The ultimate disposition of depleted uranium

Technical Report · Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6197979· OSTI ID:6197979

Significant amounts of the depleted uranium (DU) created by past uranium enrichment activities have been sold, disposed of commercially, or utilized by defense programs. In recent years, however, the demand for DU has become quite small compared to quantities available, and within the US Department of Energy (DOE) there is concern for any risks and/or cost liabilities that might be associated with the ever-growing inventory of this material. As a result, Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. (Energy Systems), was asked to review options and to develop a comprehensive plan for inventory management and the ultimate disposition of DU accumulated at the gaseous diffusion plants (GDPs). An Energy Systems task team, under the chairmanship of T. R. Lemons, was formed in late 1989 to provide advice and guidance for this task. This report reviews options and recommends actions and objectives in the management of working inventories of partially depleted feed (PDF) materials and for the ultimate disposition of fully depleted uranium (FDU). Actions that should be considered are as follows. (1) Inspect UF{sub 6} cylinders on a semiannual basis. (2) Upgrade cylinder maintenance and storage yards. (3) Convert FDU to U{sub 3}O{sub 8} for long-term storage or disposal. This will include provisions for partial recovery of costs to offset those associated with DU inventory management and the ultimate disposal of FDU. Another recommendation is to drop the term tails'' in favor of depleted uranium'' or DU'' because the tails'' label implies that it is waste.'' 13 refs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge K-25 Site, TN (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/NE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OT21400
• OSTI ID: 6197979
• Report Number(s): K/ETO-44; ON: DE91006414
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
DEPLETED URANIUM
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
CONTAINERS
COST
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
RECOMMENDATIONS
URANIUM HEXAFLUORIDE
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
ACTINIDES
ELEMENTS
FLUORIDES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
MANAGEMENT
METALS
STORAGE
URANIUM
URANIUM COMPOUNDS
URANIUM FLUORIDES
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE STORAGE
052000* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Management