Pursuing Cost Effective Tank Waste Characterization at the Savannah River Site - 16172
- Savannah River National Laboratory (United States)
The U. S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management has tasked the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) with developing strategies and technologies to understand, optimize, scale, and speed up tank waste characterization. This scope is part of a multi-year project with the end goal of implementing programmatic changes that accelerate tank waste processing and tank closure schedules, and at the same time reduce characterization costs, while maintaining data integrity. The project is currently in its second year. During the first year of the project, SRNL completed a series of activities focused on understanding the range of current characterization practices, needs, gaps, risks, and potential alternative approaches. Based on the results, conclusions were drawn regarding aspects of the programs that are most costly and time consuming; particular waste constituents that drive costs, schedule, and program risks; alternative characterization approaches (other than sampling and analysis) that are less expensive and more rapid; new laboratory methods holding the greatest promise for reducing characterization costs and schedule; and in whole, the primary areas where current characterization practices can be improved. SRNL's current scope is focusing on three primary activities: 1) development of a technical basis/strategy for improving the cost effectiveness and schedule of SRNL's tank closure characterization program; 2) design/assembly of hardware, plumbing, and software for automating select radiochemical separation and waste removal processes; and 3) development and testing of alternative radiochemical separation protocols most likely to improve high resource demand/time consuming analysis methods (such as Ra-226, Pa-231, Tc-99/I-129, and/or Y/trivalent actinide separations). (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22838052
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-19-WM-16172; TRN: US19V1245083407
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM2016: 42. Annual Waste Management Symposium, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 6-10 Mar 2016; Other Information: Country of input: France; 1 ref.; available online at: http://archive.wmsym.org/2016/index.html
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) 241-Z Liquid Waste Treatment Facility Deactivation and Demolition
Coupling Environmental Contracting Using Risk Allocation with U.S. Department of Energy Remediation Marketplace