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At least 379 records · Page 21

Transuranic Waste Acceptance Criteria for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (Rev. 6.5)

The purpose of this document is to summarize the waste acceptance criteria (WAC), applicable to the transportation, storage, and disposal of contact-handled (CH) and remote-handled (RH) transuranic (TRU) waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). These criteria serve as the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE’s), primary directive for ensuring that CH and RH TRU waste is managed and disposed of in a manner that protects human health and safety and the environment.

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The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Deep Geological Repository: A Domestic and Global Blueprint for Safe Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste - 12081

At the end of 2011, the world's first used/spent nuclear fuel and other long-lived high-level radioactive waste (HLW) repository is projected to open in 2020, followed by two more in 2025. The related pre-opening periods will be at least 40 years, as it also would be if USA's candidate HLW-repository is resurrected by 2013. If abandoned, a new HLW-repository site would be needed. On 26 March 1999, USA began disposing long-lived radioactive waste in a deep geological repository in salt at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site. The related pre-opening period was less than 30 years. WIPP has since been re-certified twice. It thus stands to reason the WIPP repository is the global proof of principle for safe deep geological disposal of long-lived radioactive waste. It also stands to reason that the lessons learned since 1971 at the WIPP site provide a unique, continually-updated, blueprint for how the pre-opening period for a new HLW repository could be shortened both in the USA and abroad. (authors)

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Legacy Waste Containers for Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste in Germany - Actual Situation and Challenges - 17070

Low and intermediate level radioactive waste has been produced in Germany for several decades. While a part of the waste had been deposited in the Morleben repository and the Asse mine which have been operated for just a limited period of time, the major amount is conditioned and packaged in temporarily stored waste containers. Those containers are designated for final disposal in the KONRAD repository being currently under construction and expected to start operation in 2022. As a consequence, an assessment of the waste container documentation and safety is strongly needed to receive an approval for the Konrad repository. This requalification is challenging because those old containers have to meet the same safety requirements as new containers. (authors)

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2010 Annual Industrial Wastewater Reuse Report for the Idaho National Laboratory Site's Materials and Fuels Complex Industrial Waste Ditch and Industrial Waste Pond

This report describes conditions, as required by the state of Idaho Industrial Wastewater Reuse Permit (#LA 000160 01), for the wastewater reuse site at the Idaho National Laboratory Site’s Materials and Fuels Complex Industrial Waste Ditch and Industrial Waste Pond from May 1, 2010 through October 31, 2010. The report contains the following information: • Facility and system description • Permit required effluent monitoring data and loading rates • Groundwater monitoring data • Status of special compliance conditions • Discussion of the facility’s environmental impacts During the 2010 partial reporting year, an estimated 3.646 million gallons of wastewater were discharged to the Industrial Waste Ditch and Pond which is well below the permit limit of 13 million gallons per year. The concentrations of all permit-required analytes in the samples from the down gradient monitoring wells were below the Ground Water Quality Rule Primary and Secondary Constituent Standards.

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2011 Annual Industrial Wastewater Reuse Report for the Idaho National Laboratory Site's Materials and Fuels Complex Industrial Waste Ditch and Industrial Waste Pond

This report describes conditions, as required by the state of Idaho Industrial Wastewater Reuse Permit (LA-000160-01), for the wastewater reuse site at the Idaho National Laboratory Site's Materials and Fuels Complex Industrial Waste Ditch and Industrial Waste Pond from November 1, 2010 through October 31, 2011. The report contains the following information: (1) Facility and system description; (2) Permit required effluent monitoring data and loading rates; (3) Groundwater monitoring data; (4) Status of special compliance conditions; and (5) Discussion of the facility's environmental impacts. During the 2011 reporting year, an estimated 6.99 million gallons of wastewater were discharged to the Industrial Waste Ditch and Pond which is well below the permit limit of 13 million gallons per year. Using the dissolved iron data, the concentrations of all permit-required analytes in the samples from the down gradient monitoring wells were below the Ground Water Quality Rule Primary and Secondary Constituent Standards.

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2012 Annual Industrial Wastewater Reuse Report for the Idaho National Laboratory Site’s Materials and Fuels Complex Industrial Waste Ditch and Industrial Waste Pond

This report describes conditions, as required by the state of Idaho Industrial Wastewater Reuse Permit (WRU-I-0160-01, formerly LA 000160 01), for the wastewater reuse site at the Idaho National Laboratory Site’s Materials and Fuels Complex Industrial Waste Ditch and Industrial Waste Pond from November 1, 2011 through October 31, 2012. The report contains the following information: • Facility and system description • Permit required effluent monitoring data and loading rates • Groundwater monitoring data • Status of special compliance conditions • Discussion of the facility’s environmental impacts During the 2012 reporting year, an estimated 11.84 million gallons of wastewater were discharged to the Industrial Waste Ditch and Pond which is well below the permit limit of 17 million gallons per year. The concentrations of all permit-required analytes in the samples from the down gradient monitoring wells were below the Ground Water Quality Rule Primary and Secondary Constituent Standards.

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Laboratory Optimization Tests of Technetium Decontamination of Hanford Waste Treatment Plant Direct Feed Low Activity Waste Melter Off-Gas Condensate Simulant

The Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Low Activity Waste (LAW) vitrification facility will generate an aqueous condensate recycle stream (LAW Off-Gas Condensate) from the off-gas system. The baseline plan for disposition of this stream is to send it to the WTP Pretreatment Facility, where it will be blended with LAW, concentrated by evaporation and recycled to the LAW vitrification facility. Alternate disposition of this stream would eliminate recycling of problematic components, and would enable less integrated operation of the LAW melter and the Pretreatment Facilities. Eliminating this stream from recycling within WTP would also decrease the LAW vitrification mission duration and quantity of glass waste.

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Nevada National Security Site 2015 Waste Management Monitoring Report Area 3 and Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Sites

Environmental monitoring data are collected at and around the Area 3 and Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Sites (RWMSs) within the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). These data include direct radiation exposure, as well as radiation from the air, groundwater, meteorology, and vadose zone. This report summarizes the 2015 environmental data to provide an overall evaluation of RWMS performance and to support environmental compliance and performance assessment (PA) activities. Some of these data (e.g., radiation exposure, air, and groundwater) are presented in other reports developed by National Security Technologies, LLC. Direct radiation monitoring data indicate exposure levels at the RWMSs are within the range of background levels measured at the NNSS. Slightly elevated exposure levels outside the Area 3 RWMS are attributed to nearby historical aboveground nuclear weapons tests. Air monitoring data show that tritium concentrations in water vapor and americium and plutonium concentrations in air particles are below Derived Concentration Standards for these radionuclides. Groundwater monitoring data indicate the groundwater in the uppermost aquifer beneath the Area 5 RWMS is not impacted by RWMS operations. Results of groundwater analysis from wells around the Area 5 RWMS were all below established investigation levels. Leachate samples collected from the leachate collection system at the mixed low-level waste cell were below established contaminant regulatory limits. During 2015, precipitation at the Area 3 RWMS was 0.9% above average, and precipitation at the Area 5 RWMS was 25% above average. Water balance measurements indicate that evapotranspiration from the vegetated weighing lysimeter dries the soil and prevents downward percolation of precipitation more effectively than evaporation as measured from the bare-soil weighing lysimeter. The 1.8 inches of precipitation in September reached the lowest sensors at 180 cm on the Cell 5S and 5N covers, however the sensors on the floor do not indicate any signs of the precipitation percolating thru the waste to the floor. Moisture from precipitation did not percolate below 150 centimeters (cm) (5 feet [ft]) in the vegetated final cover on the U-3ax/bl disposal unit at the Area 3 RWMS. A second remedial revegetation trial was done on the southern portion of the North Cover. In March 2015 it was determined that germination occurred on both the mulched and non-mulched treatments that were irrigated, but that no germination occurred on the non-irrigated treatments. By June the seedlings observed in March were gone, possibly grazed by rabbits which were observed inside the rabbit-proof fence. In August the entire area was sprayed with the herbicide glyphosate in an attempt to minimize weed seed production. During 2015, there was no drainage through 2.4 meters (8 ft) of soil as indicated from the Area 3 drainage lysimeters that received only natural precipitation. Thirty-one percent of the applied precipitation and irrigation drained from the bare-soil drainage lysimeter, which received 3 times the natural precipitation. All 2015 monitoring data indicate that the Area 3 and Area 5 RWMSs are performing within expectations of the model and parameter assumptions for the facilities’ PAs.

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Cold-cap formation from a slurry feed during nuclear waste vitrification

The time-temperature history of waste slurry feed during melting strongly affects various kinetic processes, such as reaction or dissolution rates, and, consequently, the melting rate. To analyze the time-temperature history of the feed in a cold-cap during nuclear waste vitrification, this work focuses on understanding how the main coldcap body forms, how the aqueous feed slurry interacts with the cold-cap, and estimating the cold-cap heat conductivity. To simulate the conditions during cold-cap formation, samples were prepared by rapid water evaporation from slurry feed. After water evaporated from the sample, a fresh slurry with tracer was poured onto the dry sample. X-ray fluorescence was then used to investigate the degree of penetration and/or mixing between the incoming slurry and the original sample. We show that the slurry does not interact or mix with the previously dry cold-cap crust, but that water-soluble components concentrate at the bottom of the boiling pools, where most of the water evaporates. Further, using the rate of water evaporation, the heat conductivity of the cold-cap was calculated from the measured temperature profile. The resulting conductivity is significantly higher than the values obtained in previous studies. We discuss the implications of the results for the cold-cap formation in the melter and for the development of the cold-cap mathematical model.

Hujova, Miroslava↗

Impact of carbonation on leaching of constituents from a cementitious waste form for treatment of low activity waste at the DOE Hanford site

Carbonation can be a major aging process during disposal of alkaline cementitious waste forms and can impact constituent leaching by changes in material alkalinity, pore structure, and controlling mineral phases. The effect of carbonation on the leaching of major and trace constituents from Cast Stone, a cementitious waste form developed to treat high salt content low activity waste, was studied through a combination of leaching experiments and reactive transport simulations. Diffusive transport of constituents in the waste form was evaluated using reactive transport modeling of diffusion-controlled leaching test results and a geochemical speciation model derived from pH-dependent leaching. Comparisons between Cast Stone materials aged under nitrogen, air, and 2% carbon dioxide in nitrogen showed that carbonation impacts solubility, physical retention and observed diffusivity of major and trace constituents. Carbonation under 2% CO 2 decreased the diffusion-controlled leaching of chromium by two orders of magnitude. Finally, modeling results suggest that carbonation may also decrease solubility of technetium while changes to microstructure by carbonation increases effective diffusivity of constituents in Cast Stone.

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Facile incorporation of technetium into magnetite, magnesioferrite, and hematite by formation of ferrous nitrate in situ : precursors to iron oxide nuclear waste forms

The fission product, 99 Tc, presents significant challenges to the long-term disposal of nuclear waste due to its long half-life, high fission yield, and to the environmental mobility of pertechnetate (TcO 4 – ), the stable Tc species in aerobic environments. Here, the migration of 99 Tc from disposal sites can potentially be prevented by incorporating it into durable waste forms based on environmentally stable minerals.

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Waste Campaign 303 - Installation of PRDw SF on RNS Waste Containers at LANL

Waste Campaign (WC) 303 consists of 48 55-gallon drums and eight pipe overpack containers (POCs) remediated nitrate salt (RNS) daughter containers. There are a total of 60 RNS waste containers; however, this waste campaign plan will only address the 48 standard 55-gallon containers, and eight POCs in standard waste boxes (SWBs).

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Waste Shipments To and From the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), Radioactive Waste Management Complex (4th Quarter / Annual Transportation Report FY2015)

This report satisfies the National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office commitment to prepare a quarterly summary report of waste shipments to and from the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Radioactive Waste Management Complex at Area 5. This report summarizes the 4th quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 low-level radioactive waste, mixed low-level radioactive waste shipments and classified non-radioactive shipments. There were no shipments sent for offsite treatment and returned to the NNSS this quarter or during FY 2015.

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Novel Zoned Waste-forms for High-Priority Radionuclide Waste Streams

This report describes the potential of a novel class of materials—α-ZrW 2 O 8 , Zr 2 WP 2 O 12 , and related compounds that contract upon amorphization as possible radionuclide waste-forms. The proposed ceramic waste-forms would consist of zoned grains, or sintered ceramics with center- loaded radionuclides and barren shells. Radiation-induced amorphization would result in core shrinkage but would not fracture the shells or overgrowths, maintaining isolation of the radionuclide. In this report, we have described synthesis techniques to produce phase-pure forms of the materials, and how to fully densify those materials. Structural models for the materials were developed and validated using DFPT approaches, and radionuclide substitution was evaluated; U(IV), Pu(IV), Tc(IV) and Tc(VII) all readily substitute into the material structures. MD modeling indicated that strain associated with radiation-induced amorphization would not affect the integrity of surrounding crystalline materials, and these results were validated via ion beam experimental studies. Finally, we have evaluated the leach rates of the barren materials, as determined by batch and flow-through reactor experiments. ZrW 2 O 8 leaches rapidly, releasing tungstate while Zr is retained as a solid oxide or hydroxide. Tungsten release rates remain elevated over time and are highly sensitive to contact times, suggesting that this material will not be an effective waste-form. Conversely, tungsten releases rates from Zr 2 WP 2 O 12 rapidly drop, show little dependence on short-term changes in fluid contact time, and in over time, become tied to P release rates. The results presented here suggest that this material may be a viable waste-form for some hard-to-handle radionuclides such as Pu and Tc.

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3rd Quarter Transportation Report FY16: Waste Shipments To and From the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), Radioactive Waste Management Complex

This report satisfies the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office commitment to prepare a quarterly summary report of waste shipments to the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Radioactive Waste Management Complex at Area 5. This report summarizes the 3rd quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2016 low-level radioactive waste, mixed low-level radioactive waste, and classified non-radioactive shipments. There were no shipments sent for offsite treatment from a NNSS facility and returned to the NNSS this quarter of FY2016.

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