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Waste Management

David Nickless

Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office

March 3, 2015

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LANL Transuranic Waste Program

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Regulatory Framework

DOE Radiological Regulatory Authority• Authority under Atomic Energy Act• DOE Order 435.1 Change 1, Radioactive Waste Management• Low-Level Radioactive Wastes (LLW) and Transuranic (TRU) Wastes

New Mexico Environment Department Authority• Hazardous waste regulations implement EPA Resource Conservation and recovery Act

(RCRA) requirements• Hazardous Waste Facility Permit addressing treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous

wastes

Waste Disposal• LLW disposal operations in Area-G is under DOE authority under the National Nuclear

Security Administration (NNSA) • TRU wastes in Area G include newly-generated TRU from NNSA operating facilities and

Legacy TRU (EM responsibility)• DOE authority over TRU handling, processing, shipment, and disposal• NMED authority over treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous materials under

permits

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Facilities

3 Hazard Category II Nuclear Facilities

TA-54 Area G – used for storage, certification, venting, and processing

TA-54 Radioassay and Nondestructive Testing (RANT) – used for staging and shipping

TA-50 Waste Characterization Reduction and Repackaging Facility (WCRRF) – used for drum repackaging

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TA 54 Area G

63 Acre Site

10 Large Storage Domes

Central Characterization Project (CCP), Assay, Real-Time Radiography (RTR), Gas Analysis, In-Situ Object Counting System (ISOCS)

Drum Venting

3 Repackaging Lines (412, 375, 231)

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TA-54 RANT

10,000 square foot facility

TRUPACT II Loading Facility

Second 5 Ton Crane Added in 2013 to eliminate single point failure

Capability for average of 5 shipments a week, with surge to 12

Department of Transportation (DOT) compliant shipping using DOE's national treatment and disposal contracts

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TA-50 WCRRF

Hazard Category II Nuclear Facility

Operation consists of outside transportainer storage and one operating glovebox

Facility maintains cascading ventilation though two ventilation systems

High Material at Risk (MAR) Drums

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Current Above Grade Transuranic Inventory

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Below Grade Inventory

Waste Category Description Legacy Containers Volume(m3)

MAR(PE-Ci)

Trenches A-D 720 Drums at 30 Gallons Each 720 335 93,870

Pit 9 3,881 Drums and 197 Boxes 4,078 1,560 6,019

Corrugated Metal Pipes (CMPs) 158 CMPs at 30" in Diameter by 20' Long 158 442 10,755

33 Lined Shafts 32 Shafts w/ RH hot cell debris; 1 shaft contains reactor vessel 33 3.4 97

Hot Cell Liners 5 shafts with RH hot cell lines 5 51 0.5

TRU with Tritium Packages 4 Tritium Torpedoes and 1 Tritium Tank 5 6.7 8

RH Canisters 1 Canister 1 1.0 1.5

TOTAL 5,000 2,400 110,751

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Issues

Processing of Legacy TRU Waste Operations have been paused Nitrate Salts stored under continuous surveillance and protection

per Nitrate Salt Container Isolation Plan Corrective Actions, internal and external programmatic

evaluations / reviews, and regulatory discussions are ongoing and will impact future operations

Nitrate Salts require treatment prior to disposal RANT Seismic Potential Inadequacy in the Safety Analysis (PISA)

has RANT operations curtailed Continued integration of Legacy TRU and Newly-Generated TRU

processing Future integration with RCRA permitted unit closures and

demolition activities expected in phases at facility’s end-of-life

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Questions

Questions?