Proposed sale of radioactively contaminated nickel ingots located at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Paducah, Kentucky
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to sell 8,500 radioactively contaminated nickel ingots (9.350 short tons), currently in open storage at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP), to Scientific Ecology Group, Inc. (SEG) for decontamination and resale on the international market. SEG would take ownership of the ingots when they are loaded for transport by truck to its facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. SEG would receive approximately 200 short tons per month over approximately 48 months (an average of 180 ingots per month). The nickel decontamination process specified in SEG`s technical proposal is considered the best available technology and has been demonstrated in prototype at SEG. The resultant metal for resale would have contamination levels between 0.3 and 20 becquerel per gram (Bq/g). The health hazards associated with release of the decontaminated nickel are minimal. The activity concentration of the end product would be further reduced when the nickel is combined with other metals to make stainless steel. Low-level radioactive waste from the SEG decontamination process, estimated to be approximately 382 m{sup 3} (12,730 ft), would be shipped to a licensed commercial or DOE disposal facility. If the waste were packaged in 0.23 m{sup 3}-(7.5 ft{sup 3}-) capacity drums, approximately 1,500 to 1,900 drums would be transported over the 48-month contract period. Impacts from the construction of decontamination facilities and the selected site are minimal.
- Research Organization:
- Science Applications International Corp., Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 245657
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/EA-0994; ON: DE96011580; NC: NONE; TRN: 96:014649
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Oct 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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