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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Handling 78,000 drums of mixed-waste sludge

Conference ·
OSTI ID:6278554

The Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (now known as the Oak Ridge K-25 Site) closed two mixed-waste surface impoundments by removing the sludge and contaminated pond-bottom clay and attempting to process it into durable, nonleachable, concrete monoliths. Interim, controlled, above-ground storage included delisting the stabilized sludge from hazardous to nonhazardous and disposing of the delisted monoliths as Class 1 radioactive waste. Because of schedule constraints and process design and control deficiencies, {approximately}46,000 drums of material in various stages of solidification and {approximately}32,000 barrels of unprocessed sludge are stored. The abandoned treatment facility still contains {approximately}16,000 gal of raw sludge. Such storage of mixed waste does not comply with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) guidelines. This paper describes actions that are under way to bring the storage of {approximately}78,000 drums of mixed waste into compliance with RCRA. Remediation of this problem by treatment to meet regulatory requirements is the focus of the discussion. 3 refs., 2 figs., 4 tabs.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-84OR21400
OSTI ID:
6278554
Report Number(s):
CONF-910849-5; ON: DE91018846
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English