Nuclear Waste: DOE's Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project - Uncertainties May Affect Performance, Schedule, and Price
Abstract
For over 50 years, the Department of Energy (DOE) has produced nuclear materials for weapons. As a result of that effort, large quantities of radiological and hazardous wastes now contaminate the nation's nuclear production facilities. DOE's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL),located in eastern Idaho, has a large concentration of "mixed" waste-that is, a combination of radiological contaminants (such as plutonium) and hazardous but nonradiological contaminants (such as degreasing agents or acids). This mixed waste, which takes such forms as contaminated paper, cloth, and other materials (some of it saturated with liquids), is currently stored in metal drums and wooden boxes in a facility intended for temporary storage. Cleaning it up is important to both DOE and the state of Idaho. DOE has committed to having this waste treated and moved out of Idaho and to a disposal facility no later than December 31, 2018. To treat the mixed waste and prepare it for disposal, DOE awarded a fixed price contract for the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project to BNFL Inc. effective January 1997.1 BNFL plans to construct a treatment facility at INEEL near where the waste is being stored. BNFL's initial plan was to use the treatment facility to characterize the waste containers to determine their contents and radioactivity; separate the waste into different treatment paths; treat the waste primarily by using incineration to reduce its volume and stabilizing the waste by either converting it into a glass-like material or adding a cement-like material; package the waste; and certify it for shipment for off-site disposal. Stabilizing the waste in glass or cement was planned primarily as a backup strategy in case DOE's off-site disposal location was not available, and therefore, temporary on-site storage was required after treatment. Treating the waste will not reduce its radioactivity but will prepare the waste for disposal or long-term storage.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA378043
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office