Gas generation and retention in Tank 101-SY: A summary of laboratory studies, tank data, and information needs

Technical Report · Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10151934· OSTI ID:10151934

Pederson, L R ^[1]; Ashby, E C ^[2]; Jonah, C; Meisel, D ^[3]; Strachan, D M ^[4]

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1. comp.; Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
2. Georgia Inst. of Tech., Atlanta, GA (United States)
3. Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
4. Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)

Chemical and radioactive wastes from processes used to separate plutonium from uranium are stored in underground tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington state. In March 1981, it was observed that the volume of wastes in Tank 101-SY slowly increased, followed by a rapid decrease and the venting of large quantities of gases. These cycles occurred every 8 to 15 weeks and continue to the present time. Subsequent analyses showed that these gases were composed primarily of hydrogen and nitrous oxide (N{sub 2}O). In response to the potential for explosion and release of hazardous materials to the environment, laboratory programs were initiated at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT), Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL), and Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC), to develop a better understanding of the physical and chemical processes occurring in this waste tank. An aggressive sampling and analysis effort is also under way to characterize the wastes as fully as possible. These efforts will provide a technically defensible basis for safety analyses and future mitigation/remediation of the tank and its contents.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 10151934
• Report Number(s): PNL-8124; ON: DE92015635
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: Jun 1992
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
GASES
EMISSION
MITIGATION
HANFORD RESERVATION
TANKS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
DATA ACQUISITION
REMEDIAL ACTION
GAS ANALYSIS
SLURRIES
SAMPLING
DECOMPOSITION
NITROUS OXIDE
HYDROGEN
RADIOLYSIS
MINIMIZATION
052002
054000
WASTE DISPOSAL AND STORAGE
HEALTH AND SAFETY