This appendix provides a general overview of the Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program, including the categories of waste streams managed by DOE; the applicable Federal statutes and DOE orders; waste minimization and pollution prevention; waste treatment, storage, and disposal; transportation of wastes; and facility transition management. Site-specific discussions of current waste management activities will follow in section H.2. Stockpile management project-specific waste management activities are addressed in appendix section A.3. Stockpile stewardship project-specific waste management activities are addressed in appendix I (National Ignition Facility [NIF]), appendix J (Contained Firing Facility [CFF]), and appendix K (Atlas Facility).
Wastes are generated in gaseous, liquid, and solid forms and are categorized by their health hazard and handling requirements. The categories are listed in table H.1.1-1.
| Category | Characterization |
|---|---|
| Spent nuclear fuel | Nuclear reactor fuel that has been irradiated to the extent that it has undergone significant isotopic change to the point that fission-product poisons have reached an uneconomic threshold. DOE is no longer reprocessing spent nuclear fuel solely to recover fissile and fertile material. Although spent nuclear fuel is not categorized as a nuclear waste, the definition is provided here since it is radioactive material that must be stored, managed, and handled. |
| High-level | Highly radioactive material that results from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel including liquid waste produced directly in reprocessing, and any solid waste derived from the liquid that contains fission products in sufficient concentrations and other highly radioactive material that the NRC, consistent with existing law, determines to require permanent isolation. |
| Transuranic | Radioactive waste contaminated with alpha-emitting elements with an atomic number greater than uranium, half-life greater than 20 years, and in concentrations greater than 100 nanocuries per gram (nCi/g). Such wastes result primarily from fuel reprocessing, and from the fabrication of plutonium weapons components and plutonium-bearing reactor fuel. Generally, little or no shielding is required ("contact-handled" transuranic waste), but energetic gamma and neutron emissions from certain transuranic nuclides and fission-product contaminants may require shielding or remote handling ("remote-handled" transuranic waste). |
| Low-level | Radioactive waste that is not spent nuclear fuel, high-level waste (HLW), transuranic (TRU) waste, or byproduct material as defined by DOE Order 5820.2A, Radioactive Waste Management. Includes research and development (R&D) fissionable test specimens with TRU less than 100 nCi/g. The radiation level from this waste may sometimes be high enough to require shielding for handling and transport. In 10 CFR 61, NRC defines four disposal categories of low-level waste (LLW) that require differing degrees of confinement and/or monitoring: classes A, B, C, and Greater-Than-Class C. |
| Hazardous | Nonradioactive waste that has characteristics identified by either or both of the following Federal statutes: The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (40 CFR 261) as amended or the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). These toxic, corrosive, reactive, or ignitable substances and RCRA-listed wastes have been identified as posing health or environmental risks. Hazardous waste includes chemicals (such as chlorinated and nonchlorinated hydrocarbons), explosives, leaded oil, paint solvents, sludges, acids, organic solvents, heavy metals, and pesticides. |
| Mixed | Waste containing both hazardous and radioactive constituents. |
| Nonhazardous (Sanitary) | Solid sanitary waste that includes garbage, is routinely generated by normal housekeeping activities and does not have a defined health risk (neither radioactive nor hazardous). Solid sanitary waste is regulated under RCRA, Subtitle D. Liquid sanitary waste includes sewage and industrial waste, and is treated in a wastewater process before discharge to a publicly owned treatment works or surface waters. The management of liquid sanitary waste is regulated by the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). |
| Nonhazardous (Other) | Other wastes that do not have a defined health risk, such as process wastewater. |
Most of the regulations that impact the storage, treatment, and disposal of wastes were promulgated since the original
Nuclear Weapons Complex (Complex) was established. In many cases, the technology available at the time the Complex was constructed does not meet current requirements for full compliance and, as a result, interim agreements have been made with the regulatory agencies. Through continuous upgrade programs, processes have been improved or added to meet the requirements of any new regulations. Operations continue on the basis of using "best available technology" for facilities that were in operation before the regulation came into effect. In the siting and construction of any new facilities, the intent is to meet current regulations and to reach the goal of maximum recycling, minimal waste generation, no liquid discharges to the surface, and treatment and stabilization of unavoidable wastes sufficient for long-term storage or permanent disposal either on or offsite.
In order to operate at most of its facilities, DOE has entered into numerous agreements with states and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address compliance issues concerning certain aspects of environmental regulatory requirements that have arisen due either to the age of DOE facilities or the uniqueness of DOE operations. For the most part, DOE facilities are in compliance with the major portion of all environmental regulatory requirements, and these compliance agreements address specific situations. At the same time, most of these compliance agreements include a commitment from DOE to achieve compliance with each specific requirement by a specified date, including a schedule and milestones for achieving that compliance. These schedules and milestones are renegotiated on an ongoing basis as a result of changing budgets, additional environmental findings, and other factors. These agreements guide DOE activities at the sites under applicable environmental laws, regulations, and other standards. Compliance with the terms of these negotiated agreements is one of the highest DOE priorities. Site operations would be conducted in accordance with commitments DOE has made and would make in these agreements. DOE would work with the regulators to amend existing agreements and to develop new agreements to ensure continued compliance. Under no circumstances would DOE's performance pursuant to any existing compliance agreement be compromised or diminished as a result of the proposed action.
The following section summarizes the applicable Federal statutes and DOE orders:
Atomic Energy Act. The Atomic Energy Act gives DOE the authority to manage and regulate nuclear materials handled and generated at its facilities; however, DOE seeks to make its internal guidelines consistent with standards applied to commercial nuclear facilities regulated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act , DOE is committed to the practice of as low as reasonably achievable exposure to radiation from its operations, whereby exposures and resultant doses are maintained as low as social, economic, technical, and practical considerations permit.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) was passed in 1976 as an amendment to the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965. RCRA regulates the "cradle to grave" management (generation, accumulation, storage, treatment, recycling, transport, and disposal) of hazardous waste, nonhazardous waste, underground storage tanks containing petroleum products and hazardous substances, and medical waste. Subtitle C of RCRA mandates that hazardous wastes be treated, stored, and disposed of in a manner that will minimize the threat to human health and the environment. To carry out this mandate, RCRA requires that owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities obtain operating or post-closure care permits for certain waste management activities. RCRA defines the requirements for treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. Subtitle D of the law addresses the management of nonhazardous solid waste. Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) implements the statutory provisions of RCRA. RCRA is a program which may be delegated to the states and for most states where DOE facilities are located, such delegation has occurred.
Land Disposal Restrictions. The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments to RCRA enacted in 1984 required the EPA to evaluate all listed and characteristic hazardous wastes according to a strict schedule and to develop requirements by which disposal of these wastes would be protective of human health and the environment. The implementing regulations for accomplishing this statutory reatment that substantially reduce the waste's toxicity or the likelihood that the waste's hazardous constituents will migrate. After the land disposal restriction's effective date, restricted wastes that do not meet treatment standards are prohibited from land disposal unless they qualify for certain variances or exemptions. EPA has promulgated standards for each of the five statutorily designated categories (40 CFR 268.31-40 CFR 268.35).
In addition to prohibiting disposal before appropriate treatment, land disposal restrictions prohibit any storage of land-disposal-restricted hazardous wastes (including mixed waste) except "for the purpose of the accumulation of such quantities of hazardous waste as are necessary to facilitate proper recovery, treatment, or disposal" (40 CFR 268.50). EPA has determined that storage of a hazardous waste pending development of treatment capacity does not constitute storage to accumulate sufficient quantities to "facilitate proper recovery, treatment, or disposal."
Underground Storage Tank Provisions. The requirements for the facilities that use tank systems for storing or treating hazardous waste are outlined in 40 CFR 264, Subpart J. These requirements include assessment of the existing tank system's integrity, design, and installation of new tank systems or components, and secondary containment. Hazardous wastes or treatment reagents are not placed in a tank system if they could cause the tank, its ancillary equipment, or the containment system to rupture, leak, corrode, or otherwise fail. Controls and practices to prevent spills and overflows from tank or containment systems are also required. Inspection requirements, procedures for response to leaks or spills, the disposition of leaking or unfit-for-use tanks, and closure and post-closure care requirements are also outlined in 40 CFR 264, Subpart J. Ignitable or reactive and incompatible hazardous wastes have special requirements.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Corrective Action Program. Hazardous waste permits require sites to institute corrective action programs for investigating and remediating Solid Waste Management Units. This program applies to all operating, closed, or closing RCRA facilities.
Federal Facility Compliance Act. The Federal Facility Compliance Act was passed in 1992. It waived sovereign immunity for Federal facilities and included provisions concerning DOE compliance with RCRA hazardous waste treatment for mixed waste. The Federal Facility Compliance Act required DOE to have approved site-specific mixed waste treatment plans and related orders in place 3 years (October 1995) from the date of enactment in order to avoid the imposition of fines and penalties (except for sites already subject to a permit, agreement, or order addressing compliance with the RCRA land disposal restrictions storage prohibition).
In an April 6, 1993, Federal Register notice (58 FR 17875), DOE published its schedule for submitting plans for treating mixed wastes for each facility at which DOE generates or stores mixed waste. Two interim versions of the plans were used to facilitate discussions among states and other interested parties. A subsequent consent order signed by the regulatory agency requires implementation of the final site treatment plan. For mixed waste for which identified treatment technologies exist, the plans provide a schedule for submitting permit applications, entering into contracts, initiating construction, conducting systems testing, starting operation, and processing mixed wastes. For mixed waste without an identified treatment technology, the plans include a schedule for identifying and developing technologies, identifying the funding requirements for research and development (R&D), submitting treatability study exemptions, and submitting R&D permit applications. In cases where DOE proposes radionuclide separation, the plans also provide an estimate of the volume of waste that would exist without such separation as well as cost estimates and underlying assumptions. DOE also prepared summary documents of the final plans to provide a national picture of DOE's technology needs and possible options for treatment of its mixed waste. The summaries were provided to all states and made available to other interested parties.
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986, provides liability, compensation, cleanup, and emergency response for hazardous substances (including radionuclides) released to the environment. The cleanup of inactive waste disposal sites is one of the major requirements of CERCLA. It provides for prioritization of cleanup actions (National Priorities List [NPL] or Superfund List) and directs that a Federal Facility Compliance Agreement be negotiated with EPA and the state to coordinate CERCLA and RCRA compliance activities in one comprehensive strategy for each Federal facility. CERCLA also requires public participation in the selection of remediation alternatives, and this involvement or participation usually addresses the requirements of CERCLA, RCRA, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Title III of CERCLA further requires that the National Response Center (operated by the U.S. Coast Guard) be notified in the event that a nonpermitted release of a reportable quantity of hazardous substance or radionuclides occurs. In the case of such a release, the National Response Center alerts the appropriate Federal emergency personnel who assess the event, formulate a response, and notify cognizant local emergency agencies. SARA requires industries to report the hazardous substances used at their facilities to include reporting inventories of these substances.
National Contingency Plan. The National Contingency Plan is an implementation regulation that sets forth requirements necessary to comply with CERCLA and SARA. For every site that is targeted for remedial response action under Section 104 of CERCLA, the National Contingency Plan requires that a detailed remedial investigation/feasibility study be conducted. The remedial investigation emphasizes data collection and site characterization. Its purpose is to define the nature, extent, and significance of contamination at a site in order to evaluate, select, and design a cost-effective remedial action. The feasibility study emphasizes analysis of data and decision making; it uses results from the remedial investigation to develop response objectives and alternative remedial responses. These alternatives are then evaluated in terms of their engineering feasibility, public health protection, environmental impacts, and costs. The remedial investigation/feasibility study leads to a decision that sets forth the method selected for remedial action to clean up the NPL site. Under the provisions of CERCLA, Federal facilities have the lead for CERCLA actions.
Toxic Substances Control Act. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was enacted in 1976 to ensure that the manufacture, sale, storage, and disposal of toxic chemical substances do not present an unreasonable risk of injury to human health or the environment. Its applicability to DOE sites deals principally with the management and disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos, and dioxin. The problem created by dioxin is that currently there is a limited capability to treat these materials. Radioactively contaminated PCBs and PCB-contaminated materials generated by DOE are destroyed annually by the K-1435 TSCA Incinerator at K-25 at Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR).
Clean Air Act. The original Clean Air Act (CAA) was passed in 1955. It was wholly replaced by the Air Quality Act of 1967, but the name Clean Air Act, which was reauthorized in 1990 , is still used. The CAA establishes air quality requirements and pollutant emission limits. The National Emissions Standards of Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) is a section of CAA that sets air quality standards for air emissions such as radionuclides, benzene, beryllium, and asbestos. NESHAP regulations require the use of EPA-approved monitoring instrumentation, sampling methodology, calculations, and modeling for each Federal facility.
Clean Water Act. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act , as amended by the Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1977, establishes a Federal/state scheme for controlling the introduction of pollutants into the Nation's water. The CWA created the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. This program regulates nonradiological effluent discharges to ensure that surface water bodies meet applicable water quality standards. Each discharge point (outfall) is permitted through the NPDES program. New NPDES permit regulations for stormwater discharges require DOE to also characterize surface runoff during rain events.
Safe Drinking Water Act. The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was enacted in 1975 and is designed to protect drinking water resources. Primary drinking water standards set by SDWA apply to drinking water "at the tap" as delivered by public water systems. Of equal significance is that drinking water standards are used to determine groundwater protection regulations under a number of other statutes. The SDWA requires DOE to obtain permits and to complete sample analyses and site inspections of public/industrial water supplies and sources of drinking water. It also imposes requirements on the installation and maintenance of drinking water wells.
Department of Energy Orders. The primary DOE orders governing waste management are as follows:
Waste minimization is the reduction, to the extent feasible, of radioactive and hazardous waste before treatment, storage, or disposal of the waste. Pollution prevention fully utilizes source reduction techniques in order to reduce risks to public health, safety, welfare, and the environment, as well as utilizing environmentally sound recycling to achieve these same goals. Each DOE site is required to have a Waste Minimization and Pollution Prevention Awareness Plan. To report their progress towards their goals in the plan, each site prepares an Annual Report on Waste Generation and Waste Minimization Progress. When planning for facilities to be constructed by 2005, it will be necessary to consider currently available technology while providing modular, flexible designs that can incorporate process improvements as they become available. In accordance with Executive Orders 12856, 12873, and DOE policy, the facilities that would support the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program would be designed for waste minimization with an overall operating philosophy of pollution prevention. This waste minimization program would contribute to decreases in waste treatment, storage, and disposal costs and lower health risks to workers and the public. Technical approaches are being sought to optimize the number of production operations required, to increase the use of nonhazardous chemicals and environmentally benign waste-producing chemicals, to increase the use of recyclable chemicals and materials, and implement the new design or redesign of existing processes and products. Some criteria useful in determining successful technologies include improved processing yield, reduced quantities of scrap, reduced waste and processing of byproducts, reduced use of hazardous chemicals, positive return on investment, and continued product quality.
Waste management activities that would support the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program are assumed to be current per site and are contingent upon decisions to be made through the Waste Management PEIS. Any future waste management facilities that may be required to support the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program would be coordinated with any decisions resulting from the Waste Management PEIS and any respective site-specific NEPA documentation.
Treated waste is waste that, following generation, has been altered chemically or physically to reduce its toxicity or prepare it for storage or disposal. Waste treatment can include volume reduction activities, such as incineration or compaction, that may be performed on waste prior to either storage or disposal or both. Stored waste is waste that, following generation (and usually some treatment), is being temporarily retained in a retrievable manner and monitored pending disposal. Disposed waste is waste that has been put in final emplacement to ensure its isolation from the environment, with no intention of retrieval. Deliberate action is required to regain access to the waste. Disposed wastes include materials placed in geologic repositories or buried in landfills.
Waste that is staged for processing would be stored according to its characterization and form. The disposal of waste is managed by the DOE Office of the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management (EM). A facility near Carlsbad, NM, for disposal of retrievable and newly generated transuranic (TRU) waste, is planned. All surface facilities at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) have been completed. To date, only underground excavations for the test phase have been done, and the remaining excavation would be completed once the facility is operational. The original planned test phase has been abandoned, and in its place an experimental program at Idaho National Engineering Laboratory is being conducted to develop the technical data to support the permit application under 40 CFR 191 and 40 CFR 268. Once operational, WIPP would become a permanent disposal site. The total projected capacity of WIPP is 175,543 cubic meters (m 3) (229,602 cubic yards [yd 3 ]), of which 7,080 m 3 (9,260 yd 3) could be remote-handled.
A supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) is being prepared for the proposed phased development of WIPP for disposal of TRU waste. This supplemental EIS will analyze the impacts of waste storage, characterization, certification, processing or treatment, and loading at the generator sites. It will also discuss the impacts of transportation of TRU waste between generator sites and WIPP. The impacts of waste disposal operations at WIPP will also be analyzed, including the impacts of waste receipt, waste package inspection, monitoring, emplacement, and subsequent activities associated with eventual closure, decommissioning, and institutional control of WIPP once disposal operations have been completed. Options for the interim storage of TRU waste are evaluated in the Draft Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0200-D). Yucca Mountain, NV, is a site being studied to determine its suitability for the disposal of commercial spent nuclear fuel and Department of Defense high-level waste (HLW). To date, no decisions to utilize either the Yucca Mountain repository or WIPP have been made. The remainder of this section discusses some of the treatment, storage, and disposal options that may be utilized with the various waste streams from stockpile stewardship and management facilities.
Gaseous Waste. Gaseous wastes can be nonhazardous (e.g., inert gases and air), hazardous (e.g., chlorinated hydrocarbon vapor and polyaromatic hydrocarbon vapor), or radioactive (e.g., tritium and xenon). Most hazardous gaseous wastes that are combustible may be incinerated to destroy the hazardous constituents by converting the combustibles into carbon dioxide and water vapor, while capturing any particulates that may result. When a particulate (ash) is contaminated with heavy metals, the end product must be stabilized into an approved solid form suitable for disposal.
Gaseous radioactive wastes are held for interim storage in tanks; adsorbed on surfaces in filters, molecular sieves, or active beds; refrigerated and liquefied or solidified; or reacted to form an aqueous solution. Gaseous waste may be oxidized, mixed with other liquid wastes, or solidified in a stable form for long-term disposal. Reactive gases such as tritium are captured on reactive beds, in molecular sieves, or in cryogenic traps for recycling back to the process. Inert radioactive gases such as xenon and argon can be separated by cryogenic capture and held in storage tanks until they decay sufficiently to permit release. Gases that decay to metals can be captured on activated charcoal beds and held until they can be stabilized, packaged, and disposed of as solid waste. When sufficiently decayed, gases may be released to the atmosphere.
Liquid Waste. Liquid waste includes both wastewaters and nonwastewaters. Wastewaters are a mixture of water and organic, inorganic, or radioactive contaminants. Liquid radioactive wastes are processed according to their chemical nature and radiological sources and activities. Liquid wastes that meet release criteria in applicable regulations can be released at permitted discharge points. Where conditions permit, liquids can be processed and recycled to replace virgin feedstocks. Waste processing removes the hazardous or radioactive contaminants from the releasable or recyclable liquids. The largest volume of liquid radioactive waste is low-level waste (LLW), typically in aqueous solution from process operations. Some of this waste is contaminated with hazardous compounds such as solvents or resins, and the result is a liquid mixed waste. Liquid HLW would not be generated in stockpile stewardship and management facilities, but is part of the reference conditions at candidate sites where spent fuel or target processing was conducted. The desired final waste form for liquid wastes is a stable solid that is resistant to stresses from heat generation and from internal and external physical loads. The form must remain stable while stored and the radioactive constituents must not be allowed to migrate to the surroundings.
Mixed waste often has combustible constituents. These are most readily decomposed in thermal treatment (incineration) or chemical reaction resulting in the creation of an ash. The resulting material would be granular and suitable for stabilization in a cemented form in which the hazardous constituents (radionuclides and heavy metals) are bound in compounds that have an affinity for heavy metals and radionuclides. These processes have been utilized in various forms, and their retention properties have been credibly demonstrated.
Liquid LLW is normally processed to reclaim or remove the excess water, leaving a saturated salt solution. This can be accomplished by clarification processes normal to water treatment or by evaporation. This usually results in the greatest volume reduction for liquid waste. The subsequent stabilization and solidification of the concentrated solution results in a waste form that does not leach its active constituents for a time sufficient to allow the radioactive constituents to decay.
Liquid radioactive and hazardous wastes are usually stored in tanks, where they are staged for further processing. Processes are employed to concentrate the hazardous constituents. These processes result in significant volume reductions, with the reclaimed water processed to a purity sufficient for permitted discharge or recycle.
Liquid hazardous waste concentrates may contain combustive hydrocarbons and heavy metal contaminants. These can be treated by incineration to produce a dry waste. If this waste is still hazardous after treatment, it can then be processed into a stabilized solid that would not leach its hazardous constituents while in storage or in a disposal facility. Liquid low-level and noncombustible hazardous waste can also be processed into a stabilized solid form for storage and disposal.
Solid Waste. Solid radioactive waste typically consists of contaminated materials (e.g., filters, clothing, storage vessels, cleaning materials, and tools) that have been used in, or contaminated by, nuclear materials processing. The term is also applied to those stabilized forms resulting from gaseous or liquid waste processing. In solid waste handling, forms and materials would be segregated, combustibles could be incinerated, and the resultant materials would be reduced in volume, stabilized if necessary, and packaged in specified containers for storage or disposal.
The only HLW stored at sites considered for the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program is liquid HLW in tanks at Savannah River Site (SRS). It would be processed to a borosilicate glass, stored in an engineered facility onsite, and eventually shipped to a Federal repository.
Dry LLW that consists of protective clothing, containers, process materials, and equipment is stored in specified containers designed to retain the waste constituents for a time sufficient to permit decay of the radioactive constituents.
Solid hazardous waste may contain combustible hydrocarbon compounds or mixtures with heavy metal contamination. These wastes are usually shipped offsite to RCRA-permitted commercial facilities where they are treated, if required, and disposed of. Wastes that retain their hazardous constituents after processing must be packaged into forms that would retain the hazardous constituents safely within the waste form. For LLW or hazardous waste that results from liquid waste processing or incineration, the accepted form is solidification with a cement-like bonding agent.
Some mixed waste can be processed to remove its hazardous constituents and can be disposed of as LLW. Otherwise, it can be processed into stabilized forms and packaged for storage in an engineered facility until a licensed facility is available for permanent disposal. Solid nonhazardous wastes from process wastewater evaporation ponds or from sanitary waste treatment plants are usually deposited as sludge in a landfill.
Sites under consideration for stockpile stewardship and management facilities that do not have or have planned an onsite LLW disposal facility would ship their LLW offsite to one of DOE's LLW disposal facilities. As shown in table H.1.4-1, data from the DOE Integrated Database were used to calculate LLW disposal land usage factors from 1990 to 1993 for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Nevada Test Site (NTS), and SRS. ORR (Oak Ridge National Laboratory [ORNL]) is not listed because it only accepts ORNL-generated LLW. To determine a usage factor for the waste management impact analysis, an average value was calculated and then rounded down to the nearest hundred cubic meters. For the proposed Class II LLW disposal facility at ORR, a 3,300-m3/hectares (ha) (1,700-yd
3/acre)
usage factor was assumed (OR DOE 1995e:1).
| Site | Total Cumulative Volume (m3) | Estimated Area Utilized(ha) | Land Usage Factor (m3/ha) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | |||
| LANL | 220,700 | 17.4 | 12,684 |
| NTS | 458,435 | 174.2 | 2,632 |
| SRS | 665,239 | 67.9 | 9,797 |
| 1992 | |||
| LANL | 218,000 | 17.2 | 12,674 |
| NTS | 439,700 | 55.0 | 7,995 |
| SRS | 649,700 | 78.2 | 8,308 |
| 1991 | |||
| LANL | 215,700 | 17.2 | 12,541 |
| NTS | 419,600 | 55.0 | 7,629 |
| SRS | 636,700 | 78.2 | 8,142 |
| 1990 | |||
| LANL | 209,900 | 17.0 | 12,347 |
| NTS | 408,400 | No Data | No Data |
| SRS | 612,800 | 72.1 | 8,499 |
| Average | |||
| LANL | NA | NA | 12,562 |
| NTS | NA | NA | 6,085 |
| SRS | NA | NA | 8,687 |
| NA - not applicable. DOE 1991h; DOE 1992f; DOE 1994c; DOE 1994d. | |||
DOE complies with applicable Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations (10 CFR 71 and 49 CFR) when shipping hazardous materials over public roads. Transportation, especially for radioactive material, is highly regulated by Federal, state, and local laws. The stringent packaging requirements, combined with strict regulations and procedures governing the shipment of hazardous and radioactive materials, ensure that transport is a safe activity. Federal DOT regulations require the use of appropriate warning placards on vehicles and labels on packages to alert workers, officials, and the public to the hazardous nature of the shipped material. The use of placards on vehicles and warning labels on packages is a joint responsibility of the carrier and the shipper. The labels and placards are familiar to emergency response personnel and are valuable in determining content and hazard information.
Shipments of hazardous materials, including radioactive materials, must be accompanied by properly completed shipping papers such as bills of lading and cargo manifests that contain detailed information on the material being transported. These papers must be kept in the vehicle transporting the material and must be available for inspection by responsible officials at any time. The shipper must certify on the shipping papers that the hazardous material offered for transport is properly classified, packaged, marked, labeled, and made ready for transport according to all DOT regulations.
Radioactive material is shipped in secure packages. Type A packages contain small amounts of radioactive material and are designed to withstand normal conditions of transport. Type A packages are subjected to rigorous water spray, free-fall compression, and penetration tests carried out in sequence to ensure that radioactive materials are contained. Type B packaging is designed to contain more hazardous, and larger amounts of, radioactive waste. It can withstand severe accident conditions and contain radioactive materials under any credible circumstance.
If WIPP is determined to be a suitable disposal facility for TRU and mixed TRU wastes pursuant to the requirements of 40 CFR 191 and 40 CFR 268, TRU wastes would be shipped in TRUPACT-II (contact-handled) and RH-72B (remote-handled) containers. No remote-handled waste is expected to be generated in any of the stockpile stewardship and management facilities. To determine the number of TRU waste shipments required, 8.7 m3 (11.5 yd 3) of waste per truck shipment, 17.5 m 3 (23 yd 3) of waste per regular train shipment, and 52.4 m3 (69 yd 3) of waste per dedicated train shipment was assumed ( DOE 1994v: B-4).
The additional shipments of LLW from stockpile stewardship and management sites without onsite LLW disposal were estimated. All LLW would be transported in a solid form. A typical shipment would consist of 80 208-liter (L) (55-gallon [gal]) drums loaded into an enclosed semi-trailer type truck. Each drum is assumed to be fully loaded, resulting in a total shipment volume of 17 m3 (21.7 yd 3). The truck is assumed to operate as an "exclusive-use" vehicle.
Any transition activities of facilities from a production mode to a cleanup mode that are part of the baseline for this PEIS are discussed as appropriate in the impacts sections of chapter 4 and in section H.2 of this appendix. Decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) considerations of stockpile stewardship and management facilities would be planned for in the design.
The DOE Office of the Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs (DP) is responsible for the safe operation, shutdown, and ultimate disposition of facilities used to support the nuclear weapons program. EM is responsible for final facility disposition, which may include D&D of inactive facilities or refurbishment of them for further economic development. Transition activities would require appropriate NEPA evaluation and would proceed consistent with programs within EM, DP, and Materials Disposition. Depending on the site, facility transition activities are in different stages of planning. The dominant time-intensive activities are building characterizations of the environmental hazards related to the building and the deactivation of the facility.
At the end of their useful lives, all potential facilities would require decommissioning. The transition process begins when DOE management decides to stop operating the production facility and ends when responsibility for the facility is formally turned over to EM. Transition plans would be required for all facility transfers to EM. These plans define the actions necessary to bring the identified facilities into a condition acceptable for transfer to EM. Some facility transition issues that would be considered in the facilities design process are:
The cleanup of proposed stockpile stewardship and management facilities would be significantly less difficult because consideration for waste minimization and ease of decontamination would be included in the facility design. The surfaces that come in contact with potential contaminants would be easier to decontaminate. In-process decontamination (to reduce operational exposures) would significantly reduce the cleanup required at the end of the facilities' life.
In spite of the best design and process practices, many of the proposed stockpile stewardship and management facilities would require decontamination efforts at the end of their life. Because of the necessity of working inside contaminated areas during the cleanup phase, the potential for exposure for cleanup workers is higher than during the operation phase. All D&D workers would wear protective clothing and would be supplied breathing air, as appropriate, to minimize their exposure.
Technologies for cleanup are established and are improving as experience in working with nuclear facilities increases. The use of robotics, improved task planning, and new materials to prevent the spread of contamination have already improved current cleanup activities. By the time the proposed stockpile stewardship and management facilities are decommissioned, DOE will have gained considerable cleanup experience; thus, further improvements should be expected.