Resolution of the Hanford site ferrocyanide safety issue
The Ferrocyanide Safety Issue at the Hanford Site was officially resolved in December 1996. This paper summarizes the key activities that led to final resolution of this safety hazard, a process that began in 1990 after it and other safety concerns were identified for the underground high-level waste storage tanks at the Hanford Site. At the time little was known about ferrocyanide-nitrate/nitrite reactions and their potential to cause offsite releases of radioactivity. The ferrocyanide hazard was a perceived problem, but it took six years of intense studies and analyses of tank samples to prove that the problem no longer exists. The issue revolved around the fact that ferrocyanide and nitrate mixtures can be made to explode violently if concentrated, dry, and heated to temperatures of at least 250 {degrees}C. The studies conducted over the last six years have shown that the combined effects of temperature, radiation, and pH during 40 or more years of storage have destroyed almost all of the ferrocyanide originally added to tanks. This was shown in laboratory experiments using simulant wastes and confirmed by actual samples taken from the ferrocyanide tanks. The tank waste sludges are now too dilute to support a sustained exothermic reaction, even if dried out and heated to high temperatures. 2 tabs., 18 refs.
- Research Organization:
- Fluor Daniel Hanford, Inc., Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-96RL13200
- OSTI ID:
- 324938
- Report Number(s):
- HNF-SA-3126-FP; ON: DE98059641; BR: EW3120072; TRN: 99:003689
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 27 Feb 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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