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![Page 1: U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office – Environmental Management U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062417/551c530d550346b1458b4e10/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office – Environmental Management
U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office – Environmental Management
Nevada Test Site Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal
Operations
Stephen Mellington, Assistant Managerfor Environmental Management
June 7, 2006National Governor’s Association
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Page 2
79FY06 – 06/07/2006
• Approximately 1,375 square miles of federally owned and controlled land – surrounded by approximately 4,500 square miles of federally owned and controlled land
• Located approximately 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada
The Nevada Test Site (NTS)
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Page 3
79FY06 – 06/07/2006
U.S. Department of Energy Site Comparisons
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Arid desert climateAverage 4-6 inches annual precipitationEvaporation exceeds rainfall by 12 times
Depth to groundwater for disposal areasArea 3 – 1,600 feet (488 meters)Area 5 – 770 feet (235 meters)
Thick alluvial basinsNegligible recharge
Groundwater from past cooler/wetter climateNo “fast” pathways
Environmental Conditions
No significant surface waterNo permanent streams or lakes
Many closed basins
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Historic Activities at the NTS
• First NTS atmospheric nuclear test detonated on January 27, 1951
• 928 atmospheric and underground nuclear tests conducted between 1951 and 1992
• Nuclear weapons development and testing generated radioactive waste
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Early Disposal Activities
• Low-level radioactive waste (LLW) first collected for disposal at an Area 5 site in 1953
• LLW first disposed in Area 5 Sugar Bunker trench in 1961
• LLW first disposed in Area 3 subsidence crater in 1968
• Began accepting LLW generated by other U.S. Department of Energy sites in 1976
• Formal LLW disposal project established in 1978
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Area 5Radioactive Waste Management Site
• Developed around the original Sugar Bunker trench
• 732 acres available for disposal – 140 acres currently used
• Disposal cells are excavated pits and trenches
• Eight (8) active disposal cells (21 closed and two constructed/available)
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
• Diverse radioactive waste streams and package types handled– Asbestos– Contact-handled LLW
monoliths (in excess of 90,000 pounds each)
– High-concentration thorium– Remote-handled LLW
monoliths– Roll-off intermodals– Thorium nitrate– Mixed LLW
Area 5Radioactive Waste Management Site
(continued)
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Area 3Radioactive Waste Management Site
• Encompasses 120 acres
• Five (5) disposal cells (comprised of 7 subsidence craters)
• Radioactive waste managed includes LLW and Mixed LLW (cell closed)
• Subsidence craters from historic underground nuclear testing are used as disposal cells
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Mixed LLW at the Nevada Test Site
• 1987: Mixed LLW disposal begins
• 1990: State of Nevada requires the U.S. Department of Energy to provide a Waste Analysis/Verification Plan
– Disposal of off-site generated Mixed LLW is halted
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Mixed LLW at the Nevada Test Site (continued)
• 2000: DOE issues Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Record of Decision declaring the Nevada Test Site as a regional disposal site for LLW and Mixed LLW
• 2000-2005: DOE works with State to resolve technical issues affecting the acceptance of off-site Mixed LLW
• December 2005: State issues Nevada Test Site Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Part B Permit – lifting the off-site Mixed LLW disposal prohibition
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Graphic Number:
/454/PICT0089.JPG
Photo Date:
4/11/2006
Mixed LLW at the Nevada Test Site (continued)
• April 11, 2006: Received first off-site MLLW shipment since 1990
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U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office – Environmental Management
U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office – Environmental Management
Disposal Practices
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
NTS Requirements / Capabilities
• U.S. Department of Energy Order 435.1
• NTS Waste Acceptance Criteria (NTSWAC)
• Category 2 non-reactor nuclear facility
– Documented safety analyses
– Technical safety requirements
• All disposed waste containers are retrievable
– Grid coordinate tracking system for performance modeling and retrievability
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Tailored Disposal Cells and Waste Forms• Unique waste streams of LLW require specialized
disposal cells– High-dose LLW– Non-standard waste packaging– Radon flux requirements– Classified materials
• Cells are designed and constructed prior to acceptance/receipt of waste on an as-needed basis
• Crane placement and heavy equipment requirements considered
• Approximately 200,000 cubic yards of soil moved each year to create custom disposal cells
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Area 5 Disposal Cells –Waste Container Configuration
Boxes containing LLW are placed in a stair-stacked
configuration within a engineered grid
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Area 5 Disposal Cells –Waste Container Configuration (continued)
LLW drums are positioned in a single layer with boxes of LLW
arranged as “book ends”
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Area 5 Disposal Cells –Waste Container Configuration
(continued)
Remote-Handled Monoliths – 10 Rem/hour dose rates and higher
97 high-dose LLW monoliths (~20 R/hr) were received with a cumulative dose of 0.38178 man-Rem for 900 man-hours
Monoliths were “nested” in between LLW cargo containers arranged in
an H-pattern
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Site Differences
• Area 3 Radioactive Waste Management Site located 15 miles northwest of Area 5
• Area 3 historically used for larger, bulk radioactive waste packages
• Layer-cake geometry used to dispose radioactive waste in Area 3
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Area 3 Disposal Cells –Waste Container Configuration (continued)
Cargo containers of LLW
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Area 3 Disposal Cells –Waste Container Configuration (continued)
Bulk equipment such as nozzles, compressors, converters, centrifuges, etc.
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Page 22
79FY06 – 06/07/200630 generators are currently approved to ship LLW to the NTS
General Atomics
NTS Approved LLW Generators
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Mixed LLW Generators
Mound
WVDP
SRS
BNLLLNL
INL
SNL
Lexington
Paducah
Portsmouth
Perma-Fix
Oak Ridge(2)
Current
Potential
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
NTS LLW Disposal History
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
1980-1989*
1990-1999*
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
ForecastActual On-siteActual Off-site
Vo
lum
e (1
,000
ft3 )
1,67
4
Fiscal Year
2,42
2
FY 2003 (total) – 3,239,726 ft3
FY 2004 (total) – 3,743,572 ft3
FY 2005 (total) – 2,091,771 ft3
FY 2006 (total received as of 5/21/2006) – 790,933 ft3
*Indicates average per year for that decade
520
930
1,44
0 sh
ipm
ents
2,43
4
705
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
NSO Commitment
• NSO is committed to supporting accelerated cleanup by providing disposal services to all U.S. Department of Energy sites
• NSO is committed to reducing risk to NTS workers, the public, and the environment with timely, cost-effective disposal services
• NSO is committed to working cooperatively with regulators and keeping the public informed of its Environmental Management activities through the Community Advisory Board
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U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office – Environmental Management
U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office – Environmental Management
Groundwater
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Background Information• 1951 to 1992: United States
Government conducted 828 underground nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) at depths ranging from approximately 90 to 4,800 feet below the ground surface
• About one-third of these tests occurred near or below the water table, which resulted in some contamination of the area’s groundwater
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Addressing Groundwater Contamination
• U.S. Department of Energy began preliminary hydrologic research in the 1970s
• A more intensive groundwater studies program was launched in 1989 with the formation of the Groundwater Characterization Project at the Department of Energy Nevada Site Office
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
Addressing Groundwater Contamination (continued)
• The Underground Test Area (UGTA) sub-project evaluates the historic testing impacts on groundwater resources and study the extent of contaminant migration
• The scope includes collection of multiple sources of field data in order to create a 3-D computer model
– This model includes groundwater, flow and transport parameters
• The models will be used to help create a monitoring network to ensure that the public/workers are not exposed to groundwater exceeding Safe Drink Water Act standards
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79FY06 – 06/07/2006
UGTA Strategy• Drill wells, analyze existing wells, and
conduct geophysical studies to collect data
• Evaluated the NTS on a regional scale – separated areas hydrologically and geographically into five (5) manageable Corrective Action Units
• Develop phased approach – Phase I and Phase II each representing stages of data collection and analysis
• Identify contaminant movement and develop contaminant boundaries
• Implement recommendations provided by an independent peer review of the strategy