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.
Support for this study was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy under Grant No. DE-FC01-94EW54069. All opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Energy.
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Cover: Demonstration of light-aided technologies for Hanford decontamination and decommissioning projects. Photo courtesy of the Department of Energy's Deactivation and Decommissioning Focus Area.
Copyright 1998 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
COMMITTEE ON DECONTAMINATION AND DECOMMISSIONING
PETER B. MYERS, Chair, Consultant,
Washington, D.C.
PATRICIA ANN BAISDEN,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Oakland, California
SOL BURSTEIN,
Wisconsin Electric Power Company (retired), Milwaukee
JOSEPH S. BYRD,
University of South Carolina (retired), Lexington
BRUCE CLEMENS,
James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia
FRANK CRIMI,
Lockheed Environmental Systems (retired), Saratoga, California
MILTON LEVENSON,
Bechtel International (retired), Menlo Park, California
RAY O. SANDBERG,
Bechtel (retired), Moraga, California
ALFRED SCHNEIDER,
Georgia Institute of Technology (retired), Dunwoody
LINDA WENNERBERG,
Environmental Business Systems, Cambridge, Massachusetts
NRC Staff
JOHN R. WILEY, Senior Staff Officer (January 1998 to present)
KARYANIL THOMAS, Senior Staff Officer (beginning of project to December 1997)
ROBIN L. ALLEN, Senior Project Assistant
TONI GREENLEAF, Senior Project Assistant (1997)
BOARD ON RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
MICHAEL C. KAVANAUGH, Chair,
Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., Oakland, California
JOHN F. AHEARNE, Co-Chair,
Sigma Xi and Duke University, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
ROBERT J. BUDNITZ,
Future Resources Associates, Inc., Berkeley, California
ANDREW P. CAPUTO,
Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, D.C.
MARY R. ENGLISH,
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
DARLEANE C. HOFFMAN,
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Oakland, California
JAMES H. JOHNSON, JR.,
Howard University, Washington, D.C.
ROGER E. KASPERSON,
Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts
JAMES O. LECKIE,
Stanford University, Stanford, California
JANE C. S. LONG,
Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada, Reno
CHARLES MCCOMBIE, Consultant,
Gipf-Oberfrick, Switzerland
H. ROBERT MEYER,
Keystone Scientific, Inc., Fort Collins, Colorado
WILLIAM A. MILLS,
Oak Ridge Associated Universities (retired), Olney, Maryland
D. WARNER NORTH,
NorthWorks, Inc., Mountain View, California
MARTIN J. STEINDLER,
Argonne National Laboratories, Argonne, Illinois
JOHN J. TAYLOR,
Electric Power Research Institute (retired), Palo Alto, California
MARY LOU ZOBACK,
U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California
NRC Staff
KEVIN D. CROWLEY, Director
ROBERT S. ANDREWS, Senior Staff Officer
JOHN R. WILEY, Senior Staff Officer
THOMAS E. KIESS, Senior Staff Officer
SUSAN B. MOCKLER, Research Associate
TONI GREENLEAF, Administrative Associate
ROBIN L. ALLEN, Senior Project Assistant
LATRICIA C. BAILEY, Project Assistant
LAURA LLANOS, Project Assistant
ANGELA R. TAYLOR, Senior Project Assistant
ERIKA L. WILLIAMS, Research Assistant (Through August 1998)
COMMISSION ON GEOSCIENCES, ENVIRONMENT, AND RESOURCES
GEORGE M. HORNBERGER, Chair,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
PATRICK R. ATKINS,
Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
JERRY F. FRANKLIN,
University of Washington, Seattle
B. JOHN GARRICK,
PLG, Inc., Newport Beach, California
THOMAS E. GRAEDEL,
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
DEBRA KNOPMAN,
Progressive Foundation, Washington, D.C.
KAI N. LEE,
Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts
JUDITH E. MCDOWELL,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
RICHARD A. MESERVE,
Covington & Burling, Washington, D.C.
HUGH C. MORRIS,
Canadian Global Change Program, Delta, British Columbia
RAYMOND A. PRICE,
Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario
H. RONALD PULLIAM,
University of Georgia, Athens
THOMAS C. SCHELLING,
University of Maryland, College Park
VICTORIA J. TSCHINKEL,
Landers and Parsons, Tallahassee, Florida
E-AN ZEN,
University of Maryland, College Park
MARY LOU ZOBACK,
U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California
NRC Staff
ROBERT M. HAMILTON, Executive Director
GREGORY H. SYMMES, Assistant Executive Director
JEANETTE SPOON, Administrative and Financial Officer
SANDI FITZPATRICK, Administrative Associate
MARQUITA SMITH, Administrative Assistant/Technology Analyst
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 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. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
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The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of 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 Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are the chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Preface
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 NRC's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will 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 review comments and draft manuscript remain 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:
Harold Agnew, Los Alamos National Laboratory & General Atomics (retired)
Edward Albenesius, Savannah River Site (retired)
Robert Budnitz, Future Resources Associates, Inc.
Gerald Dinneen, Honeywell, Inc. (retired)
James Johnson, Jr., Howard University
Richard Meserve, Covington & Burling
George Parshall, DuPont (retired)
William Prindle, Corning (retired)
Dennis Reisenweaver, International Atomic Energy Agency
Richard Smith, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (retired)
George Whitesides, Harvard University
Raymond Wymer, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (retired)
While the individuals listed above have provided constructive comments and suggestions, it must be emphasized that responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
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