SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “LABORATORY”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,243 records · Page 69

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2012

My Experience at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Before applying for an internship through Department of Homeland Security, I had never heard of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. I knew of a few national labs, and had a vague idea of what they were developing. Within my first week at LLNL, I was awestruck by the amazing technology that they have, and what they are currently developing to support the goals of DHS. My internship at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was a learning experience on many different levels. Whether it was working on our project or attending seminars, I learned many useful applications of computer science and developed future research interests. To give a summary of my internship experience, I will begin by describing my project under Dr. Labov. Next, I will go over how my project and other parts of the internship have shaped my future research interests. Finally, I will present some areas of research that I think should be considered to help DHS accomplish its mission.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2012

Analytical Plans Supporting The Sludge Batch 8 Glass Variability Study Being Conducted By Energy solutions And Cua's Vitreous State Laboratory

Energy Solutions (ES) and its partner, the Vitreous State Laboratory (VSL) of The Catholic University of America (CUA), are to provide engineering and technical services support to Savannah River Remediation, LLC (SRR) for ongoing operation of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) flowsheet as well as for modifications to improve overall plant performance. SRR has requested via a statement of work that ES/VSL conduct a glass variability study (VS) for Sludge Batch 8. SRR issued a technical task request (TTR) asking that the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) provide planning and data reduction support for the ES/VSL effort. This document provides two analytical plans for use by ES/VSL: one plan is to guide the measurement of the chemical composition of the study glasses while the second is to guide the measurement of the durability of the study glasses. The measurements generated by ES/VSL are to be provided to SRNL for data reduction and evaluation. SRNL is to review the results of its evaluation with ES/VSL and SRR. The results will subsequently be incorporated into a joint report with ES/VSL as a deliverable to SRR to support the processing of SB8 at DWPF.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2012

2012 Los Alamos National Laboratory Hazardous Waste Minimization Report

Waste minimization and pollution prevention are inherent goals within all the operating procedures of Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS). The US Department of Energy (DOE) and LANS are required to submit an annual hazardous waste minimization report to the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) in accordance with the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or the Laboratory) Hazardous Waste Facility Permit. The report was prepared pursuant to the requirements of Section 2.9 of the LANL Hazardous Waste Facility Permit, which was issued in November 2010. This report describes the hazardous waste minimization program (a component of the overall Waste Minimization/Pollution Prevention [WMin/PP] Program) administered by the Environmental Stewardship Group (ENV-ES). This report also supports the waste minimization and pollution prevention goals of the Environmental Programs Directorate (EP) organizations that are responsible for implementing remediation activities and describes its programs to incorporate waste reduction practices into remediation activities and procedures.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2012

Los Alamos National Laboratory Environmental Programs: Fiscal Year 2012 Accomplishments

The Environmental Programs organization manages and remediates environmental hazards associated with past and present Laboratory operations, thereby allowing the Laboratory to fulfill its national security and science missions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2012

Data Quality Objectives Supporting Radiological Air Emissions Monitoring for the Marine Sciences Laboratory, Sequim Site

This document of Data Quality Objectives (DQOs) was prepared based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidance on Systematic Planning Using the Data Quality Objectives Process, EPA, QA/G4, 2/2006 (EPA 2006), as well as several other published DQOs. The intent of this report is to determine the necessary steps required to ensure that radioactive emissions to the air from the Marine Sciences Laboratory (MSL) headquartered at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Sequim Marine Research Operations (Sequim Site) on Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula are managed in accordance with regulatory requirements and best practices. The Sequim Site was transitioned in October 2012 from private operation under Battelle Memorial Institute to an exclusive use contract with the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Pacific Northwest Site Office.

airborne emissions↗

DOE OSTI2012

Review of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Neutronic Calculations Regarding the Conversion of the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) to the Use of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Fuel

In awareness of the risk caused by the proliferation of nuclear materials, the international community initiated in 1978 the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) Program. The goal of the RERTR program is to seek solutions to convert the reactors using High Enriched Uranium (HEU) fuel ( 235 U/U ≥ 20 wt. %) to the use of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Fuel ( 235 U/U < 20 wt. %). Among the 200 reactors worldwide currently in the scope of the program, about 70 have been converted or shut down prior to conversion. In the U.S., six high reactors remain to be converted. One of the U.S. reactors is the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This multipurpose reactor is mainly used for neutron scattering experiments and isotope production. It has two fuel elements made of involute-shaped fuel plates. The ORNL Research Reactor Division (RRD) has prepared during FY2011 two series of calculations, one neutronic and one thermal-hydraulic (TH), in support of the conversion activities for HFIR. The neutronic calculations cover mainly the evaluation of the matrix of performance (cycle length and flux), the distribution of power in the fuel elements, kinetics parameters and reactivity coefficients. As defined by the RRD procedures, the calculations have to be reviewed. Per internal decision, the RRD proposed an external reviewer, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The results of the Argonne neutronic review are presented in this report. The results of the TH review are presented in a separate report. The main conclusion of the ORNL reactor physics analyses is that the proposed reference HFIR LEU core (using the so-called monolithic UMo fuel) could maintain the current level of performance (obtained with a HEU core at 85MW) if it is operated at 100MW. However, to operate within the same safety limits as the current HEU core, the thermal hydraulic analyses show that the peaking of the power distribution occurring at the bottom of the fuel plates has to be reduced. The RRD has found a potential solution by reducing the fuel thickness at the bottom of the fuel plate. This would require addition of an axial grading to the already radially-graded fuel. Thus, the review has been focused on independently recalculating all of the ORNL calculations and making an as fair as possible comparison between the current 85MW HEU core and the reference 100MW LEU core design. ORNL and ANL have used the same computational tools to perform the work. The codes MCNP and ORIGEN have been used to perform the steady state and depletion calculations, respectively. The communication between the two codes has been carried out by the code VESTA. Even though the code MCNP is able to handle complex geometries, it cannot model the involute shape. Nonetheless, ANL has developed an innovative methodology to model the involute shape with MCNP with an approximation that can be made as accurate as desired. Thus, ANL has been able to perform the calculations using an explicit (or discrete) description of the fuel elements. The current modeling used by ORNL consists in homogenizing the different fuel element components (cladding, fuel, coolant…). Although this method is easier to implement, it may also affect the reactor physics which may have an impact on the calculated results. Even though some differences in the physics parameters (flux for instance) have been detected between the HEU explicit (ANL) and homogenized (ORNL) models, they are small enough to not significantly impact the performance parameters. However, this is not the case for the LEU core where the differences in the physics parameters lead to significant differences in the performance parameters, especially the cycle length (found to be considerably longer in the explicit model). Nonetheless, the others parameters calculated by ANL (power distribution, kinetics parameters…) are in good agreement with those calculated by ORNL. Some inconsistencies have been detected in the original ORNL inputs that have been corrected in the reference ones used by ANL for the review and, therefore, the cycle length difference between the LEU homogenized and explicit models has been amplified. Consequently, the ANL comparison of the HFIR HEU and LEU cores has given different results than the ORNL results. The ORNL matrix of performance for the 100MW LEU reference design shows that the reactor cycle length would be as long and the flux as high as the current 85MW HEU core. In contrast, the ANL matrix of performance shows that the 100MW LEU design would have a significantly longer cycle length (~33days) than the current 85MW HEU core (~25days). In addition, it has been shown that, if the reactor is operated for 33days, the neutron fluence would be high enough to increase the overall reactor performance by a significant factor. If the reactor is forced to shut down after 25days, calculations show that the neutron flux would be high enough to maintain the performance of the neutron scattering experiments but losses are predicted to occur in several irradiation facilities. Increasing the cycle length may not be possible for other reasons. For instance, a longer cycle length can increase the cumulative oxide layer thickness growth on the plate. The increase in the neutron fluence may affect the lifetime of the reactor vessel and, by reducing the time for maintenance, pose operational challenges. An assessment of these as well as other potential questions associated with a 33 day cycle length is needed. Since such an assessment has not been carried out, ANL cannot conclude that the ORNL reference LEU core should or could operate at 100MW. The conclusions of the ANL review are different than those of the ORNL investigation mainly because the explicit and homogenized methodologies used to model the core are different. In this report, an attempt is made to justify and explain as clearly as possible why the ANL methodology is thought to be better suited for HFIR analyses. It is acknowledged that because the ANL and ORNL LEU models have not been benchmarked against experiments, it is possible that doubts could be raised concerning the ability of the models to correctly capture all of the physics behavior of the reactor.

Bergeron, A.↗

DOE OSTI2012

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2011

The PNNL Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2011 was prepared pursuant to the requirements of Department of Energy (DOE) Order 231.1B, "Environment, Safety and Health Reporting" to provide a synopsis of calendar year 2011 information related to environmental management performance and compliance efforts. It summarizes site compliance with federal, state, and local environmental laws, regulations, policies, directives, permits, and orders and environmental managemePacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), one of 10 national laboratories supporting the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, provides innovative science and technology development in the areas of energy and the environment, fundamental and computational science, and national security. DOE’s Pacific Northwest Site Office (PNSO) is responsible for PNNL oversight in Richland, Washington, as well as facilities in Sequim, Seattle, and North Bonneville, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. This site environmental report provides a synopsis of ongoing environmental management performance and compliance activities conducted during 2011. The report addresses the operations occurring on PNNL’s Richland campus, which includes PNSO’s PNNL Site facilities and Battelle-owned and -leased facilities. The report includes a description of the PNSO Site and setting; addresses compliance with all applicable DOE, federal, state, and local regulations; documents environmental monitoring efforts and status; presents potential radiation doses to staff and the public in the surrounding area; and data quality assurance methodsnt performance.

air quality↗

DOE OSTI2013

Laboratory Studies of the Reactive Chemistry and Changing CCN Properties of Secondary Organic Aerosol, Including Model Development

The chemical evolution of secondary-organic-aerosol (SOA) particles and how this evolution alters their cloud-nucleating properties were studied. Simplified forms of full Koehler theory were targeted, specifically forms that contain only those aspects essential to describing the laboratory observations, because of the requirement to minimize computational burden for use in integrated climate and chemistry models. The associated data analysis and interpretation have therefore focused on model development in the framework of modified kappa-Koehler theory. Kappa is a single parameter describing effective hygroscopicity, grouping together several separate physicochemical parameters (e.g., molar volume, surface tension, and van't Hoff factor) that otherwise must be tracked and evaluated in an iterative full-Koehler equation in a large-scale model. A major finding of the project was that secondary organic materials produced by the oxidation of a range of biogenic volatile organic compounds for diverse conditions have kappa values bracketed in the range of 0.10 +/- 0.05. In these same experiments, somewhat incongruently there was significant chemical variation in the secondary organic material, especially oxidation state, as was indicated by changes in the particle mass spectra. Taken together, these findings then support the use of kappa as a simplified yet accurate general parameter to represent the CCN activation of secondary organic material in large-scale atmospheric and climate models, thereby greatly reducing the computational burden while simultaneously including the most recent mechanistic findings of laboratory studies.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2013

Final Report for the San Jose State University Effort for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

This report is the conclusion of an effort of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at San Jose State University (SJSU) for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). SJSU was tasked to assist with data analysis of recent photonuclear measurement data taken at Duke University’s Free Electron Laser Laboratory (FELL) using the High Intensity Gamma‐ray Source (HIGS).

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2013

2012 Idaho National Laboratory Water Use Report and Comprehensive Well Inventory (Revision 21)

This 2012 Idaho National Laboratory Water Use Report and Comprehensive Well Inventory (Revision 21) provides water use information (monthly annual average and total annual volume) for production and potable water wells at the Idaho National Laboratory for Calendar Year 2012. It also provides detailed information for new, modified, and abandoned (decommissioned) wells and holes. Three new wells were drilled and completed in Calendar Year 2012. Two wells, RWMC-GAS-V-078 and USGS-092 were modified. No wells or holes were decommissioned. Detailed construction information for the new and modified wells is provided. Location maps are included, provided survey information was available.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2013

Wind Tunnel Model of the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center Aerodynamics Laboratory [TFHRC Project Report]

The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and computational structural mechanics (CSM) focus areas at Argonne’s Transportation Research and Analysis Computing Center (TRACC) initiated a project to support and compliment the experimental programs at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) with high performance computing based analysis capabilities in August 2010. The project was established with a new interagency agreement between the Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation to provide collaborative research, development, and benchmarking of advanced three-dimensional computational mechanics analysis methods to the aerodynamics and hydraulics laboratories at TFHRC for a period of five years, beginning in October 2010. The analysis methods employ well benchmarked and supported commercial computational mechanics software. Computational mechanics encompasses the areas of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Computational Wind Engineering (CWE), Computational Structural Mechanics (CSM), and Computational Multiphysics Mechanics (CMM) applied in Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) problems. This report documents one of the tasks in this project. In this task, a detailed CFD model of the wind tunnel laboratory at TFHRC was built and tested to provide a means to assess the air flow uniformity provided by the tunnel to the test zone and assess room geometry effects. Considerable effort went into the construction and testing of the model and various submodels, such as the screens in the wind tunnel. The model is available for use in further studies.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2013

National Open-ocean Energy Laboratory (Final Technical Report)

Under the authorization provided by Section 634 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-140), in 2009 FAU was awarded U.S. Congressionally Directed Program (CDP) funding through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to investigate and develop technologies to harness the energy of the Florida Current as a source of clean, renewable, base-load power for Florida and the U.S. A second CDP award in 2010 provided additional funding in order to enhance and extend FAU’s activities. These two CDPs in 2009 and 2010 were combined into a single DOE grant, DE-EE0000319, and are the subject of this report. Subsequently, in July 2010 funding was made available under a separate contract, DE-EE0004200. Under that funding, DOE’s Wind and Water Power Program designated FAU’s state of Florida marine renewable energy (MRE) center as the Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center (SNMREC). This report discusses SNMREC activities funded by the DE-EE0000319 grant, but will make reference, as appropriate, to activities that require further investigation under the follow-on grant. The concept of extracting energy from the motions of the oceans has a long history. However, implementation on large scales of the technologies to effect renewable energy recovery from waves, tides, and open-ocean currents is relatively recent. DOE’s establishment of SNMREC recognizes a significant potential for ocean current energy recovery associated with the (relatively) high-speed Florida Current, the reach of the Gulf Stream System flowing through the Straits of Florida, between the Florida Peninsula and the Bahamas Archipelago. The proximity of the very large electrical load center of southeast Florida’s metropolitan area to the resource itself makes this potential all the more attractive. As attractive as this potential energy source is, it is not without its challenges. Although the technology is conceptually simple, its design and implementation in a commercially-viable fashion presents a variety of challenges. Beyond the technology itself (and, especially, the effects on the technology of the harsh oceanic environment), it is important to consider the possible environmental impacts of commercial-scale implementation of oceanic energy extraction. Further, because such implementation represents a completely new undertaking, the human resources required do not exist, so education and training programs are critical to eventual success. This project, establishing a national open-ocean energy laboratory, was designed to address each of these three challenges in a flexible framework allowing for adaptive management as the project proceeded. In particular: the technology challenge, including resource assessment, evolved during the project to recognize and address the need for a national testing facility in the ocean for small-scale prototype MRE systems developed by industry; the environmental challenge became formalized and expanded during the permitting process for such a testing facility; and the human resources/societal challenges, both in terms of the need for education and training and in terms of public acceptance of MRE, stimulated a robust outreach program far beyond that originally envisioned at SNMREC. While all of these activities at SNMREC are ongoing, a number of significant milestones (in addition to the contributions listed in the appendices) were achieved under the auspices of this award. These include: Planning and site selection for the first-phase test facility, offshore of Dania Beach, FL, including some equipment for the facility, submission of an Interim Policy Lease Application to the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and completion of an Environmental Assessment by BOEM and a positive Consistency Determination by the State of Florida; Measurements using acoustic profilers of the current structure and variability in the vicinity of the site under a variety of weather conditions, seasons and time durations; Design and implementation of instrumentation for the first phase of the offshore testing facility, the wet- and top-side data acquisition systems, and shore-based analysis systems; Implementation of a laboratory-scale dynamometer system to test generators of up to 25 kW capacity using real-world (simulated) forcing; Completion of 24 months of (airborne) marine vertebrate surveys and associated analysis of sea turtle offshore activity, marine mammal vocalization research, and ocean current turbine hydrodynamic noise characterization; Development of a secondary-school (nominally grade 10) curriculum about hydrokinetic MRE, “Energy from the Oceans: The New Renewable”, and training of over 200 high-school teachers in its use and in how to educate their colleagues in application of the material in the classroom; Presentations to over 50 interested civic groups in the region on various aspects of MRE in SE Florida A series of public lectures to over 600 residents of south Florida to provide broader education on MRE. Development of an interactive kiosk for installation in local science museums. These, and other accomplishments detailed in this report contribute to a comprehensive ongoing program at the SNMREC to support the affordable, responsible, and achievable commercialization of MRE. Many of the tasks of this award are continued or will be verified with follow-on funding DE-EE0004200, and its goal: the installation of the world’s first offshore ocean current turbine testing and validation capability.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

DOE OSTI2013

Data Sharing Report Characterization of Isotope Row Facilities Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge TN

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (EM-OR) requested that Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), working under the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) contract, provide technical and independent waste management planning support using funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Specifically, DOE EM-OR requested ORAU to plan and implement a survey approach, focused on characterizing the Isotope Row Facilities located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for future determination of an appropriate disposition pathway for building debris and systems, should the buildings be demolished. The characterization effort was designed to identify and quantify radiological and chemical contamination associated with building structures and process systems. The Isotope Row Facilities discussed in this report include Bldgs. 3030, 3031, 3032, 3033, 3033A, 3034, 3036, 3093, and 3118, and are located in the northeast quadrant of the main ORNL campus area, between Hillside and Central Avenues. Construction of the isotope production facilities was initiated in the late 1940s, with the exception of Bldgs. 3033A and 3118, which were enclosed in the early 1960s. The Isotope Row facilities were intended for the purpose of light industrial use for the processing, assemblage, and storage of radionuclides used for a variety of applications (ORNL 1952 and ORAU 2013). The Isotope Row Facilities provided laboratory and support services as part of the Isotopes Production and Distribution Program until 1989 when DOE mandated their shutdown (ORNL 1990). These facilities performed diverse research and developmental experiments in support of isotopes production. As a result of the many years of operations, various projects, and final cessation of operations, production was followed by inclusion into the surveillance and maintenance (S&M) project for eventual decontamination and decommissioning (D&D). The process for D&D and final dismantlement of facilities requires that the known contaminants of concern (COCs) be evaluated and quantified and to identify and quantify any additional contaminants in order to satisfy the waste acceptance criteria requirements for the desired disposal pathway. Known facility contaminants include, but are not limited to, asbestos-containing material (ACM), radiological contaminants, and chemical contaminants including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and metals.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2013

Data sharing report characterization of population 7: Personal protective equipment, dry active waste, and miscellaneous debris, surveillance and maintenance project Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge, Tennessee

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2013

Data sharing report characterization of the surveillance and maintenance project miscellaneous process inventory waste items Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (EM-OR) requested Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), working under the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) contract, to provide technical and independent waste management planning support under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Specifically, DOE EM-OR requested ORAU to plan and implement a sampling and analysis campaign to target certain items associated with URS|CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC (UCOR) surveillance and maintenance (S&M) process inventory waste. Eight populations of historical and reoccurring S&M waste at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have been identified in the Waste Handling Plan for Surveillance and Maintenance Activities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, DOE/OR/01-2565&D2 (WHP) (DOE 2012) for evaluation and processing for final disposal. This waste was generated during processing, surveillance, and maintenance activities associated with the facilities identified in the process knowledge (PK) provided in Appendix A. A list of items for sampling and analysis were generated from a subset of materials identified in the WHP populations (POPs) 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, plus a small number of items not explicitly addressed by the WHP. Specifically, UCOR S&M project personnel identified 62 miscellaneous waste items that would require some level of evaluation to identify the appropriate pathway for disposal. These items are highly diverse, relative to origin; composition; physical description; contamination level; data requirements; and the presumed treatment, storage, and disposal facility (TSDF). Because of this diversity, ORAU developed a structured approach to address item-specific data requirements necessary for acceptance in a presumed TSDF that includes the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility (EMWMF)—using the approved Waste Lot (WL) 108.1 profile—the Y-12 Sanitary Landfill (SLF) if appropriate; EnergySolutions Clive; and the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) (ORAU 2013b). Finally, the evaluation of these wastes was more suited to a judgmental sampling approach rather than a statistical design, meaning data were collected for each individual item, thereby providing information for item-byitem disposition decisions. ORAU prepared a sampling and analysis plan (SAP) that outlined data collection strategies, methodologies, and analytical guidelines and requirements necessary for characterizing targeted items (ORAU 2013b). The SAP described an approach to collect samples that allowed evaluation as to whether or not the waste would be eligible for disposal at the EMWMF. If the waste was determined not to be eligible for EMWMF disposal, then there would be adequate information collected that would allow the waste to be profiled for one of the alternate TSDFs listed above.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2012

Laboratory report on iodine ( 129 I and 127 I) speciation, transformation and mobility in Handford groundwater, suspended particles and sediments

The Hanford Site in eastern Washington produced plutonium for several decades and in the process generated billions of gallons of radioactive waste. Included in this complex mixture of waste was 50 Ci of iodine-129 ( 129 I). Iodine-129’s high abundance, due to its high fission yield, and extreme toxicity result in iodine-129 becoming a key risk driver at many Department of Energy (DOE) sites. The mobility of radioiodine in arid environments, such as the Hanford Site, depends largely on its chemical speciation and is also greatly affected by many other environmental factors, especially natural sediment organic matter (SOM). Groundwater radioiodine speciation has not been measured in arid regions with major plumes or large disposed 129 I inventories, including the Hanford Site, Idaho National Laboratory, and Nevada Test Site. In this study, stable iodine-127 and radioiodine-129 speciation, pH, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) of groundwater samples collected from seven wells located in the 200-West Area of the Hanford site were investigated. The most striking finding was that iodate (IO 3 - ) was the most abundant species. Unexpectedly, iodide (I - ), which was likely the form of iodine in the source materials and the expected dominant groundwater species based on thermodynamic considerations, only accounted for 1-2% of the total iodine concentration. It is likely that the relatively high pH and the low abundance of sedimentary organic matter (SOM) that is present at the site slowed down or even inhibited the reduction of iodate, as SOM abiotically reduce iodate into iodide. Moreover, a study on the kinetics of iodide and iodate uptake and aqueous speciation transformation by three representative subsurface Hanford sediments was performed over a period of about one month. This study was carried out by using iodide-125 or iodate-125 at the ambient iodine-127concentration found at the site. Iodate K d values were on average 89% greater than iodide K d values, and the K d values for both species tended to increase with the amount of organic carbon (OC) present in the sediment. It is especially noteworthy that this trend existed at the very low OC concentrations that naturally exist in the Hanford sediments. Iodine and OC can form essentially irreversible covalent bonds, thereby providing a yet unstudied 129 I retardation reaction at the Hanford Site. In addition to the transformation of iodine species, the sediment collected from the vadose zone also released stable iodide into the aqueous phase. It was found that the three sediments all took up the ambient iodate from the groundwater and slowly transformed it into iodide under the laboratory conditions, likely dependent on the abundance of reducing agents such as organic matter and Fe 2+ . Therefore two competitive iodine processes were identified, the tendency for the sediment to reduce iodate to iodide, and the groundwater chemistry to maintain the iodine as iodate, presumably it is largely the result of natural pH and dissolved O 2 /Eh levels. Suspended carbonate (and silica) particles collected from Hanford groundwater contained elevated amounts of iodine (142 ± 8 μg/g iodine), consisting mainly of iodate (>99%). Iodate was likely incorporated into the carbonate structure during calcite precipitation upon degasing of CO 2 as the groundwater samples were removed from the subsurface. This concentration of groundwater iodate in precipitated carbonate has implication to long-term fate and transport of 129 I and on active in-situ 129 I groundwater remediation. This study provides some of the first groundwater radioiodine speciation studies conducted in arid environments and provides much needed mechanistic descriptions to permit making informed decisions about low-cost/high intellectual input remediation options, such as monitored natural attenuation, or long-term stewardship of nuclear waste disposal sites.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2013

Summary Report of Ecological Risk Assessment for the Operation of the Explosives Waste Treatment Facility at Site 300 of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

An ecological risk assessment is required as part of the Resource Recovery and Conservation Act (RCRA) permit renewal process for Miscellaneous Units subject to 22 CCR 66270.23. This risk assessment is prepared in support of the RCRA permit renewal for the Explosives Waste Treatment Facility (EWTF) at Site 300 of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). LLNL collected soil samples and used the resulting data to produce a scoping-level ecological risk assessment pursuant to the Department of Toxic Substances Control, Guidance for Ecological Risk Assessment at Hazardous Waste Sites and Permitted Facilities, Part A: Overview, July 4, 1996. The scoping-level ecological risk assessment provides a framework to determine the potential interaction between ecological receptors and chemicals of concern from hazardous waste treatment operations in the area of EWTF. A scoping-level ecological risk assessment includes the step of conducting soil sampling in the area of the treatment units. The Sampling Plan in Support of the Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment for the Operation of the Explosives Waste Treatment Facility at Site 300 of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, (Terusaki, 2007), outlines the EWTF project-specific soil sampling requirements. Soil samples were obtained and analyzed for constituents from four chemical groups: furans, explosives, semi-volatiles and metals. Analytical results showed that furans, explosives and semi-volatiles were not detected; therefore, no further analysis was conducted. The soil samples did show the presence of metals. Soil samples analyzed for metals were compared to site-wide background levels, which had been developed for site -wide cleanup activities pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Total metal concentrations from 28 discrete soil samples obtained in the EWTF area were all below CERCLA-developed background levels. Therefore, following DTSC 1996 guidance, the EWTF hazardous waste treatment units exit the ecological risk evaluation process upon completion of the requirements of a scoping-level assessment report. This summary report documents that the requirements of a scoping-level assessment have been met.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2013

Idaho National Laboratory Quarterly Event Performance Analysis FY 2013 4th Quarter

This report is published quarterly by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Performance Assurance Organization. The Department of Energy Occurrence Reporting and Processing System (ORPS) as prescribed in DOE Order 232.2 “Occurrence Reporting and Processing of Operations Information” requires a quarterly analysis of events, both reportable and not reportable for the previous twelve months. This report is the analysis of occurrence reports and deficiency reports (including not reportable events) identified at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) during the period of October 2012 through September 2013.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗