A Strategy to Conduct an Analysis of the Long-Term Performance of Low-Activity Waste Glass in a Shallow Subsurface Disposal System at Hanford

August 4, 2014

Report

A Strategy to Conduct an Analysis of the Long-Term Performance of Low-Activity Waste Glass in a Shallow Subsurface Disposal System at Hanford

Abstract

The federal facilities located on the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State have been used extensively by the U.S. government to produce nuclear materials for the U.S. strategic defense arsenal. Currently, the Hanford Site is under the stewardship of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM). A large inventory of radioactive and mixed waste resulting from the production of nuclear materials has accumulated, mainly in 177 underground single- and double-shell tanks located in the central plateau of the Hanford Site (Mann et al., 2001). The DOE-EM Office of River Protection (ORP) is proceeding with plans to immobilize and permanently dispose of the low-activity waste (LAW) fraction onsite in a shallow subsurface disposal facility (the Integrated Disposal Facility [IDF]). Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) was contracted to provide the technical basis for estimating radionuclide release from the engineered portion of the IDF (the source term) as part of an immobilized low-activity waste (ILAW) glass testing program to support future IDF performance assessments (PAs).

Revised: November 7, 2014 | Published: August 4, 2014

Citation

Neeway J.J., E.M. Pierce, V.L. Freedman, J.V. Ryan, and N. Qafoku. 2014. A Strategy to Conduct an Analysis of the Long-Term Performance of Low-Activity Waste Glass in a Shallow Subsurface Disposal System at Hanford Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.