Existing LLW treatment and disposal technology offers 17-to-1 volume reduction and advanced disposal at low cost
Existing technology was used to develop a conceptual design for a Waste Treatment and Disposal Complex (WTDC). The designed facility would treat nearly 100% of all solid low-level radioactive waste (LLW), regardless of waste classification. Approximately 95 vol% of all LLW would be delivered in reusable shipment containers to the WTDC, where treatment would produce a liquid-free, densely-compacted, 98 vol% inorganic waste. The treated waste would be packed with contaminated grout in uniform, smooth-sided, thin-walled, steel boxes. The boxes are stacked tightly in abovegrade, earth-mounded, concrete, disposal vaults, where they will be protected from water after vault closure. The 210-pound-per-cubic-foot waste prevents subsidence. Engineered earthen covers are placed over the vaults at the final closure and should keep water out of the waste long after vault degradation. A volume reduction factor of 17-to-1 is achieved through sorting, incineration, metal sizing operations, intense compaction, and grouting. The total cost for design, construction, testing, 30 years of treatment and disposal, administration, decontamination and decommissioning, site closure, and postclosure monitoring and maintenance will cost $13 per cubic for in 1988 dollars for an annual incoming-waste volume of 450,000 cubic feet. In comparison, estimates of present disposal costs range from around $20 to $113 per cubic foot. 6 figs.
- Research Organization:
- EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-76ID01570
- OSTI ID:
- 6383572
- Report Number(s):
- EGG-M-88429; CONF-890207-17; ON: DE89009737
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Waste management '89, Tucson, AZ, USA, 26 Feb 1989; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
EVALUATION
COMPACTORS
COMPLIANCE
COST ESTIMATION
INCINERATORS
MINIMIZATION
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
REGULATIONS
SOLID WASTES
VOLUME
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
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