DNFSB REVIEWS DESIGN OF OAK RIDGE SLUDGE BUILDOUT PROJECT

While a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board review of the Sludge Processing Buildouts Project at Oak Ridge did not identify major safety issues, it found several concerns that should be addressed before the project moves onto the next design phase. The sludge buildouts at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center is designed to process about 2,000 cubic meters of sludge from the site’s Melton Valley Storage Tanks. “The Board’s review of the [Sludge Buildouts Project] conceptual design and Safety Design Strategy identified no safety issues that would preclude the project from advancing to the next design stage (preliminary design),” states a Nov. 8 letter from the DNFSB to DOE.

In August DOE issued a stop work order to TWPC contractor Wastren Advantage, Inc., on the sludge buildouts project and placed the project under review as it decides how to move forward with the contract for the project. A separate recent DNFSB review found several potential design issues. “The Board’s staff identified three concerns that the project team agreed to address during preliminary design. Expeditious resolution of these risks and safety concerns early in the preliminary design phase is necessary to ensure the early integration of safety into the design,” the letter states.