IEER | Publications

Containing the Cold War Mess

Restructuring the Environmental Management of the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex

By: Marc Fioravanti and Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D.

October 1997

Press Release and Statements | PDF version of entire report [1.6 MB; 323 pages]

Table of Contents

PREFACE

SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Main Findings
Main Recommendations
Findings from the Case Studies
Transuranic Waste Management
Hanford High-Level Tank Waste Management: Findings
Radium- and Thorium-Contaminated Waste at Fernald

CHAPTER ONE: SCOPE OF THE CLEAN-UP PROBLEM IN THE NUCLEAR WEAPONS COMPLEX
A. The Environmental Legacy of Production
B. DOE's Environmental Management Program - A Brief Overview
C. Problems in the Environmental Management Program
1. Programmatic Environmental Impact Statements for DOE Activities
2. "Accelerating Cleanup: Focus on 2006" Plan
D. Some Successes of the Environmental Management Program
E. Environmental Management Program Costs
F. Clean-up Scenarios
CHAPTER TWO: TRANSURANIC WASTE MANAGEMENT

OVERVIEW OF TRANSURANIC WASTE
A. Characteristics of Transuranic Waste
B. Buried Transuranic Waste and Transuranic-contaminated Soil: Inventory and Historical Management Practices
1. Inventory
2. Historical Management Practices
C. DOE Management of Transuranic Waste
1. "Retrievably Stored" Wastes that Aren't
2. Redefinition of Transuranic Waste: from 10 nanocuries per gram to 100 nanocuries per gram
3. 1987 Defense Waste Management Plan for Transuranic Waste

SITE-BY-SITE VOLUME AND RADIOACTIVITY INVENTORIES
A. Hanford
1. Disposal of Solid Transuranic Wastes
2. Transuranic-contaminated Soil Associated with Solid Wastes
3. Transuranic-contaminated Soil Associated with Liquid Wastes
B. Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (Idaho Lab)
1. Disposal of Solid Transuranic Waste
2. Transuranic-contaminated Soil
C. Los Alamos National Laboratory
1. Site Inventory of Buried Transuranic Waste
2. Disposal of Solid Waste
3. Disposal of Liquid Waste
4. Transuranic-contaminated Soil
D. Oak Ridge National Laboratory
1. Disposal of Solid Waste at Oak Ridge
2. Disposal of Liquid Transuranic Waste
3. Disposal by Hydrofracture
4. Transuranic-sontaminated Soil
5. Oak Ridge Inventory of Transuranic Waste
E. Savannah River Site
1. TRU waste in Savannah River Burial Grounds
2. Quality of TRU Waste Inventory Data
3. Transuranic-contaminated Soil

MOBILITY OF TRANSURANIC RADIONUCLIDES IN THE ENVIRONMENT
A. Environmental Contamination at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
B. Environmental Contamination from the Subsurface Disposal Area at the Idaho Lab

DOE'S TECHNIQUES FOR REMEDIATION -- EXAMPLES
A. Capping of Savannah River Site Old Burial Ground
B. In-Situ Vitrification of Seepage Pits and Trenches at Oak Ridge
C. Extraction and Treatment of Buried Transuranic Waste at the Idaho Lab -- The Pit 9 Remediation Project
1. Alternatives for Remediation of Pit 9
2. Selected Alternative - Physical Separation, Chemical Extraction, Vitrification
3. Initial Bids on Project and Proof-of-Process Testing Results
4. Award of Fixed Price Contract; Retrieval and Treatment Cost Increases from $50 Million to $179 Million
5. Performance of Lockheed Martin AES under the "Fixed Price" contract
6. March 1997: Lockheed Martin AES Requests Contract "Adjustment"
7. Conclusions Regarding the Pit 9 Project
CHAPTER THREE: HIGH-LEVEL WASTE TANK FARMS AT HANFORD RESERVATION

HANFORD HIGH-LEVEL WASTE: BACKGROUND
OVERVIEW OF TANK CONTENTS
A. Storage of Waste in Tanks
B. The Tank Farms
C. Types of Waste in Tanks
1. Reprocessing Wastes
2. Uranium Recovery Wastes
3. Cesium Precipitation Wastes
4. Cesium and Strontium Recovery Wastes
5. Plutonium Finishing Plant Wastes
D. Characterization
1. Tank Contents
2. Beginnings of the Characterization Program
3. Tank Waste Remediation System Characterization Program, 1997

MAJOR SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
A. Safety
1. Ferrocyanide Safety Issues
2. Organic Safety Issues
3. Flammable Gas Safety Issues
4. High Heat Safety Issues
5. Criticality Safety Issues
B. Emptying Liquids from Single Shell Tanks
C. Contamination of Soil and Groundwater

DOE PLANS FOR TANK FARM MANAGEMENT
A. Retrieval, Separation, and Vitrification
1. Retrieval
2. Separation of Tank Wastes -- Sludge Washing
3. Vitrification
B. Waste Disposal and Tank Closure
1. Nature and Quantity of the Final Waste Form
2. Tank Closure
CHAPTER FOUR: RADIUM- AND THORIUM-CONTAMINATED WASTE AT FERNALD FROM URANIUM REFINING

FERNALD: SITE OVERVIEW

OPERABLE UNIT 4: THE SILOS
A. Generation of Waste
1. "K-65" residues from Mallinckrodt Chemical Works in Silos 1 and 2
2. K-65 Residues from Fernald refinery in Silo 2
3. "Cold Metal Oxides" from Fernald refinery in Silo 3
B. Waste Constituents
RECORD OF DECISION FOR THE SILOS AREA
A. Public Process for Silos Remedial Actions
B. Evaluation of Alternatives
1. Treatment Alternatives
2. Disposal Alternatives

REMEDIAL ACTION - VITRIFICATION PILOT PLANT
A, Design and Construction of Pilot Plant
B. Getting the Pilot Plant to Run
C. Technical Issues in Vitrification Design
1. Vitrification of Waste High in Sulfates
2. Vitrification of Waste High in Lead
3. Vitrification of High Sulfate, High Lead Waste: Mixture of Silos 1, 2, and 3 Waste
4. Vitrification Pilot Plant Melter Design

ANALYSIS OF SILOS PROJECT AND DISCUSSION OF ALTERNATIVES
A. Management and Cost
B. Technical and Regulatory
CHAPTER FIVE: IEER'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RESTRUCTURING THE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT OF THE NUCLEAR WEAPONS COMPLEX

GENERAL PROGRAMMATIC RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Waste Classification
2. Coordinate Waste Management and Environmental Remediation
3. Clean-up Standards
4. Institutional Structure
5. Restructure Long-term Waste Management

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TRU WASTE MANAGEMENT

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HANFORD HIGH-LEVEL TANK MANAGEMENT AND VADOSE ZONE REMEDIATION

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FERNALD'S RADIUM- AND THORIUM-CONTAMINATED SILOS

REFERENCES

APPENDIX A: CLEAN-UP STANDARDS
A. Risk Minimization
1. Non-radioactive Hazardous Materials
2. Waste Management and Decommissioning
3. Non-Cancer Risks from Residual Toxic Materials
B. ALARA requirements
C. Fund for Environmental Monitoring

APPENDIX B: WASTE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
Also available on this site:
  • Press Release and Statements, October 23, 1997
  • DOE Letter responding to Containing the Cold War Mess, March 18, 1998
  • Supplement to the report (IEER's Response to the Dept. of Energy's Review of Containing the Cold War Mess) and related press release, March 20, 1998
  • IEER newsletter featuring articles based on Containing the Cold War Mess (Science for Democratic Action Vol. 7 No. 2, January 1999)
  • DOE Report, Buried Transuranic-Contaminated Waste Information for U.S. Department of Energy Facilities, June 2000 [PDF, 1MB]
  • Letter from DOE's Carolyn L. Huntoon on Buried TRU Waste, July 18, 2000
  • IEER Reply to DOE's Carolyn Huntoon, October 13, 2000
  • Letter from IEER to the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board about Buried TRU Waste, November 20, 2000
  • Other radioactive waste related items on the IEER site

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    October 1997