Waste Acceptance and Disposal at the Nevada National Security Site
- National Security Technologies, LLC. (NSTec), Mercury, NV (United States)
- U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) relies on the Performance Assessment (PA) and the PA model of the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) to make disposal decisions on waste stream profiles submitted by waste generators. Disposal decisions are made following a formal process called the PA review process. This paper presents the PA review process, which is a part of the NNSA/NFO’s Waste Generator Documentation Approval Process. The review process includes three major steps and employs quantitative tools such as the PA-derived factors and probabilistic inventory and PA models developed in GoldSim. The PA-derived radionuclide action levels for waste characterization and reporting are included in the NNSS Waste Acceptance Criteria. Each year, NNSA/NFO reviews approximately 100 to 150 new or revised waste stream profiles. The PA review group ensures that, with the disposal of approved waste streams, the Area 5 RWMS will remain in compliance with the performance objectives of DOE O 435.1, “Radioactive Waste Management.” Examples of the PA review process are given that demonstrate how waste streams with special characteristics are evaluated and disposal decisions are made. The most rigorous profile evaluation is done with the PA model, run with the proposed profile inventory added and results compared to the PA results. Additional analysis and process-modeling are performed for those waste streams with unique features not addressed with the PA model. The results of these analyses and modeling are documented in special analysis reports, reviewed and approved by NNSA/NFO. The examples include (1) profiles with radionuclides not in the PA, (2) profiles including radionuclides with high radon-generation potential, and (3) profiles with high-heat generating radionuclides.
- Research Organization:
- Nevada Test Site (NTS), Mercury, NV (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC52-06NA25946
- OSTI ID:
- 1248640
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/NV/25946-1923
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Waste Management (WM) 2014 Conference; Phoenix, AZ; March 2–6, 2014
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
2011 Annual Summary Report for the Area 3 and Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Sites at the Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada: Review of the Performance Assessments and Composite Analyses
Special Analysis of the Area 3 Radioactive Waste Management Site at the Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada