Waste vitrification projects throughout the US initiated by SRS

Conference · Wed May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1996

OSTI ID:237388

Jantzen, C M; Whitehouse, J C; Smith, M E; Ramsey, W G; Pickett, J B

Technologies are being developed by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Facility sites to convert high-level, low-level, and mixed wastes to a solid stabilized waste form for permanent disposal. Vitrification is one of the most important and environmentally safest technologies being developed. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has declared vitrification the Best Demonstrated Available Technology (BDAT) for high-level radioactive waste and produced a Handbook of Vitrification Technologies for Treatment of Hazardous and Radioactive Waste. The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) being tested at Savannah River Site (SRS) will soon begin vitrifying the high-level waste at SRS. The DOE Office of Technology Development (OTD) has taken the position that mixed waste needs to be stabilized to the highest level reasonably possible to ensure that the resulting waste forms will meet both the current and future regulatory specifications. Vitrification produces durable waste forms at volume reductions up to 97%. Large reductions in volume minimize long-term storage costs making vitrification cost effective on a life cycle basis.

• Research Organization: Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC09-89SR18035
• OSTI ID: 237388
• Report Number(s): WSRC-MS--95-0422; CONF-960212--83-Extd.Summ.; ON: DE96009654
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
GLASS
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MINIMIZATION
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
STABILITY
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
VITRIFICATION