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Improving the Characterization Program for
Contact-Handed Transuranic Waste Bound for the
WASTE ISOLATION
PILOT PLANT
Committee on Optimizing the Characterization and Transportation of
Transuranic Waste Destined for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
Board on Raclioactive Waste Management
Division on Earth and Life Studies
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAl ACADEMIES
The National Academies Press
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.eciu
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of
the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National
Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The
members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences
and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Grant No. DE-FC01-99EW59049 between the National Academy of
Sciences and the U.S. Department of Energy. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or
recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authoress and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
Library of Congress Control Number 2003116878
International Standard Book Number 0-309-09090-3 (Book)
International Standard Book Number 0-309-52790-2 (PDF)
Additional copies of this report are available from:
The National Academies Press
500 Fifth Street, N.W.
Lockbox 285
Washington, DC 20055
(800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area)
http://www.nap.edu
Front cover: Radiography of a 55-gallon drum containing transuranic waste. Real-time
radiography is part of DOE's contact-handled transuranic waste characterization program.
Back cover: Contact-handled transuranic waste drums at the Savannah River Site, South
Carolina, are stacked in the characterization area waiting to undergo non-destructive assays and
headspace gas sampling and analysis.
Copyright 2004 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on S`;enre, Engineering, and Med;rine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of
distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the
furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the
authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a
mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical
matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of
the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers.
It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with
the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government.
The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at
meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the
superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National
Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in ~ 970 by the National Academy of
Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the
examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts
under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional
charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify
issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of
the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences
in ~ 916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's
purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in
accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become
the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the
National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public,
and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by
both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wuff
are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council
www.national-academies.org
iii
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COMMITTEE ON OPTIMIZING THE CHARACTERIZATION AND TRANSPORTATION
OF TRANSURANIC WASTE DESTINED FOR THE
WASTE ISOLATION PILOT PLANT
-
SUSAN WILTSHIRE, Chair, UK Research Associates, Inc (retired), South Hamillon,
Massachusetts
CHRIS WHIPPLE, Vice-Chair, ENVIRON International Corp, Emeryville, California
JOHN C ALLEN, Bahelle, Washington, D C
ANN BOSTROM, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
GREGORY R CHOPPIN, Florida State University, Tallahassee
ALFRED GRELLA, GrelIa Consulting, Inc. Locust Grove, Virginia
MICHAEL MOBLEY, independent Consultant, CIarksville, Tennessee
KENNETH ~ MOSSMAN, Arizona State University, Tempe
ROBERT H NElLL, New Mexico Environmental Evaluation Group (retired), Albuquerque
JOHN PLODINEC, Mississippi State University, Starkville
DETLOF VON WINTERFELDT, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
RAYMOND G WYMER, Independent Consultant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Board on Radioactive Waste Management Liaison
MILTON LEVENSON, Independent Consultant, MenIo Park, California
Staff
BARBARA PASTINA, Study Director
DARLA ~ THOMPSON, Research Associate
ANGELA R TAYLOR, Senior Project Assistant
lV
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BOARD ON RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
. ~
JOHN F AHEARNE, Chair, Sigma Xi and Duke University, Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina
CHARLES MCCOMBlE, Vice-Chair, Consultant, Gipf-Oberfrick, Switzerland
ROBERT M BERNERO, U S Nuclear Regulatory Commission (retired), Gaithersburg,
Maryland
GREGORY R CHOPPIN, Florida State University, Tallahassee
RODNEY EWING, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
HOWARD C KUNREUTHER, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
NIKOLAY LAVEROV, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
MILTON LEVENSON, Bechte! International (retired), MenIo Park, California
JANE C S LONG, Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada, Reno
ALEXANDER MACLACH LAN, E ~ clu Pont cle Nemours & Company (retired), Wilmington,
Delaware
NOR! NE E NOONAN, College of Charleston, South Carolina
EUGENE A ROSA, Washington State University, Pullman
ATSUYUK! SUZUKI, Nuclear Safety Commission of ~Japan, Tokyo
VICTORIAN TSCHINKEL, The Nature Conservancy, Aliamonte Springs, Florida
Staff
KEVIN D CROWLEY, Director
MICAH D LOWENTHAL, Staff Officer
BARBARA PASTINA, Senior Staff Officer
JOHN R WILEY, Senior Staff Officer
TON! GREENLEAF, Administrative Associate
DARLA ~J THOMPSON, Research Associate
LATRICIA C BAILEY, Senior Project Assistant
LAURA D LLANOS, Senior Project Assistant
ANGELA R TAYLOR, Senior Project Assistant
JAMES YATES, dR, Office Assistant
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Preface
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) CarIsbad Field Office asked the National
Research Council to provide an independent review of its characterization and
characterization-related transportation activities for transuranic (TRW) waste and to
recommend ways to improve DOE's transuranic waste management program. To
accomplish this, the National Research Council appointed an ad hoc committee of 12
members with expertise in the following disciplines: knowledge of the DOE weapons
complex, particularly with respect to TRU waste characterization techniques; hazardous
and radioactive waste management regulations; health physics; actinide chemistry;
public policy; social sciences; transportation regulations; and risk assessment. The
committee's statement of task appears in Sidebar ~ . ~ . Biographical sketches of
committee members can be found in Appendix A.
The committee met four times, from October 2002 to May 2003, to complete its
information gathering on DOE's characterization program. The committee interacted with
DOE and its contractors, waste generator sites, WIPP's primary regulatory agencies (the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New Mexico Environment Department),
the New Mexico Environmental Evaluation Group, the Southwest Research and
Information Center, citizens' groups, and the public. The committee gathered information
on the requirements (and activities to meet these requirements) for characterization and
transportation of TRU waste across DOE's complex and on expectations for improving
the TRU waste management program.
The committee visited the Savannah River Site to see the waste characterization
process first hand and also to see the facility that DOE plans to use as a hub for
characterizing TRU waste that will be shipped from small sites throughout the
northeastern United States. The committee also visited the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
site, the underground repository for defense-related TRU waste. In addition, the
committee went to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to meet with stakeholders and members of
the public about the transuranic waste characterization program. Information-gathering
meeting agendas and speakers are listed in Appendix B.
Organization of the Report
Chapter ~ provides information about the stucly, a background clescription of TRU
waste and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, and an overview of waste characterization
challenges (Section 1.6~. Chapter 2 contains information on life cycle, status, and
inventories of TRU waste at selected generator sites. Chapter 3 describes the regulatory
context for the characterization of contact-handIed transuranic waste. The current
characterization plan for this waste is described in Chapter 4. In Chapter 5, the committee
proposes a structured and quantitative analytical framework to assess the TRU waste
characterization program. Findings and recommendations are grouped in Chapter 6.
Regulatory requirements in the Land Withdrawal Act, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Certifications of Compliance are
described in Appenclix C. Transportation requirements affecting waste characterization are
..
vll
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listed in Appendix D. Appendix E reports the information gathered about worker exposures
to radiation related to waste characterization. Appendix F describes elements of risk
assessment that would be required to implement the proposed analytical framework.
AcknowlecIgments
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse
perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the
National Research Council Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent
review is to provide canclid and critical comments that wit! assist the institution in making
the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional
standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The content
of the review comments and draft manuscript remains confidential to protect the integrity
of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation
in the review of this report:
John F. Ahearne, Sigma Xi and Duke University
Eula gingham, University of Cincinnati
Sue B. Clark, Washington State University
Howard Kunreuther, University of Pennsylvania
Ernest Nieschmidt, Idaho State University
Richard H. Odegaarden, Independent Consultant
Michael T. Ryan, Charleston Southern University
Carol L. Silva, Texas A&M University
Victoria J. Tschinkel, The Nature Conservancy
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments
and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations,
nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report
was overseen by George Hornberger of the University of Virginia. Appointed by the
National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent
examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures
and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final
content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National
Research Council.
This study would not have been possible without the help of several individuals
and organizations. The committee thanks many DOE staff members in the CarIsbad
Field Office, in the Office of Environmental Management, and at TRU waste generator
sites, including contractors, for their active participation in committee meetings (see
Appendix By and for responding promptly to requests for information. The committee is
especially grateful to Roger Nelson, chief scientist at the DOE-CarIsbacl Field Office,
who served as primary contact for this study and provided outstanding support to the
committee's activities; Phil Gregory and Robert Kehrman, for assistance with technical
information; and Ines Triay, former manager of the CarIsbad Field Office, for her
enthusiasm throughout this study. The committee also expresses its deep appreciation
to those who organized site tours, especially Herbert Crapse and Sonny Goldston at the
Savannah River Site and Roger Nelson at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
The committee is equally grateful to Steve Zappe of the New Mexico
Environment Department and Betsy Forinash of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency for their input on WIPP's regulatory requirements. Matthew Silva, James
Channell, and Ben Walker of the New Mexico Environmental Evaluation Group also
provided the committee with helpful technical and historical perspectives on the
. . .
v///
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characterization of TRU waste. The committee also thanks representatives of public
interest groups and the Citizens Advisory Boards for providing their knowledge and
perspectives to the committee at meetings (see Appendix By and in written comments.
Finally, the committee thanks the following National Research Council staff
members: Kevin Crowley, who helped the committee understand the larger context of its
task; Angela Taylor, who smoothed our way with great organizational skill; DarIa
Thompson, who provided solid research support and assistance during the study
director's maternity leave; and Barbara Pastina, who unflaggingly supported and focused
our work. Her knowledge, strong writing skill, balanced judgment, and adeptness in
reconciling disparate perspectives were invaluable. The committee is in awe of her
deftness in bringing the delighffut Giangi into the world and keeping him and us all on an
even keel without loosing her own balance.
We add our personal thanks to committee members for their hard work, steady
purpose, and good humor.
Susan Witishire, Chair
Chris Whipple, Vice Chair
Committee on Optimizing the Characterization and
Transportation of Transuranic Waste Destined for the
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
lX
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Contents
Executive Summary
1 Introduction
2 Transuranic Waste Inventories
3 Regulatory and Policy Framework for Waste Characterization
4 Transuranic Waste Characterization Program
5 A Framework for Evaluating Waste Characterization Activities
6 Findings and Recommendations
References
Appendices
A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
B Information-Gathering Meetings
C Characterization-Related Requirements in WIPP Regulatory Documents
D Transportation Package Requirements Affecting Waste Characterization
E Health and Safely Issues in Waste Characterization
F Risk Considerations
Glossary
Acronyms
xl
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27
39
58
74
82
87
91
94
103
110
116
119
130
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