Defense waste transportation: cost and logistics studies

Technical Report · Sun Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1982

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5123742· OSTI ID:5123742

Andrews, W B; Cole, B M; Engel, R L; Oylear, J M

Transportation of nuclear wastes from defense programs is expected to significantly increase in the 1980s and 1990s as permanent waste disposal facilities come into operation. This report uses models of the defense waste transportation system to quantify potential transportation requirements for treated and untreated contact-handled transuranic (CH-TRU) wastes and high-level defense wastes (HLDW). Alternative waste management strategies in repository siting, waste retrieval and treatment, treatment facility siting, waste packaging and transportation system configurations were examined to determine their effect on transportation cost and hardware requirements. All cost estimates used 1980 costs. No adjustments were made for future changes in these costs relative to inflation. All costs are reported in 1980 dollars. If a single repository is used for defense wastes, transportation costs for CH-TRU waste currently in surface storage and similar wastes expected to be generated by the year 2000 were estimated to be 109 million dollars. Recovery and transport of the larger buried volumes of CH-TRU waste will increase CH-TRU waste transportation costs by a factor of 70. Emphasis of truck transportation and siting of multiple repositories would reduce CH-TRU transportation costs. Transportation of HLDW to repositories for 25 years beginning in 1997 is estimated to cost $229 M in 1980 costs and dollars. HLDW transportation costs could either increase or decrease with the selection of a final canister configuration. HLDW transportation costs are reduced when multiple repositories exist and emphasis is placed on truck transport.

• Research Organization: Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 5123742
• Report Number(s): PNL-3721; TTC-0191; ON: DE82021966
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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