Environmental assessment for the scintillation vial crusher TA-54, Area L, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico
Research and development projects conducted at the Los Alamos National Laboratory produce scintillation vials as waste from normal operations. These vials contain radioisotopes such as tritium, carbon-14, and isotopes of transuranic elements such as americium-241, plutonium-238 and -239. The scintillation fluids contain some solvents defined as hazardous waste. The vials are thus classed as mixed waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The Laboratory has in storage some 520 drums of stored vials and is accumulating some 70 to 140 more drums annually. The drained vial fragments can be disposed of at TA-54 as low-level radioactive waste (LLW). The bulked liquid will be stored at TA-54 as RCRA mixed waste until treatment/disposal options are developed. Other waste from the vial crushing operation will also be stored at TA-54 as mixed waste. By operating the scintillation vial crusher, the storage space needed for this RCRA mixed waste stream can be reduced to about 5% of that currently being used. The other 95% will be vial fragments that can be disposed immediately as LLW.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 7171912
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/EA-0594; ON: DE93002211
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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052002* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage