Waste Management at the Nevada Test Site Year 2002: Current Status

Conference · Mon Feb 24 04:00:00 EST 2003

OSTI ID:825661

Crowe, Bruce M

The performance attributes of the U. S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office Low-level Radioactive Waste (LLW) disposal facilities located at the Nevada Test Site transcend those of any other LLW disposal site in the United States. Situated at the southern end of the Great Basin, 244 meters (800 feet) above the water table, the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) has utilized a combination of engineered shallow land disposal cells and deep augured shafts to dispose a variety of waste streams. These include high volume low-activity waste, classified material, and high-specific activity special case waste. Fifteen miles north of Area 5 is the Area 3 RWMS. Here bulk LLW disposal takes place in subsidence craters formed from underground testing of nuclear weapons. Earliest records indicate that documented LLW disposal activities have occurred at the Area 5 and Area 3 RWMSs since 1961 and 1968, respectively. However, these activities have only been managed under a formal program since 1978. This paper describes the technical attributes of the facilities, present and future capacities and capabilities, and provides a description of the process from waste approval to final disposition. The paper also summarizes the current status of the waste disposal operations.

• Research Organization: Bechtel Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, US; U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Operations Office; Los Alamos National Laboratory, Las Vegas, Nevada, US (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• OSTI ID: 825661
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
GREAT BASIN
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
METERS
NEVADA TEST SITE
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
SECURITY
TESTING
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER TABLES