EM Update | Vol. 13, Issue 11 | March 23, 2021

• Defense Waste Processing Facility Reaches 25 Years of Successful Operations at SRS
• EM Crews Begin Demolition of Final Five DOE Buildings at ETEC
• Final Biology Complex Facility Coming Down at Oak Ridge
• Review: Idaho Cleanup Actions Continue to Protect Public, Environment
• Disposal Facility Takes Shape to Support Hanford Tank Waste Treatment Mission
• Training Goes “Rad” at Hanford Waste Treatment Plant
• Moab Site, National Park Service Partner to Improve Environment

Defense Waste Processing Facility Reaches 25 Years of Successful Operations at SRS

The Defense Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site has been safely pouring high-level waste canisters for 25 years.

AIKEN, S.C. – Twenty-five years ago this month, the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) began radioactive operations.

DWPF has been safely treating high-level tank waste at the EM facility since radioactive operations began on March 12, 1996. On April 29, crews poured the first radioactive canister. To date, more than 4,200 canisters have been poured at DWPF.

The only operating waste vitrification plant in the nation, DWPF is operated by Savannah River Remediation (SRR), EM’s liquid waste contractor at SRS. Operations are expected to continue at DWPF for approximately 15 more years, and about 4,000 more canisters are scheduled to be produced.

Vitrification is the process of using extremely high temperatures to turn radioactive high-level waste, combined with a sand-like material, into a glass form. A 75-ton melter is used to glassify the waste into borosilicate glass, which immobilizes it, and makes it suitable for safe, long-term disposal in stainless steel canisters. These canisters are safely stored in an on-site facility until a federal repository is identified.

DWPF’s history can be traced back before its 1996 startup. In the mid-1970s, DOE recognized significant safety and cost advantages in immobilizing the liquid waste into a solid form. About 20 different waste forms, including synthetic rock, ceramic, and cement, were evaluated as a solution to stable, long-term storage of the liquid waste.

In 1982, DOE selected borosilicate glass as the preferred waste form for the high-level waste at SRS. Research confirmed that the radioactive constituents in the waste were chemically bound in the borosilicate glass matrix, making it a highly durable waste form.

In November 1983, ground was broken for construction of DWPF. After construction was completed, the facility went through a rigorous startup testing program. Eighty canisters of simulated glass were poured during testing.

Jim Folk, DOE-Savannah River assistant manager for waste disposition, said the DWPF remains an important part of the SRS liquid waste system and to the EM tank waste cleanup mission.

DWPF was constructed of 71,000 cubic yards of concrete and 10,500 tons of steel. The 10-foot-thick concrete foundation mat is reinforced by 2¼-inch-diameter reinforcing steel.

Three different melters have operated as the “heart” of DWPF, melting and pouring the waste stream into canisters. Melter 2 poured more than 10 million pounds of glass and exceeded its design life by more than 12 years. Melter 3 has been operating since 2017. DWPF has poured more than 16 million pounds of molten glass since 1996.

Phil Breidenbach, SRR president and project manager, said DWPF has been a mainstay for the liquid waste mission for decades.

“The success of the Defense Waste Processing Facility, teamed with its counterparts, the Salt Waste Process Facility, the Saltstone Production Facility, and the tank farms, positions SRR to accelerate the mission at an even greater pace,” Breidenbach said. “This progress is due to the work of the entire DWPF team — past and present — for setting us up for success. Congratulations and thank you to DWPF and the team who has operated it for a very successful 25 years!”

-Contributor: Colleen Hart

EM Crews Begin Demolition of Final Five DOE Buildings at ETEC

EM workers on March 15 started demolition on the 14th of 18 DOE-owned buildings at the former Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) site. The building pictured was once a 15,000- square foot office building.

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. – EM workers have started demolition on the final five DOE-owned buildings at the former Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC).

The first of the five buildings being removed is Building 4038, constructed in 1963-1965 to serve as ETEC’s office building. The demolition entails removing the metal siding and roof, then cutting apart the steel frame that anchored the building to a concrete slab.

The other four DOE-owned buildings include a SNAP Reactor Environmental Test Facility. The building was once part of the government-sponsored System for Nuclear Auxiliary Power (SNAP) program that developed lightweight power devices for use in space as well as on Earth. The three other buildings include a sodium test rig house, and sodium pump test facilities.

Crews with North Wind, EM’s cleanup contractor at ETEC, started to take down the final five buildings on March 15. Completion of DOE building demolition at ETEC is one of EM’s 2021 priorities.

“We’ve reached the last demolition phase at ETEC, which we anticipate will take to the end of the year. Our crews are committed to careful, safe demolition to ensure we protect the public and the environment, and the surrounding communities,” said John Jones, the EM ETEC federal project director.

DOE will ship demolition debris to a licensed disposal facility outside the state of California.
Following the removal of the last five ETEC buildings, EM intends to continue working with the State of California on final cleanup, including cleanup of groundwater and soils.

-Contributor: Stephanie Shewmon

Final Biology Complex Facility Coming Down at Oak Ridge

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – EM crews recently began demolishing the last facility standing in the former Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) at Oak Ridge.

Removal of the massive six-story, 255,000-square-foot Building 9207 creates a new chapter of transformation and modernization for Y-12. Completion of the Biology Complex demolition is one of EM's 2021 priorities.

“It’s rewarding to see the immediate impact of our projects,” Oak Ridge Office of EM Manager Jay Mullis said. “Our earlier efforts converted a former enrichment complex into a multi-use industrial park that is providing new economic opportunities to the region. Now, our work is clearing away hazards and old infrastructure to ensure DOE’s sites remain at the forefront of their respective fields to meet the needs of this nation.”

EM’s latest cleanup phase, now underway, involves addressing hundreds of excess, contaminated, and deteriorating facilities scattered throughout Y-12 and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory that present hazards and occupy land that can be used for future research and national security missions.

Removal of the Biology Complex is the most significant skyline change of this new era, and it is the first of many EM projects to clear away former Manhattan Project and Cold War buildings.

The facilities in the Biology Complex presented significant structural risks due to their deterioration, and their condition landed them on DOE’s list of high-risk excess contaminated facilities. EM has been working steadily to remove the structures to enhance safety and provide land for national security missions at the site.

The Building 9207 teardown comes only weeks after EM and cleanup contractor UCOR completed demolition on the three-story, 65,000-square-foot Building 9210.

“Our team is highly trained to remove the kinds of hazards that are in Building 9207,” UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter said. “Their high level of training and expertise, and their dedication to safety, made it possible for us to take down the adjacent structure, Building 9210, in just a couple of months. Although this building is much larger, we anticipate having it on the ground by this summer.”

The Biology Complex, which dates back to the 1940s, was originally comprised of 11 buildings. It was initially constructed for recovering uranium from process streams, but it was later used for research that led to strides in understanding genetics and the effects of radiation. When operational, the facilities once housed more individuals with doctorates than anywhere in the world.

-Contributor: Ben Williams

Review: Idaho Cleanup Actions Continue to Protect Public, Environment

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – A review EM recently conducted with oversight by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state of Idaho found that cleanup decisions and actions at the DOE Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site continue to protect people and the environment.

Conducted every five years, the review evaluates previous cleanup actions to ensure they are effective and protective of human health and the environment. It also identifies issues that may prevent the site from achieving remedial action objectives, and recommends improvements.

The review concluded that remedial actions are protective at INL sites where cleanup actions are complete. For sites where cleanup is ongoing, the review found that any potential exposures are being controlled and the remedial actions in place are on track to be protective when cleanup actions are completed.

At the Test Area North (TAN), crews implemented bioremediation and pump-and-treat technologies for over two decades to reduce concentrations of trichloroethylene (TCE), a common industrial solvent, from the groundwater beneath the former TAN facility. The source of the contamination was a former injection well used from the mid-1950s to 1972 to dispose of the facility’s wastewater.

To enhance current groundwater bioremediation efforts at TAN, EM will install a new well, a simple yet effective method to introduce sodium-lactate and fatty-acid solutions into the TCE plume to allow microorganisms to break down the solvent.

“The new well at TAN will target a residual TCE source zone in the aquifer that is inaccessible using current bioremediation treatment wells,” said Rich Abitz, environmental restoration program director at Fluor Idaho, EM’s INL Site cleanup contractor.

At the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, remedial actions to redirect and control precipitation and other sources of water from infiltrating the contaminated soil are working to inhibit the transport of contaminants to the aquifer, the review found.

The review noted that remediation at the site’s Radioactive Waste Management Complex is ahead of schedule. Exhumation of buried waste from a Cold War-era waste disposal landfill is scheduled to be completed nearly two years ahead of a regulatory milestone. In addition, vapor vacuum extraction units have operated for over two decades to successfully lower concentrations of solvent vapors beneath the landfill.

To access the latest review for the INL site, click here.

-Contributor: Erik Simpson

Disposal Facility Takes Shape to Support Hanford Tank Waste Treatment Mission

Construction progress continues on the Integrated Disposal Facility, a key component of Hanford’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste program for treating tank waste.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Workers continue to make progress on construction of the Integrated Disposal Facility, a key component of the Hanford Site’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste program to begin treating tank waste.

EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) is preparing the disposal facility to receive containers of low-activity tank waste that will be vitrified, or immobilized in glass, in the nearby Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant.

“We have seen great progress at the engineered landfill,” said Gary Pyles, RL federal project manager. “Ensuring the disposal facility is ready for 24/7 operations is essential to the success of DOE’s tank waste treatment initiative, one of the highest-priority projects on the Hanford Site.”

Workers with EM contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company are constructing domes, or roofs, for two leachate collection tanks at the Integrated Disposal Facility. When operational, the tanks will be used to manage runoff and dust-suppression water collected from the engineered landfill.

Crews recently completed utility upgrades, including water, sewer, electrical, and communications. Workers also built transportation pallet and trailer inspection buildings, and installed a pipeline between the facility’s two collection tanks for leachate — water from rain, snow, and dust suppression — to optimize disposal facility operations. In the coming year, workers will install domes on the collection tanks, build concrete pads for handling waste, and develop procedures to run the facility safely.

The facility was built with two large, lined areas called cells, and they can be expanded later. To ensure the protection of groundwater, workers will monitor, collect, and treat leachate that reaches the liner at the bottom of the cells.

The facility’s design is similar to Hanford’s Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility, which has safely operated for more than 20 years and disposed of more than 18 million tons of low-level waste from Hanford cleanup activities.

“After years of safely running Hanford’s operating landfill, the team is ready to bring that operational knowledge to the new facility and support the tank waste treatment mission,” said Andy Drom, director for CPCCo’s waste projects and operations group.

-Contributor: Dieter Bohrmann

Training Goes “Rad” at Hanford Waste Treatment Plant

RICHLAND, Wash. –The word “rad” has finally arrived at the EM Office of River Protection (ORP) Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site, and it’s not for a 1980s throwback.

Instead, more than 450 workers at the plant will receive radiological, or “rad,” worker training as the plant nears commissioning, when operators will run a nonradioactive waste simulant through the plant to ensure systems are working properly.

“Rad worker training is a constant across the rest of Hanford,” said Mat Irwin, ORP deputy assistant manager for the plant. “But it’s new at the plant as facility construction is finished, Analytical Laboratory startup is complete, and startup testing for the Low-Activity Waste Facility and Effluent Management Facility is nearly complete. The team is well prepared to complete training prior to cold and hot commissioning.”

During commissioning, workers will need to demonstrate proper rad safety performance as if the plant were treating radioactive waste from Hanford’s large underground tanks. The required training will help personnel maintain knowledge and skills.

“We are preparing our employees to safely operate the plant and turn tank waste into glass,” said Kelly Neal, deputy safety and health manager for Hanford subcontractor Waste Treatment Completion Company. “Starting the training early is important to make sure our team is ready for commissioning.”

The addition of rad worker training signifies another important step toward commissioning and eventual operations for the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste process, a system of interdependent projects and infrastructure improvements, managed and highly integrated as a program, that must operate together to vitrify tank waste, which means to immobilize it within glass.

“The need for this training now demonstrates how close we are to commissioning,” said Irwin. “It’s exciting to begin seeing the permanent plant training programs being implemented.”

The training began this month and is scheduled for completion by the fall. The training is required for anyone who might access radiological areas, work with radioactive materials, or operate radiation-generating devices. Training consists of classroom modules and a written exam, as well as an onsite session for recognizing signs, postings, and barricades, and entering and exiting radiological areas. More advanced training will be held for employees learning how to don and doff personal protective equipment for entering and exiting contamination areas.

View individual plant facilities and their interior spaces using a self-guided Hanford Virtual Tour.

-Contributors: George Rangel, Staci West

Moab Site, National Park Service Partner to Improve Environment

Arches National Park delivers fill dirt to the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project.

MOAB, Utah – EM’s Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project and the National Park Service continue to find ways to help each other in a growing partnership that has improved local revegetation efforts.

Arches National Park recently delivered excess soil to the Moab Site that came from an area near one of the park’s most iconic landmarks.

During large storms, sediment close to the popular Delicate Arch tended to wash onto the road, preventing tourists and others from getting through. Park staff dug out a nearby drainage so material could flow properly, but they needed to figure out what to do with the extra material.

Moab’s revegetation staff offered to take eight dump trucks full of the park’s dirt. It was a convenient arrangement, as the Moab Site is located across the highway from Arches.

Moab staff members plan to mix the transferred material with soils onsite that have a high clay and salt content and struggle to support plant growth. The new material is expected to boost soil quality and texture by diluting salinity and improving drainage.

“It’s great to work with our neighbors on projects with mutual benefit,” Moab UMTRA Project Revegetation Technician Katrina Lund said. “We’re excited to see how this fill dirt can help improve soil conditions onsite.”

In the future, Moab staff will consider planting Inland saltgrass in the areas where the fill dirt was added. The native perennial can withstand drought and flood and help stabilize the soil, aiding with dust suppression.

-Contributor: Honora Thompson

Like EM on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/DOEEnvironmentalManagement

Follow EM on Twitter: @EMcleanup