High Level Waste Vitrification at the SRP (Savannah River Plant) (DWPF (Defense Waste Processing Facility) Summary).
High Level Waste Vitrification at the SRP (Savannah River Plant) (DWPF (Defense Waste Processing Facility) Summary).

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Publisher:

Published: 1988

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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The Savannah River Plant has been operating a nuclear fuel cycle since the early 1950's. Fuel and target elements are fabricated and irradiated to produce nuclear materials. After removal from the reactors, the fuel elements are processed to extract the products, and waste is stored. During the thirty years of operation including evaporation, about 30 million gallons of high level radioactive waste has accumulated. The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) under construction at Savannah River will process this waste into a borosilicate glass for long-term geologic disposal. The construction of the DWPF is about 70% complete; this paper will describe the status of the project, including design demonstrations, with an emphasis on the melter system. 9 figs.

Savannah River Site Waste Vitrification Projects Initiated Throughout the United States
Savannah River Site Waste Vitrification Projects Initiated Throughout the United States

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Publisher:

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 26

ISBN-13:

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A vitrification process was developed and successfully implemented by the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) and at the West Valley Nuclear Services (WVNS) to convert high-level liquid nuclear wastes (HLLW) to a solid borosilicate glass for safe long term geologic disposal. Over the last decade, SRS has successfully completed two additional vitrification projects to safely dispose of mixed low level wastes (MLLW) (radioactive and hazardous) at the SRS and at the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR). The SRS, in conjunction with other laboratories, has also demonstrated that vitrification can be used to dispose of a wide variety of MLLW and low-level wastes (LLW) at the SRS, at ORR, at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), at Rocky Flats (RF), at the Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP), and at the Hanford Waste Vitrification Project (HWVP). The SRS, in conjunction with the Electric Power Research Institute and the National Atomic Energy Commission of Argentina (CNEA), have demonstrated that vitrification can also be used to safely dispose of ion-exchange (IEX) resins and sludges from commercial nuclear reactors. In addition, the SRS has successfully demonstrated that numerous wastes declared hazardous by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can be vitrified, e.g. mining industry wastes, contaminated harbor sludges, asbestos containing material (ACM), Pb-paint on army tanks and bridges. Once these EPA hazardous wastes are vitrified, the waste glass is rendered non-hazardous allowing these materials to be recycled as glassphalt (glass impregnated asphalt for roads and runways), roofing shingles, glasscrete (glass used as aggregate in concrete), or other uses. Glass is also being used as a medium to transport SRS americium (Am) and curium (Cm) to the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) for recycle in the ORR medical source program and use in smoke detectors at an estimated value of $1.5 billion to the general public.

VITRIFICATION OF HIGH LEVEL WASTE AT THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE.
VITRIFICATION OF HIGH LEVEL WASTE AT THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE.

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Published: 2009

Total Pages:

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The objective of this study was to experimentally measure the properties and performance of a series of glasses with compositions that could represent high level waste Sludge Batch 5 (SB5) as vitrified at the Savannah River Site Defense Waste Processing Facility. These data were used to guide frit optimization efforts as the SB5 composition was finalized. Glass compositions for this study were developed by combining a series of SB5 composition projections with a group of candidate frits. The study glasses were fabricated using depleted uranium and their chemical compositions, crystalline contents and chemical durabilities were characterized. Trevorite was the only crystalline phase that was identified in a few of the study glasses after slow cooling, and is not of concern as spinels have been shown to have little impact on the durability of high level waste glasses. Chemical durability was quantified using the Product Consistency Test (PCT). All of the glasses had very acceptable durability performance. The results of this study indicate that a frit composition can be identified that will provide a processable and durable glass when combined with SB5.

Alternatives for High-Level Waste Salt Processing at the Savannah River Site
Alternatives for High-Level Waste Salt Processing at the Savannah River Site

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2000-11-30

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13: 0309071941

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The Second World War introduced the world to nuclear weapons and their consequences. Behind the scene of these nuclear weapons and an aspect of their consequences is radioactive waste. Radioactive waste has varying degrees of harmfulness and poses a problem when it comes to storage and disposal. Radioactive waste is usually kept below ground in varying containers, which depend on how radioactive the waste it. High-level radioactive waste (HLW) can be stored in underground carbon-steel tanks. However, radioactive waste must also be further immobilized to ensure our safety. There are several sites in the United States where high-level radioactive waste (HLW) are stored; including the Savannah River Site (SRS), established in 1950 to produce plutonium and tritium isotopes for defense purposes. In order to further immobilize the radioactive waste at this site an in-tank precipitation (ITP) process is utilized. Through this method, the sludge portion of the tank wastes is being removed and immobilized in borosilicate glass for eventual disposal in a geological repository. As a result, a highly alkaline salt, present in both liquid and solid forms, is produced. The salt contains cesium, strontium, actinides such as plutonium and neptunium, and other radionuclides. But is this the best method? The National Research Council (NRC) has empanelled a committee, at the request of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), to provide an independent technical review of alternatives to the discontinued in-tank precipitation (ITP) process for treating the HLW stored in tanks at the SRS. Alternatives for High-Level Waste Salt Processing at the Savannah RIver Site summarizes the finding of the committee which sought to answer 4 questions including: "Was an appropriately comprehensive set of cesium partitioning alternatives identified and are there other alternatives that should be explored?" and "Are there significant barriers to the implementation of any of the preferred alternatives, taking into account their state of development and their ability to be integrated into the existing SRS HLW system?"

Alternatives for High-Level Waste Salt Processing at the Savannah River Site
Alternatives for High-Level Waste Salt Processing at the Savannah River Site

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2000-10-30

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13: 030917158X

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The Second World War introduced the world to nuclear weapons and their consequences. Behind the scene of these nuclear weapons and an aspect of their consequences is radioactive waste. Radioactive waste has varying degrees of harmfulness and poses a problem when it comes to storage and disposal. Radioactive waste is usually kept below ground in varying containers, which depend on how radioactive the waste it. High-level radioactive waste (HLW) can be stored in underground carbon-steel tanks. However, radioactive waste must also be further immobilized to ensure our safety. There are several sites in the United States where high-level radioactive waste (HLW) are stored; including the Savannah River Site (SRS), established in 1950 to produce plutonium and tritium isotopes for defense purposes. In order to further immobilize the radioactive waste at this site an in-tank precipitation (ITP) process is utilized. Through this method, the sludge portion of the tank wastes is being removed and immobilized in borosilicate glass for eventual disposal in a geological repository. As a result, a highly alkaline salt, present in both liquid and solid forms, is produced. The salt contains cesium, strontium, actinides such as plutonium and neptunium, and other radionuclides. But is this the best method? The National Research Council (NRC) has empanelled a committee, at the request of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), to provide an independent technical review of alternatives to the discontinued in-tank precipitation (ITP) process for treating the HLW stored in tanks at the SRS. Alternatives for High-Level Waste Salt Processing at the Savannah RIver Site summarizes the finding of the committee which sought to answer 4 questions including: "Was an appropriately comprehensive set of cesium partitioning alternatives identified and are there other alternatives that should be explored?" and "Are there significant barriers to the implementation of any of the preferred alternatives, taking into account their state of development and their ability to be integrated into the existing SRS HLW system?"