Improvement of Approaches to Waste Containment System Development, Management, and Evaluation (original) (raw)
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Technology needs for remediation: Hanford and other DOE sites
1993
°The lack of detail on the needs that have been identifiedmakes it difficultto determine their validity. Typically,the description is one sentencelong, and it is not always clear who identifiedthe need and whether the individualknew enough about the site conditions, the nature of the wastes, the difficultyin treatingthem, or the capabilitiesof availabletechnologies. These problemsneed to be resolved if a sound technologydevelopment program is to be developed. The followingare the primary recommendationsresultingfrom this study: I. The technologyneeds identifiedin this report should be reviewed by the sites to assess their validity and completeness. 2. The technologyneeds identifiedin this report should be reviewed by the BWID program staff knowledgeablein the various technical areas. A determinationof the significanceof site-specific wastes, disposal conditions,or environmentalconditionsacross the complex should be made. 3. This report should be made availableto current and potentialBWID researchersso that they can gain a more complete picture of the DOE-wide buried waste problem. By being aware of the range of wastes, disposalmethods, and environmentalconditions,researchers may be able to broaden the applicabilityof their researchwith minimal cost and effort. As sites get closer to actual remediation,additionaltechnologyneeds, largely enhancementsto current technologies,will be identified. Technology needs identification will thereforebe an ongoing process. A mechanismmust be in place to facilitatethis transferof informationto the BWID program. We recommendefforts be made by BWID staff to work with knowledgeablestaff at each site on a regular basis. V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was performedby Pacific NorthwestLaboratory(PNL) under the auspices of WestinghouseHanford Company (WHC). The author wants to thank Owen Kruger (WHC) for his support and encouragementin completingthis study. The author also wants to thank Greg Holter (PNL), the Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration(BWID) projectmanager for PNL, for his support and direction.
Using the Disposal Systems Evaluation Framework to Evaluate Design Tradeoffs
Design tradeoffs for a clay repository were evaluated using the Disposal Systems Evaluation Framework (DSEF) being developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The goal of the design tradeoff study is to identify repository design options that enable use of large waste packages. Concepts evaluated include those with pre-closure ventilation (open mode) as well as those with backfill installed at the time of waste emplacement (enclosed mode). Open mode systems maintain an air gap between the waste package and the rock (drift or borehole) wall, across which the primary mode of heat transfer is thermal radiation. In enclosed mode systems, there are multiple layers of the Engineered Barrier System (EBS) between the waste package and the rock wall, such as buffer, envelope, backfill, and a liner. DSEF includes user-friendly options to facilitate the documentation of conceptual repository design alternatives for a wide assortment of waste forms, geologic environments, and repositor...
2008
A s air-pollution, rising energy costs and environmental concerns increasingly attract scrutiny in the public eye, clean energy sources are gaining traction in the market. Nuclear power, in particular, has been a reliable and inexpensive source, as 20% of the United States' energy isproduced in nuclear power plants (1). The nuclear power industry in the US, however, faces many challenges to expansion, the biggest being the unre-solved issue of how to properly store the tons of hazardous waste that are produced every year. This issue has become even more salient with the recent tragedy in Japan, when hurricane Fuku-shima caused one of the worst nuclear fallout disasters in modern history. This article aims to shed light on the current technologies available to handle hazardous commercial nuclear waste, to present the obstacles involved in long-term storage options, and to describe how research is helping make the storage of nuclear waste more safe and reliable. The idea of underg...
Waste Containment and Remediation
Waste Containment and Remediation
ISBN 0-7844-0769-X Any statements expressed in these materials are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of ASCE, which takes no responsibility for any statement made herein. No reference made in this publication to any specific method, product, process or service constitutes or implies an endorsement, recommendation, or warranty thereof by ASCE. The materials are for general information only and do not represent a standard of ASCE, nor are they intended as a reference in purchase specifications, contracts, regulations, statutes, or any other legal document. ASCE makes no representation or warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or utility of any information, apparatus, product, or process discussed in this publication, and assumes no liability therefore. This information should not be used without first securing competent advice with respect to its suitability for any general or specific application. Anyone utilizing this information assumes all liability arising from such use, including but not limited to infringement of any patent or patents.
Storage, Disposal, Remediation, and Closure
Water Environment Research, 2001
Coverage: This review covers papers on two major areas: (1) storage and disposal and (2) remediation and closure. The storage and disposal section includes design and siting of new hazardous waste storage and disposal sites and the evaluation of the .extent and nature of contamination at existing hazardous waste management sites prior to remediation, including new regulations affecting the storage and disposal of hazardous wastes. The second section covers all facets of the site remediation process, from establishing cleanup objectives and estimating costs to selecting, applying, and evaluating the effectiveness of the remedial activities, including new regulations affecting the remediation process. Radioactive wastes publications are presented in a separate review, and remediation of petroleum underground storage tanks (USTs) is generally not covered unless it is performed concurrently with the remediation of hazardous wastes. Amendments to and explanations of significant differences for records of decision (RODs) are also excluded.
1995
The Building 834 Complex at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Site 300, has been used by the weapons development programs at LLNL as a testing facility for measuring component response to environmental stresses such as extreme temperature. The heat-exchange system at the facility used trichloroethene TCE, at times with adjuvants, as the primary heat-transfer media for over 20 years. Accidental spills, pipe failures, and seal blowouts over that period contributed to a substantial contaminant plume in a perched water-bearing zone underlying the Complex. Individual wells near the source area have produced ground water samples with TCE concentrations exceeding 800,000 ppb. In the last several years, the authors have developed a modular ground water and soil vapor extraction system for remediating the plume source area. The modular facility design permits the testing of new technologies to expedite remediation, and/or reduce the quantity of hazardous wastes generated as b...
2002
This paper describes the ongoing integrated life-cycle optimization efforts to achieve both design flexibility and design stability for activities associated with the Waste Treatment Plant at Hanford. Design flexibility is required to support the Department of Energy Office of River Protection Balance of Mission objectives, and design stability to meet the Waste Treatment Plant construction and commissioning requirements in order to produce first glass in 2007. The Waste Treatment Plant is a large complex project that is driven by both technology and contractual requirements. It is also part of a larger overall mission, as a component of the River Protection Project, which is driven by programmatic requirements and regulatory, legal, and fiscal constraints. These issues are further complicated by the fact that both of the major contractors involved have a different contract type with DOE, and neither has a contract with the other. This combination of technical and programmatic drive...
Composite analysis for low-level waste disposal in the 200 area plateau of the Hanford Site
1998
This report presents the f i r s t iteration of the Composite Analysis for Low-Level Wmte Disposal in the 200 Area Plateau of the Hmford Site (Composite Analysis) prepared in response to the U.S. Department of Energy Implementation Plan for the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board Recommendation 94-2. The Composite Analysis is a companion document to published analyses of four active or planned lowlevel waste disposal actions: the solid waste burial grounds in the 200 West Area, the solid waste burial grounds in the 200 East Area, the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility, and the disposal facilities for immobilized lowractivity waste. A single Composite Analysis was prepared for the W o r d Site considering only sources on the 200 Area Plateau. The performance objectives prescribed in U.S. Department of Energy guidance for the Composite Analysis were 100 mrem in a year and examination of a lower dose (30 mrem in a year) to ensure the "as low as reasonably achievableyy concept is followed. The 100 mrem in a year limit was the maximum allowable all-pathways dose for 1000 years following Hanford Site closure, which is assumed to occur in 2050. These performance objectives apply to an accessible environment defined as the area between a buffer zone surrounding an exclusive waste management area on the 200 Area Plateau, and the Columbia River. Estimating doses to hypothetical future members of the public for the Composite Analysis was a multistep process involving the estimation or simulation of inventories; waste release to the environment; migration through the vadose zone, groundwater, and atmospheric pathways; and exposure and dose. Doses were estimated for scenarios based on agriculture, residential, industrial, and recreational land use. The radionuclides included in the vadose zone and groundwater pathway analyses of future releases were carbon-14, chlorine-36, selenium-79, technetium-99, iodine-129, and uranium isotopes. In addition, tritium and strontium-90 were included because they exist in groundwater plumes. Radionuclides considered in the atmospheric pathway included tritium and carbon-14. Most of the radionuclide inventory in past-practice liquid discharge and solid waste burial sites on the 200 Area Plateau was projected to be released in the f i r s t several hundred years following H d o r d Site closure and a significant fraction of the inventory was projected to be released prior to closure. The maximum predicted agricultural dose outside the buffer zone was less than 6 mrem in a year in 2050 and declined thereafter. The maximum doses estimated for the residential, industrial, and recreational scenarios, were 2.2,0.7, and 0.04 mrem in a year, respectively, and also declined after 2050. The radiological doses for all of the exposure scenarios outside the buffer zone were well below the performance. objectives.. Significant uncertainties exist in the f i r s t iteration Composite Analysis, with the largest uncertainty associated with the inventories of key mobile radionuclides. Other sources of uncertainty in the analysis arose fiom the conceptual and numerical models of contaminant migration and fate in the vadose zone, and assumptions regarding sourceterm release models and end states. These uncertainties reflect most on the performance of past releases of liquid wastes and past disposals of solid wastes. The review of existing plumes conducted as part of the first iteration Composite Analysis revealed that the exclusive waste management area and buffer zone should be expanded to include the retired Gable Mountain Pond. The Composite Analysis demonstrated a significant separation in time between past-practice discharges iii and disposals, and active and planned disposals of solid waste, environmental restoration waste, and immobilized low-activity waste. The higher integrity disposal facilities and surface covers of these active and planned disposals delay releases, and the delayed releases do not superimpose on the plumes fiom the near-term past-practice disposals.
Manuscript for Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management
2016
An evaluation method that can express the local leakage of leachate from joint sections in steel pipe sheet pile (SPSP) cutoff walls is discussed, in this study. In particular, the evaluation of environmental feasibility (containment of leachates containing toxic substances) considering a three-dimensional arrangement and hydraulic conductivity distribution of the joint sections in the SPSP cutoff wall is compared with an evaluation that generally uses the equivalent hydraulic conductivity. This equivalent hydraulic conductivity assumes that the joint section and the steel pipe are integrated; therefore, the hydraulic conductivity is substituted with a uniform permeable layer. However, in an evaluation that employs the equivalent hydraulic conductivity, it is difficult to consider the local leakage of leachate containing toxic substances from the joint sections in the SPSP cutoff wall. This paper concluded that evaluations of the environmental feasibilities of the SPSP cutoff walls with joint sections must take into account the local leakage of leachates containing toxic substances from the joint section. Also, it was clarified that technologies that lower the hydraulic conductivities of joint sections in SPSP cutoff walls and also facilitate the use of sparser arrangements contribute significantly to increasing the environmental feasibilities of SPSP cutoff walls at landfill sites.