SRR CLEANS UP FREEZE-RELATED SALTSTONE SPILL
WC Monitor
2/14/2014
After a spill of contaminated flush water at the Savannah River Site’s Saltstone Facilities during last month’s freeze, liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation has remediated soil and implemented controls. The event occurred on Jan. 9 during a spell of unusually cold weather that shut down the site’s biomass cogeneration facility, which cut off the steam supply to many of the site’s facilities (WC Monitor, Vol. 25 No. 2). “Low-level contaminated flush water in a grout piping line at Saltstone froze due to unusual inclement weather conditions. Approximately, 50 gallons of flush water spilled in a 600 square -foot area posted as a radiological buffer area,” according to an SRR statement, which noted, “The facility was in an extended maintenance outage at the time.”
The SRS Saltstone Facilities mix low-level tank waste with grout and dispose of it on site. “Saltstone Facilities processes low-level decontaminated salt solution by mixing the solution with cement powders to form grout. The grout is pumped through the piping lines to disposal units. Flush water is used to clear the piping lines following a pumping operation. Residual flush water froze and caused the line break, which allowed the spill to occur,” according to SRR. “Soil from the area has been remediated and the line has been repaired. Controls have been implemented to remove the residual water from the line after each processing day and to improve freeze protection measures.” No employees were affected by the spill, SRR said.
