Nuclear waste

Technical Report · Mon Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:5593406

Synar, M

Concern was expressed that the Department of Energy (DOE) does not know enough about the high-level radioactive wastes stored in 149 underground single-shell tanks at DOE's Hanford Site near Richland, Washington, to determine appropriate disposal options or to develop technologies for retrieving the wastes from the tanks and treating them. This paper reviews the current status of DOE's efforts to characterize the single-shell tank wastes, including any impediments, such as technological limitations and safety considerations. Characterization is the first major step in disposing of the single-shell tank wastes; it involves determining through sampling and analysis the physical, chemical, and radiological constituents of the wastes in each tank.

• Research Organization: General Accounting Office, Washington, DC (United States). Resources, Community and Economic Development Div.
• OSTI ID: 5593406
• Report Number(s): GAO/RCED-91-118
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CONTAINERS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
FEDERAL REGION X
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
PROCESSING
QUALITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SAFETY
STORAGE
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
WASHINGTON
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTE RETRIEVAL
WASTE STORAGE
WASTES