Disposal of remotely handled transuranic waste from Oak Ridge National Laboratory: A strategy for NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act of 1969) compliance

Technical Report · Wed Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:7039874

Campbell, A W

Transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste contains alpha-emitting radionuclides with atomic numbers greater that 92 and half-lives greater than 20 years. The US Department of Energy's (DOE) transuranic waste results from defense-related research and production activities. Prior to 1970, DOE disposed of TRU waste by shallow land burial. Because of environmental concerns, disposal policy was changed, and since 1970, all of DOE's TRU waste has been placed in retrievable storage at DOE facilities. Future disposal plans call for deep geological isolation of all TRU waste at the DOE Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) will construct and operate the Waste Handling and Packing Plant (WHPP) to assay package, and certify remotely handled (RH) TRU waste prior to shipment for disposal at the WIPP. To assist the ORNL TRU Waste Program in planning for a new remotely handled transuranic WHPP facility, feasible options for achieving compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) were identified and analyzed with regard to implementation. The feasible options for achieving compliance with NEPA were limited to documentation in the form of an Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). An analysis of time and cost constraints and consideration of potential evnironmental issues from construction and operation of the WHPP indicated that preparation of an EA would likely be the best strategy. 10 refs., 8 figs., 5 tabs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 7039874
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-10802; ON: DE88013511
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
053000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ALPHA-BEARING WASTES
COMPLIANCE
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
LAWS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ORNL
PILOT PLANTS
PLANNING
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
REGULATIONS
REMOTE HANDLING
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WIPP