The second melter at the Savannah River Site’s (SRS) Defense Waste Processing Facility has now processed twice as much radioactive waste as the plant’s now-retired first melter, according to a press release issued Monday.
The facility just over two decades ago began converting high-level radioactive waste stored at the Department of Energy facility in South Carolina into a glass form for storage. The melters combine the waste with borosilicate frit to produce the molten glass, which is deposited into stainless steel containers that are stored at SRS until a permanent storage facility is established, SRS said in the release.
The Defense Waste Processing Facility has produced close to 16 million pounds of molten glass since 1996: 1,229 canisters (5.2 million pounds) from Melter 1 and 2,678 canisters (10.4 million pounds, and counting) from Melter 2. The facility is close to 50 percent through processing of the SRS waste, which is expected to require 8,210 canisters.
Melter 1 shut down after seven years of operation, and Melter 2 begin operations in March 2003.It will be retired when it can no longer function at the desired capacity, said Dean Campbell, spokesman for SRS liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation. SRS cited a number of reasons for Melter 2’s longer lifespan, including an improved pour spout insert that prevents the spout from eroding and using “agitation bubblers” to provide an improved pour rate.
“Since beginning operations, DWPF has immobilized more than 58 million curies of radioactivity,” Jim Folk, DOE-Savannah River assistant manager for waste disposition,” said in the release. “DOE continues to ensure that waste is removed from the tanks[,] further reducing the risk posed by this high-level waste.”
Savannah River Remediation has a third melter, Melter 3, in storage for future use.
Separately, Savannah River Remediation said it has made the salt-waste collection process at the site more efficient by eliminating the chemical monosodium titanate from the waste processing system. The compound absorbs other materials, but it need not be added to less-concentrated salt wastes, the contractor has found under an ongoing demonstration project.
Keeping monosodium titanate out of some mixtures cuts down on the amount of solid waste generated at the site, creating more storage space for liquid waste and thereby increasing the overall efficiency of the waste treatment operation, the company said in Thursday press release.
Savannah River Remediation has so far treated 200,000 gallons of liquid waste without using monosodium titanate, and plans to continue the demonstration project for “several more months,” according to the press release.
Universities Get DOE Grants for Cleanup Outreach
The Department of Energy said Thursday it has awarded universities in Kentucky and Ohio a total of $5 million for research and outreach work for two key DOE Office of Environmental Management cleanup sites.
Ohio University received a five-year, $2.5 million grant to provide public outreach and information about cleanup of the former uranium enrichment plant at the agency’s Portsmouth Site in Pike County, Ohio.
The grant will continue public outreach initiated by the university’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs and its PORTSfuture project under a previous DOE grant, the agency said. Also covered in the grant is educational outreach programs with Pike County high school students, who prepare public summaries of DOE’s annual site environmental reports for the Portsmouth Site, DOE said.
Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth is DOE’s prime contractor for decontamination and decommissioning of the Portsmouth plant, over a 10-year contract awarded in 2010 and potentially worth $3.1 billion, including options. The consortium took over cleanup work at Portsmouth in 2011 from LATA/Parallax Portsmouth.
Meanwhile, the University of Kentucky received a grant for the same amount and tenure to perform outreach and prepare information about cleaning up the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site in Paducah. The grant also calls for outreach efforts to area high schools.
Portage Gets Follow-On Task Order for Moab Cleanup
The Energy Department announced Thursday it has awarded a five-year, $153.8 million follow-on task order to Portage Inc. to relocate waste from the agency’s Moab Site in Moab, Utah, to a disposal facility near Crescent Junction, Utah.
Under the task order, issued under DOE’s Office of Environmental Management nationwide indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, multiple award contract, Portage will relocate mill tailings, associated wastes, and other contaminated materials from the onetime uranium-ore processing facility. The scope covers upkeep of sites, grounds, and railroad structures at Moab and the Crescent Junction disposal cell, DOE said.
Work under the new task order will begin Oct. 1, DOE said. The deal is a follow-on effort to a task order Portage received in 2011, and which expires in September.
