Tank Waste Retrieval, Processing, and On-site Disposal at Three Department of Energy Sites

DOE Tank Waste: How clean is clean enough? The U.S. Congress asked the National Academies to evaluate the Department of Energy's (DOE's) plans for cleaning up defense-related radioactive wastes stored in underground tanks at three sites: the Hanford Site in Washington State, the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, and the Idaho National Laboratory. DOE plans to remove the waste from the tanks, separate out high-level radioactive waste to be shipped to an off-site geological repository, and dispose of the remaining lower-activity waste onsite. The report concludes that DOE's overall plan is workable, but some important challenges must be overcome?including the removal of residual waste from some tanks, especially at Hanford and Savannah River. The report recommends that DOE pursue a more risk-informed, consistent, participatory, and transparent for making decisions about how much waste to retrieve from tanks and how much to dispose of onsite. The report offers several other detailed recommendations to improve the technical soundness of DOE's tank cleanup plans.Table of ContentsFront MatterExecutive SummarySummaryI IntroductionII Background and Overview of the Current SituationIII Tank Waste RetrievalIV Processing and Treatment of Retrieved Tank WasteV Tank Grouting and ClosureVI Performance AssessmentVII MonitoringVIII Decision-Making ProcessIX Focused Research and Development NeedsX Illustrative Example of the Recommended Decision-Making ProcessXI ConclusionsReferencesAppendix A Biographical Sketches of Committee MembersAppendix B Statement of TaskAppendix C Section 3116, Order 435.1, and Performance ObjectivesAppendix D Information-Gathering MeetingsAppendix E Interim Report Summary and Follow-upAppendix F Waste Retrieval StatusAppendix G Tank Waste Retrieval Techniques and Experience at WestValley and Oak RidgeAppendix H Features of a Good Monitoring ProgramAppendix I Performance Assessment ProcessAppendix J Relevant Maps of the Three SitesAppendix K Glossary