Case Study of Anomalies Encountered During Remediation of Mixed Low-Level Waste Burial Grounds in the 100 and 300 Areas of the Hanford Site
- Washington Closure Hanford, Richland, WA (United States)
Under the U.S. Department of Energy's River Corridor Closure Project, Washington Closure Hanford has completed remediation of more than 10 mixed low-level waste burial grounds in the 100 and 300 Areas of the Hanford Site. The records of decision for the burial grounds required excavation, characterization, and transport of contaminated material to a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976-compliant hazardous waste landfill. This paper discusses a sample of the anomalous waste found during remediation and provides an overview of the waste excavation activities. The 100 Area burial grounds received plutonium production reactor waste and waste associated with various test programs. Examples of 100 Area anomalies include spent nuclear fuel, elemental mercury, reactor hardware, and the remains of animals used in testing the effects of radionuclides on living organisms. The 300 Area burial grounds received waste from research and development laboratories and fuel manufacturing operations. Of the seven 300 Area burial grounds remediated to date, the most challenging has been the 618-2 Burial Ground. It presented significant challenges because of the potential for airborne alpha contamination and the discovery of plutonium in an isotopically pure form. Anomalies encountered in the 618-2 Burial Ground included a combination safe that contained gram quantities of plutonium, miscellaneous containers of unknown liquids, and numerous types of shielded shipping casks. Information presented in this paper will be an aid to those involved in remediation activities throughout the U.S. Department of Energy complex and at other nuclear waste disposal sites. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9 - 332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21294723
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-09-WM-07367; TRN: US10V0252040913
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM'07: 2007 Waste Management Symposium - Global Accomplishments in Environmental and Radioactive Waste Management: Education and Opportunity for the Next Generation of Waste Management Professionals, Tucson, AZ (United States), 25 Feb - 1 Mar 2007; Other Information: Country of input: France; 11 refs
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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