The Successful Utilization of Commercial Treatment Capabilities to Disposition Hanford's No-Path-Forward, Suspect Transuranic Wastes Page: 4 of 10
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WM2012 Conference, February 26-March 1, 2012, Phoenix, AZ
The Successful Utilization of Commercial Treatment Capabilities to Disposition Hanford's
No-Path-Forward, Suspect Transuranic Wastes - 12408A
L. Ty Blackford*, Lori D. West**, Rene L. Catlow*, Larry D. Romine***, Donald J. Moak**,
Michael S. Collins***
*CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company, Richland, WA 99354
**Materials and Energy Corporation, Richland, WA, 99354
***U.S. Department of Energy Richland Operations Office, Richland, WA 99352
ABSTRACT
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Richland Operations Office (RL) has adopted the 2015
Vision for Cleanup of the Hanford Site. The CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company's
(CHPRC) Waste and Fuels Management Project (W&FMP) and their partners support this
mission by providing centralized waste management services for the Hanford Site waste
generating organizations. At the time of the CHPRC contract award (August 2008) slightly more
than 9,000 cubic meters (m3) of legacy waste was defined as "no-path-forward waste." A
significant portion of this waste (7,650 m3) comprised wastes with up to 50 grams of special
nuclear materials (SNM) in oversized packages recovered during retrieval operations and large
glove boxes removed from Hanford's Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP). Through a collaborative
effort between the DOE, CHPRC, and Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. (PESI),
pathways for these problematic wastes were developed and are currently being implemented.
INTRODUCTION
DOE has successfully accessed offsite commercial treatment capabilities as a means to
disposition low-level waste and mixed low-level waste (LLW/MLLW) at reduced costs compared
to onsite treatment. A distinct advantage to Hanford is a commercial treatment facility, Perma-
Fix Northwest (PFNW), located adjacent to the site. This commercial treatment facility is
restricted by the SNM limits set for the total quantity of SNM allowed at the facility in accordance
with the facility's radioactive materials license(s) (RML). Greater than 50 percent of the Hanford
"no path forward" wastes met the requirements for acceptance and treatment at PFNW with few
or no modifications to the vendor's treatment envelope. Except for the size of the package,
and/or doses associated with them, these wastes represent a major target of opportunity to
disposition Hanford suspect transuranic (TRU) wastes through the expanded use of commercial
treatment processing.
The overriding consideration in accessing off-site commercial facilities for disposition of the
subject waste was compliance with the requirements imposed by the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA); the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and
Liability Act (CERCLA); the Tri-Party Agreement (TPA) between the State of Washington, he
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the DOE, and DOE Order 435.1, which mandates the
management of radioactive wastes on DOE sites. In addition, due to the possible need to
transport these wastes on publicly accessible highways to access the commercial processing
capabilities, consideration was given to both the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and
Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements for transporting wastes of this type.
The goals of this program were 1) to manage highly degraded large waste packages and glove
boxes from retrieval operations or PFP directly to treatment, 2) to economically produce TRU
waste packages that meet Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) acceptance criteria, 3) to reduce1
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Blackford, L. T.; Catlow, R. L.; West, L. D.; Collins, M. S.; Romine, L. D. & Moak, D. J. The Successful Utilization of Commercial Treatment Capabilities to Disposition Hanford's No-Path-Forward, Suspect Transuranic Wastes, article, January 30, 2012; Richland, Washington. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc833469/m1/4/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.