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Title: Byproducts Utilization Program: Sewage Sludge Irradiation Project. Progress report, July-December 1983

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6259154

Engineering support for a demonstration-scale irradiator design included assisting the City of Albuquerque in preparing a comprehensive site plan for their proposed sludge handling and treatment facilities. The solar sludge dryer has been delivered to SNLA. A preliminary sludge drying experiment indicated the importance of optimizing stirring and air flow. Installation of instrumentation and mechanical equipment continued. The Sandia Irradiator for Dried Sewage Solids (SIDSS) was used to irradiate 23 tons of dried, digested sewage sludge for the New Mexico State University (NMSU) Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. Gamma Irradiation Facility (GIF) operations included irradiation of ground pork for Toxoplasma gondii inactivation experiments, irradiation of surgical supplies and soil samples. Beneficial Uses Shipping Systems (BUSS) cask activities included near completion of the two full-scale cask bodies. Work continued on the Cask Safety Analysis Report (SAR) including additional analyses to reconfigure the six strontium fluoride capsules and/or reduce the number of capsules accommodated. NMSU has indicated no regrowth of salmonellae occurred in the irradiated sludge stockpile, while salmonellae did regrow in the unirradiated stockpile. Analyses of raw and digested sewage sludge from the Albuquerque Waste Water Treatment Plant showed levels of Yersinia enterocolitica (a human pathogen of emerging significance) to be below detection limits.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00789
OSTI ID:
6259154
Report Number(s):
SAND-84-0797; ON: DE85006457
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English