Improving the Characterization and Treatment of Radioactive Wastes for the Department of Energy's Accelerated Site Cleanup Program (2005) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 12-18
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From page 12... ...
to manage the cleanup of waste and environmental contamination from the Manhattan Project and Cold War-era production of nuclear materials at more than 100 sites around the country. The EM cleanup mission is to reduce health and safety risks from legacy radioactive waste and environmental contamination to meet applicable regulations and agreements (DOE, 1996)
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From page 13... ...
, the committee was asked to identify opportunities for EM to make more effective use of its existing facilities and capabilities for waste characterization and treatment, including eliminating self-imposed requirements that have no clear safety or technical basis; for EM to improve its characterization and treatment capabilities especially for "orphan" wastes;2 and for EM to invest in new technologies to achieve these improvements. APPROACH TO THE STATEMENT OF TASK To help ensure that its accelerated cleanup schedule could be achieved, EM instructed each site to develop a Performance Management Plan (PREP)
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From page 14... ...
for that site's accelerated cleanup. The committee used these as frameworks for informationgathering visits that included EM's four largest sites: the Oak Ridge Reservation, Tennessee; the Savannah River Site, South Carolina; the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory; and the Hanford Site, Washington.
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aA separate ERWM study commissioned by EM on the development of nsk-based approaches for disposition 0 transuranio and high-level radioactive wastes was conducted in parallel with this study In reviewing existing capabilities and facilities for possibly more effective use or retention, the committee paid special attention to those with applicability to problem or orphan wastes for which an effective disposition path will be needed to achieve accelerated cleanup. NON-TECHNICAL FACTORS BEARING ON THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS In this report the committee identifies opportunities for EM that are technically feasible and aligned with the near-term goals of accelerated cleanup.
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From page 16... ...
Public concerns would Include security, safety, and equity issues. As noted in the study prospectus, optimizing the use of a few centralized facilities may require transporting wastes among sites—although the volumes of the problematic and orphan wastes primarily addressed in this report would be small compared to the ongoing shipments to the Waste isolation Pilot Plant an New Mexico and those planned for the Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada.
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From page 17... ...
The committee recognizes that the "DOE self-imposed restrictions" discussed in Chapter 2 have in some cases been Incorporated Into agreements with regulatory or permitting agencies so that the recommended opportunities might not be implementable at all sites. EM's ability to implement recommendations in Chapter 3 on maintaining characterization and treatment facilities, and transporting waste among sites to optimize their use, will be constrained by applicable agreements and regulations, as will its options for leaving wastes in place discussed in Chapter 4.
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From page 18... ...
The committee intends and hopes that the opportunities it has identified are useful to the broader audience that is involved with site cleanup, including congressional staff, DOE, the sites, regulators, contractors, and concerned citizens. Changes in the DOE organization that occurred as this report was being completed serve as reminders of the need for a solid scientific and technical basis for site cleanup even as non-technical factors remain in flux.4 Cite contractors, th ouch the bidding process, will oltimateh- determine how technical enhancements recommended in this report might be implemented 4EM Assistant sectetaty Robetson re.iyned, EM teotyanized, and the Office of Legacy Management was estab ished.
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