Characterization of remote-handled transuranic waste for the waste isolation pilot plant : final report / Committee on the Characterization of Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, Board on Radioactive Waste Management, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Characterization of Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

Series:

Compass series (Washington, D.C.)

Compass series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Radioactive waste disposal--United States.

Radioactive waste disposal.

Alpha-bearing wastes--United States.

Alpha-bearing wastes.

Pilot plants--United States.

Pilot plants.

Remote handling (Radioactive substances).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (132 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : National Academy Press, 2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) disposes of plutonium-contaminated debris from its 27 nuclear weapons facilities at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), an underground repository in Carlsbad, New Mexico. After four years of operational experience, DOE has opportunities to make changes to the costly and time-consuming process of "characterizing" the waste to confirm that it is appropriate for shipment to and disposal at WIPP. The report says that in order to make such changes, DOE should conduct and publish a systematic and quantitative assessment to show that the proposed changes would not affect the protection of workers, the public, or the environment.

Contents:

CHARACTERIZATION OF REMOTE-HANDLED TRANSURANIC WASTE FOR THE WASTE ISOLATION PILOT PLANT

Copyright

Preface

Contents

Executive Summary

S.1 TECHNICAL AND REGULATORY CONTEXT OF RH-TRU WASTE CHARACTERIZATION

S.1.1 DOE's RH-TRU Waste Inventories

S.1.2 Regulatory Context

S.2 DOE'S PROPOSED CHARACTERIZATION PLAN FOR RH-TRU WASTE

S.3 COMMITTEE'S ASSESSMENT OF DOE'S PROPOSED CHARACTERIZATION PLAN

S.3.1 Overall Assessment of DOE's Characterization Plan

1 Introduction

1.1 COMMITTEE'S TASK AND ITS BOUNDARIES

1.2 ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT

2 Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste

2.1 TECHNICAL CONTEXT OF REMOTE-HANDLED TRANSURANIC WASTE CHARACTERIZATION

2.2 LIFE CYCLE OF REMOTE-HANDLED TRANSURANIC WASTE

2.3 GENERATION OF REMOTE-HANDLED TRANSURANIC WASTE

2.3.1 Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste Volume Inventory

2.3.2 Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste Radioactivity Inventory

2.4 PACKAGING STATUS OF REMOTE-HANDLED TRANSURANIC WASTE

3 Regulatory Context for the Disposal of Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste

3.1 LAND WITHDRAWAL ACT REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANSURANIC WASTE IN WIPP

3.2 CHARACTERIZATION REQUIREMENTS IN THE EPA CERTIFICATION

3.2.1 WIPP's Performance Assessment

3.3 CHARACTERIZATION REQUIREMENTS IN THE RCRA PERMIT

3.4 HISTORY OF CHARACTERIZATION REQUIREMENTS AT WIPP

4 Department of Energy's Proposed Characterization Plan

4.1 DOE'S CONSIDERATIONS IN COMPOSING THE CHARACTERIZATION PLAN

4.2 DOE'S GOAL: A PERFORMANCE-BASED CHARACTERIZATION PLAN

4.2.1. Acceptable Knowledge

4.3 DATA QUALITY OBJECTIVES AND QUALITY ASSURANCE OBJECTIVES

4.4 DOE'S PROPOSED CHARACTERIZATION PLAN TO ADDRESS EPA REQUIREMENTS

4.5 DOE'S PROPOSED CHARACTERIZATION PLAN TO ADDRESS NMED REQUIREMENTS

4.6 MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE JULY 2001 AND THE MARCH 2002 DRAFTS.

4.7 COMPARISON BETWEEN THE CH- AND RH-TRU WASTE CHARACTERIZATION PLANS

5 Assessment of the Proposed Characterization Plan

5.1 CONTEXT OF REMOTE-HANDLED TRANSURANIC WASTE CHARACTERIZATION

5.2 CHARACTERIZATION PLAN'S TECHNICAL SOUNDNESS

5.3 PROTECTION OF WORKER SAFETY AND HEALTH

5.4 COMPLIANCE WITH REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

5.5 OVERALL ASSESSMENT OF DOE'S CHARACTERIZATION PLAN

References

Appendix A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

Appendix B Information-Gathering Meetings

B.1 FIRST MEETING: AUGUST 1-2, 2001 (COLUMBUS, OHIO)

B.2 SECOND MEETING: OCTOBER 4, 2001 (ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO)

B.3 THIRD MEETING: FEBRUARY 4-5, 2002 (CARLSBAD, NEW MEXICO)

Appendix C Excerpt from the Committee's Interim Report: Chapter 5

Appendix D DOE's Response to the Committee's Interim Report

D.1 DOE'S RESPONSE

REFERENCE

Appendix E Information About Selected Transuranic Waste Generator Sites

E.1 HANFORD SITE

E.1.1 Location and Description

E.1.2 Mission

E.1.3 Waste Information

E.2 IDAHO NATIONAL ENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL LABORATORY

E.2.1 Location and Description

E.2.2 Mission

E.2.3 Waste Information

E.2.4 Supplemental Information

E.3 LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY

E.3.1 Location and Description

E.3.2 Mission

E.3.3 Waste Information

E.4 OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY

E.4.1 Location and Description

E.4.2 Mission

E.4.3 Waste Information

E.5 ENERGY TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING CENTER

E.5.1 Location and Description

E.5.2 Mission

E.5.3 Waste Information

E.6 BATTELLE COLUMBUS LABORATORIES

E.6.1 Location and Description

E.6.2 Mission

E.6.3 Waste Information

Appendix F Overview of the Contact-Handled Transuranic Waste Characterization Plan

F.1 DETERMINATION OF THE ORIGIN AND COMPOSITION OF THE WASTE BY ACCEPTABLE KNOWLEDGE.

F.2 SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS OF HOMOGENEOUS WASTE FOR RESOURCE CONSERVATION RECOVERY ACT CONSTITUENTS

F.3 RADIOGRAPHY

F.4 VISUAL EXAMINATION

F.5 RADIOASSAY AND DETERMINATION OF FISSILE ISOTOPE CONTENT

F.6 HEADSPACE GAS SAMPLING

Appendix G Non-Destructive Techniques for Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste Characterization

G.1 RADIOGRAPHY

G.2 GAMMA-RAY SPECTROSCOPY

G.3 GAMMA-RAY SPECTROSCOPY COMBINED WITH ACCEPTABLE KNOWLEDGE

G.4 PASSIVE AND ACTIVE NEUTRON MEASUREMENT

G.5 MULTI-DETECTOR ANALYSIS SYSTEM

REFERENCES

Appendix H Waste Dose Rates and Characterization Cost Estimates

H.1 COMMITTEE'S EXAMPLE OF ESTIMATE FOR WASTE DOSE RATES

H.2 COMMITTEE'S EXAMPLE OF COST ESTIMATES

Appendix I Glossary

Appendix J Acronyms.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

0-309-18280-8

1-280-18360-8

9786610183609

0-309-56607-X

OCLC:

85035680