WCS, DOE Look to Change Acceptance Criteria
Kenneth Fletcher
RW Monitor
5/2/2014
More than 75 of the transuranic waste containers slated for shipment from Los Alamos National Laboratory to Waste Control Specialists may not meet the current WCS acceptance criteria, complicating a high-profile push to remove all aboveground LANL transuranic waste by the end of June, RW Monitor has learned. Given that some containers may not be accepted to WCS as is, the Department of Energy and WCS are looking to change the WCS acceptance criteria so they can be sent there. “The receipt and storage of Los Alamos waste at WCS is continuing to go well,” WCS spokesman Chuck McDonald said in a written response. “We are ahead of schedule and WCS is continuing to work with DOE, [the Nuclear Regulatory Commission] and our Texas state regulators to provide a solution for all of the Los Alamos waste. To date, only a small percentage falls outside the waste acceptance criteria and we are working with the regulatory agencies to find a satisfactory solution.”
DOE is sending the waste to WCS during the ongoing shutdown of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant under a one-year $8.8 million contract in order to meet a commitment to New Mexico. About 3,706 cubic meters of transuranic waste stored aboveground at LANL were targeted for accelerated removal in a framework agreement with New Mexico, a deal brokered after a wildfire in 2011 threatened the material. The majority of the material had been disposed of at WIPP and the campaign was in its final stages when WIPP shut down indefinitely in February due to a salt truck fire and a radiation release. Despite the added cost and challenge, DOE officials have promised to meet the June deadline. So far about 3,200 cubic meters of the 3,706 have been removed, and the remaining waste will be sent to WCS in about 100 shipments between now and the end of June, with shipments are expected to ramp up to about 10 per week. The material is ultimately still expected to be disposed of at WIPP when the facility reopens.
DOE: Many Issues Resolved Through Characterization
DOE said most of the waste can enter WCS without issue. “To date we have completed more than 30 shipments of LANL TRU to WCS and we remain on target to meet the 3706 campaign milestone. DOE’s original estimate is that up to 100 shipments would be required to remove the 3706 inventory. Efforts are continuing to fully evaluate the remaining inventory as we plan the upcoming shipments. While we have identified potential issues with a small portion of the inventory, many of these issues have been resolved through additional review of the container characterization data,” a DOE spokesperson said in a written response.
Waste Could be Sent to Idaho’s AMWTP
If the WCS criteria is not changed, the containers could be sent to Idaho’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project, which can address waste that is difficult to process from other sites such at Los Alamos. There the contents would be mixed with other waste so that the containers can ultimately be sent to WCS. Starting in November, long before the shipments to WCS began, AMWTP received 10 corrugated metal boxes of waste from LANL for additional processing. A resolution for the final containers will need to be made by soon in order for DOE to meet the June 30 milestone.
