measurements augmented by soil sampling with laboratory analyses near each major active and some inactive facilities. It also proposed rotational in-situ gamma measurements and soil sampling at two centrally located onsite air monitoring locations coinciding with sampling at the traditional offsite soil monitoring locations. The chosen alternative includes only physical soil sampling with laboratory analysis and only at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC), the two air monitors and the offsite locations as documented in Data Quality Objectives Supporting the Environmental Soil Monitoring Program for the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site, INL/EXT-15-34909, Revision 0, February 2016. The data and evaluations in this document are valid for comparisons with future soil data that may be collected in many INL site locations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Environmental Chamber Testing and Headspace Evaluation of a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Foam Fixative to Support Deactivation and Decommissioning Activities

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) is tasked with identifying high priority technical needs and the Technology Development (TD) tasks required to meet those needs in support of ongoing deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) of Department of Energy infrastructure across the United States. This work consists of placing a radioactively contaminated facility in stable condition to minimize any risks that could affect workers, the public, and the environment. Successful deactivation and decommissioning will leave the buildings in an agreed upon end state to provide future protection against a wide range of hazards that include radiation, asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls, and other environmental and public health risks.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Pilot Test Remediation of a Fractured Bedrock Aquifer at the Maywood Superfund Site, Maywood, New Jersey - 20073

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Cabrera Services are conducting a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Pilot Test treatment of a fractured bedrock aquifer at the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) Maywood Superfund Site (FMSS) located in Maywood, New Jersey (NJ), USA. The Maywood Chemical Company Superfund Site in Bergen County, NJ is listed on the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). The National Superfund Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) identification number is NJD980529762. The Maywood Chemical Company Superfund Site (hereafter referred to as the FMSS) consists of 92 designated properties in the communities of Maywood, Lodi and Rochelle Park, NJ. These are collectively known as FMSS 'Vicinity Properties' and include property owned by the federal government (the Maywood Interim Storage Site, or MISS); the Stepan Company (former location of the Maywood Chemical Works, or MCW); 62 residential properties; three properties owned by the state or federal government; four municipal properties; and 21 commercial properties. The Stepan Company property includes contaminated buildings and three remediated U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensed burial pits; the MISS also includes a contaminated building. Contamination on the FMSS is being addressed under three separate actions coordinated by the lead regulator USEPA Region 2. The USACE is addressing thorium (Th) and other wastes at the site defined as 'FUSRAP waste' in the Soils and Buildings and Groundwater Records of Decision (ROD) for the FMSS. Stepan Company is addressing other chemical wastes (non-FUSRAP waste) at the FMSS. The Groundwater ROD [1] was signed into agreement by USACE Division Commander in June 2012 and USEPA Region 2 Administrator in July 2012 and presents the selected remedial actions for Operable Unit (OU) 2 groundwater at the MISS and adjacent properties. The selected remedial action is removal of non-radiologically contaminated soils on the MISS containing arsenic, lithium, and benzene with concentrations above cleanup levels, and monitored natural attenuation (MNA) of arsenic, lithium, and benzene in groundwater. In situ treatment of arsenic in the overburden aquifer using oxidation reduction (redox) alteration will also be performed if needed to meet the groundwater cleanup levels after the source soil is removed. The need for in situ treatment will be determined during the Groundwater ROD review at least three to four years after the contaminated source soil removal is completed. The third action addressing non-FUSRAP chemical wastes will be the responsibility of the Stepan Company as a primary responsible party in this action. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Separation of Radionuclides from a Rare Earth-Containing Solution by Zeolite Adsorption

The increasing industrial demand for rare earths requires new or alternative sources to be found. Within this context, there have been studies validating the technical feasibility of coal and coal byproducts as alternative sources for rare earth elements. Nonetheless, radioactive materials, such as thorium and uranium, are frequently seen in the rare earths’ mineralization, and causes environmental and health concerns. Consequently, there exists an urgent need to remove these radionuclides in order to produce high purity rare earths to diversify the supply chain, as well as maintain an environmentally-favorable extraction process for the surroundings. In this study, an experimental design was generated to examine the effect of zeolite particle size, feed solution pH, zeolite amount, and contact time of solid and aqueous phases on the removal of thorium and uranium from the solution. The best separation performance was achieved using 2.50 g of 12-µm zeolite sample at a pH value of 3 with a contact time of 2 h. Under these conditions, the adsorption recovery of rare earths, thorium, and uranium into the solid phase was found to be 20.43 wt%, 99.20 wt%, and 89.60 wt%, respectively. The Freundlich adsorption isotherm was determined to be the best-fit model, and the adsorption mechanism of rare earths and thorium was identified as multilayer physisorption. Further, the separation efficiency was assessed using the response surface methodology based on the development of a statistically significant model.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Surrogate isotope-containing materials for emergency response training and Methods of formation and dispersal

Surrogate materials are in the form of solid particles that include surrogate isotopes, namely, short-lived isotopes selected and formed to serve as surrogates for the radioactive materials of a nuclear fallout without including isotopes that are, or that decay to, biologically or environmentally deleterious and persistent isotopes. The surrogate material may be formed using high-purity reactant material and irradiation and separation techniques that enable tailoring of the isotopes and ratios thereof included in the surrogate material, and the surrogate material may be dispersed, e.g., in a training environment, in solid form.

Carney, Kevin P.↗