Treatment and Volume Reduction of Transuranic Waste at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Plutonium Facility

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Balkey ◽  
S. S. Ramsey ◽  
R. E. Wieneke
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Waste Minimization ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Los Alamos ◽  
Radioactive Materials ◽  
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is one of two design laboratories in the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE) weapons complex, with over 60 years of experience in handling radioactive materials and, consequently, in radioactive waste management. The focus for actinide research and development is the Plutonium Facility, which has been in operation since 1978. The Nuclear Materials Technology (NMT) Division is responsible for operating the Plutonium Facility. It has a dedicated group of personnel who manage radioactive and hazardous waste, and address environmental regulations. Waste from operations with radioactive materials inside glovebox lines in the Plutonium Facility is packaged for disposal in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico. This waste is subject to a prescriptive certification program and is expensive to dispose of. Because the Plutonium Facility generates approximately 140 cubic meters of transuranic (TRU) waste each year, this significant financial burden effectively reduces the funds available to conduct research. To cut waste disposal costs, the NMT Division is making a considerable effort to identify and fund implementation of treatment and size-reduction processes. This study looks at both the effectiveness and probability of successful implementation. The waste management group’s waste minimization specialist has used waste generation information to identify the two largest TRU waste streams: combustible solids would benefit from size reduction, and nonactinide metals can be decontaminated. To reduce the size of combustible solids (polyethylene bottles and rubber hose), an industrial-model granulator, which was purchased for the head end of a molten salt oxidation process, is being adapted. This waste stream can be reduced by about 30% without affecting the ability to perform nuclear material assay. For glovebox decontamination, electrolytic decontamination techniques previously developed will also work on metals (tubing, tools, and equipment). Reducing the TRU levels to low-level contamination will allow onsite disposal, significantly reducing disposal costs (by approximately an order of magnitude). Several other technologies that were developed to address environmental regulatory concerns will also result in modest waste minimization and are in various states of installation and testing; they are vitrification for aqueous TRU waste, pyrolysis for the destruction of mixed waste, and distillation and recycle for nitric acid and trichloroethylene. The successful implementation and coordination of waste minimization and treatment technologies is resulting in cost savings from waste reduction and avoidance for the NMT Division.

Successful Implementation of a Behavioral Safety Program at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Plutonium Facility

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Balkey ◽  
J. F. Kleinsteuber ◽  
R. E. Wieneke
Keyword(s):  
National Laboratory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Nuclear Facilities ◽  
Los Alamos ◽  
Radioactive Materials ◽  
Los Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Safety Program ◽  
Behavioral Safety

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is one of two design laboratories in the United States Department of Energy (DOE) weapons complex, with over 60 years of experience in handling hazardous and radioactive materials. Actinide research and development are performed in two nuclear facilities. The Plutonium Facility has been in operation since 1978, and the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research (CMR) Facility was built in 1952. The Nuclear Materials Technology (NMT) Division is responsible for operating both facilities in a safe and environmentally sound manner. At these NMT Division nuclear facilities, the primary hazards that are associated with chemicals and radioactive materials are well controlled, with minimal risk to the workforce and the public. Most workforce injuries are physical or ergonomic in nature. In an effort to increase safety awareness and to decrease accidents and incidents, a program focusing on identifying and eliminating unsafe behaviors was initiated. This process is named ATOMICS (for Allowing Timely Observations Measures Increased Commitment to Safety). Workers are trained on how to conduct safety observations of one another and given guidance on specific behaviors to note. Observations are structured to have minimal impact on the workload and are shared by the entire workforce. This program has effectively decreased an already low accident rate and will make long-term sustainability possible. The behavior-based safety process engages the workforce in the implementation and utilization of their own safety initative. The process is based on the simple act of having workers observe other workers and provide feedback on safe and at-risk behaviors. Observations typically take 10 to 15 minutes. Observations are strictly conducted under the conditions that no names are used and no blame is placed. A prospective observer takes 2 days of training on how to perform observations. To date, this behavioral safety program has been effective in further reducing the low accident/injury rate for the division. Most of the division’s workforce has taken observer training, and about half of those trained perform approximately 2500 observations per year on work conducted in NMT Division nuclear facilities.

Integrated Quality Assurance Program for Transuranic Waste Management at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Plutonium Facility

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Balkey ◽  
L. J. Sanchez ◽  
R. E. Wieneke
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
New Mexico ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Quality Assurance Program ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Los Alamos ◽  
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is one of two design laboratories in the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE) weapons complex. It has over 60 years of experience in handling radioactive materials and, consequently, in radioactive waste management. The current focus at LANL for actinide research and development is the Plutonium Facility, which has been in operation since 1978 and is the major source of transuranic (TRU) waste. The Nuclear Materials Technology (NMT) Division is responsible for operating the Plutonium Facility. It has a dedicated group of personnel who manage radioactive and hazardous waste, and address environmental regulations. The TRU Waste Certification Program has prescriptive requirements that must be met for waste to be certified by the DOE’s Carlsbad Field Office, which provides oversight to the final waste repository, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Quality assurance expectations are also well defined, from top-tier documents such as 10 Code of Federal Regulations 830.120. Quality Assurance Requirements, which carry the force of law, through CAO-94-1012, Quality Assurance Program Document, from WIPP, to LANL internal working documents. Internal and external audits are conducted regularly to verify the adequacy of the program for meeting these requirements. To ensure compliance with quality requirements in waste operations, the NMT-7 Waste Management and Environmental Compliance Group has two full-time quality assurance (QA) specialists. They are responsible for maintaining the Quality Assurance Program (QAP). They work directly with waste management personnel, and they are frequently in the field, working beside waste management technicians. They are responsible for ensuring that applicable QAP elements are implemented as required, and that waste operations are effective. They review waste management program documents and waste operations for compliance with requirements, and they observe selected waste operations regularly to ensure that these operations are being conducted in accordance with established procedures. A yearly surveillance schedule is established to guide assessment activities, but it has the flexibility to allow the QA specialists to address any problem areas they may encounter. The QA specialists track performance indicators and evaluate them for systemic issues that may affect quality, including tracking program corrective actions to completion. Monthly reports on QA activities are submitted to group managers. The QA specialists are also asked, on occasion, to lead quality-related investigations and to work with operations personnel to propose solutions. As a direct result of their efforts, the waste management group won Pin˜on quality assurance recognition from Quality New Mexico for the group’s commitment to quality.

Transuranic (TRU) Waste Volume Reduction Operation at a Plutonium Facility

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Cournoyer ◽  
Archie E. Nixon ◽  
Keith W. Fife ◽  
Arnold M. Sandoval ◽  
Vincent E. Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Laboratory ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Breathing Zone ◽  
Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Improvement Program ◽  
Los Alamos ◽  
Los Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Reduction Operation ◽  
Airborne Contamination

Programmatic operations at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Plutonium Facility (TA-55) involve working with various amounts of plutonium and other highly toxic, alpha-emitting materials. The spread of radiological contamination on surfaces, airborne contamination, and excursions of contaminants into the operator’s breathing zone are prevented through use of a variety of gloveboxes (the glovebox, coupled with an adequate negative pressure gradient, provides primary confinement). Size-reduction operations on glovebox equipment are a common activity when a process has been discontinued and the room is being modified to support a new customer. The Actinide Processing Group at TA-55 uses one-meter or longer glass columns to process plutonium. Disposal of used columns is a challenge, since they must be size-reduced to get them out of the glovebox. The task is a high-risk operation because the glass shards that are generated can puncture the bag-out bags, leather protectors, glovebox gloves, and the worker’s skin when completing the task. One of the Lessons Learned from these operations is that Laboratory management should critically evaluate each hazard and provide more effective measures to prevent personnel injury. A bag made of puncture-resistant material was one of these enhanced controls. We have investigated the effectiveness of these bags and have found that they safely and effectively permit glass objects to be reduced to small pieces with a plastic or rubber mallet; the waste can then be easily poured into a container for removal from the glovebox as non-compactable transuranic (TRU) waste. This size-reduction operation reduces solid TRU waste volume generation by almost 2-1/2 times. Replacing one-time-use bag-out bags with multiple-use glass crushing bags also contributes to reducing generated waste. In addition, significant costs from contamination, cleanup, and preparation of incident documentation are avoided. This effort contributes to the Los Alamos National Laboratory Continuous Improvement Program by improving the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and formality of glovebox operations. In this report, the technical issues, associated with implementing this process improvement are addressed, the results discussed, effectiveness of Lessons Learned evaluated, and waste savings presented.

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