skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Hanford A and AX-Farm Leak Assessments Report: 241-A-103, 241-A-104, 241-A-105, 241-AX-102, 241-AX-104 and Unplanned Waste Releases

Abstract

This report summarizes information on historical waste loss events associated with tanks and piplines in the 241-A and 241-AX tank farms.

Authors:
;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
HNF (Hanford Site (HNF), Richland, WA (United States))
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM)
OSTI Identifier:
1093868
Report Number(s):
RPP-ENV-37956 Rev 1
DOE Contract Number:
DE-AC27-08RV14800
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES

Citation Formats

Johnson, Michael E., and Field, Jim G. Hanford A and AX-Farm Leak Assessments Report: 241-A-103, 241-A-104, 241-A-105, 241-AX-102, 241-AX-104 and Unplanned Waste Releases. United States: N. p., 2008. Web. doi:10.2172/1093868.
Copy to clipboard
Johnson, Michael E., & Field, Jim G. Hanford A and AX-Farm Leak Assessments Report: 241-A-103, 241-A-104, 241-A-105, 241-AX-102, 241-AX-104 and Unplanned Waste Releases. United States. doi:10.2172/1093868.
Copy to clipboard
Johnson, Michael E., and Field, Jim G. Tue . "Hanford A and AX-Farm Leak Assessments Report: 241-A-103, 241-A-104, 241-A-105, 241-AX-102, 241-AX-104 and Unplanned Waste Releases". United States. doi:10.2172/1093868. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1093868.
Copy to clipboard
@article{osti_1093868,
title = {Hanford A and AX-Farm Leak Assessments Report: 241-A-103, 241-A-104, 241-A-105, 241-AX-102, 241-AX-104 and Unplanned Waste Releases},
author = {Johnson, Michael E. and Field, Jim G.},
abstractNote = {This report summarizes information on historical waste loss events associated with tanks and piplines in the 241-A and 241-AX tank farms.},
doi = {10.2172/1093868},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Aug 26 00:00:00 EDT 2008},
month = {Tue Aug 26 00:00:00 EDT 2008}
}
Copy to clipboard
Technical Report:
View Technical Report (35.32 MB)
DOI:  10.2172/1093868
Save / Share:
Export Metadata
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.

  • ; ;
    This report provides the results obtained for the first five tanks sampled with the Retained Gas Sampler (RGS): Tanks 241-AW-101, A-101, AN-105, AN-104, and AN-103. The RGS is a modified version of the core sampler used at Hanford. It is designed specifically, in concert with the gas extraction equipment in the hot cell, to capture and extrude a gas-containing waste sample in a hermetically sealed system. The retained gases are then extracted and stored in small gas canisters. The composition of the gases contained in the canisters was measured by mass spectroscopy. The total gas volume was obtained from analysismore » of the extraction process, as discussed in detail throughout this report. The following are the findings of this research: (1) The RGS is a viable approach for measuring retained gases in double- and single-shell waste tanks at Hanford. (2) Local measurements of void fraction with the RGS agree with the results obtained with the void fraction instrument (VFI) in most cases. (3) In the tanks sampled, more than 16% of the retained gas in the nonconvective layer was nitrogen (N{sub 2}). The fraction of nitrogen gas was approximately 60% in Tank 241-AW-101. This finding shows that not all the retained gas mixtures are flammable. (4) In the tanks sampled, the ratios of hydrogen to oxidizers were observed to be significantly higher than 1; i.e., these tanks are fuel-rich. Based on these observations, the RGS will be used to sample for retained gases in several single-shell tanks at Hanford. The remaining sections of this summary describe the RGS-findings for the first five tanks tested. The results are described in the order in which the tanks were sampled, to reflect the increasing experience on which RGS methods were based.« less

  • This report documents the preferred approach (retrieval strategy) to prepare and transfer waste from low-activity waste source tanks containing soluble solids (Tanks 241-AN-103, 241-AN-104, 241-AN-105 and 241-AW-101) to the vitrification plant. Several opportunities to further refine the selected retrieval strategy were identified; these were recommended for follow-on studies.

  • ;
    The Hanford Site has 149 single-shell tanks (SSTs) and 28 double-shell tanks (DSTs) containing radioactive wastes that are complex mixes of radioactive and chemical products. Some of these wastes are known to generate mixtures of flammable gases, including hydrogen, nitrous oxide, and ammonia. Nineteen of these SSTs and six of the DSTs have been placed on the Flammable Gas Watch List because they are known or suspected, in all but one case, to retain these flammable gases. Because these gases are flammable, their retention and episodic release pose a number of safety concerns. Understanding the physical mechanisms and waste propertiesmore » that contribute to the retention and release of these gases will help to resolve the Flammable Gas Safety Issue. The strength of the waste plays a central role in the mechanisms of both bubble retention and bubble release. While recent in-situ measurements from the ball rheometer have provided results for five of the DSTs, waste strength measurements are typically not available for any of the SSTs or for the DSTs that have not been characterized with the ball rheometer. The overall purpose of this study is to develop a method to obtain strength estimates for actual wastes from observations of the wastes` behavior during extrusion from core samplers. The first objective of the study was to quantify waste behavior during horizontal extrusion by documenting the extrusion behavior of simulants with known strengths; the second was to estimate the strength of actual waste based on these simulant standards. Results showed a reproducible extrusion behavior for bentonite clay and kaolin/Ludox{reg_sign} simulants over strengths ranging from 30 to 6,500 Pa. The extrusion behavior was documented with both video recordings and still images. Based on these visual standards, strength estimates were made for wastes from DSTs 241-SY-103, 241-AW-101, and 241-AN-103 and SST 241-S-102.« less

  • ; ; ; ...
    Fluidized Bed Steam Reforming (FBSR) is a robust technology for the immobilization of a wide variety of radioactive wastes. Applications have been tested at the pilot scale for the high sodium, sulfate, halide, organic and nitrate wastes at the Hanford site, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and the Savannah River Site (SRS). Due to the moderate processing temperatures, halides, sulfates, and technetium are retained in mineral phases of the feldspathoid family (nepheline, sodalite, nosean, carnegieite, etc). The feldspathoid minerals bind the contaminants such as Tc-99 in cage (sodalite, nosean) or ring (nepheline) structures to surrounding aluminosilicate tetrahedra in the feldspathoidmore » structures. The granular FBSR mineral waste form that is produced has a comparable durability to LAW glass based on the short term PCT testing in this study, the INL studies, SPFT and PUF testing from previous studies as given in the columns in Table 1-3 that represent the various durability tests. Monolithing of the granular product was shown to be feasible in a separate study. Macro-encapsulating the granular product provides a decrease in leaching compared to the FBSR granular product when the geopolymer is correctly formulated.« less

  • ; ; ; ...
    Research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has probed the physical mechanisms and waste properties that contribute to the retention and release of flammable gases from radioactive waste stored in underground tanks at Hanford. This study was conducted for Westinghouse Hanford Company as part of the PNNL Flammable Gas Project. The wastes contained in the tanks are mixes of radioactive and chemical products, and some of these wastes are known to generate mixtures of flammable gases, including hydrogen, nitrous oxide, and ammonia. Because these gases are flammable, their retention and episodic release pose a number of safety concerns.