WC Monitor
7/17/2015
Plutonium Drums Do Not Pose Threat
The Department of Energy says it has determined that a “small population” of drums containing plutonium do not pose a threat of detonation at a Oak Ridge National Laboratory storage site. The concern was first raised last year by URS-CH2M Oak Ridge, DOE’s environmental contractor in Oak Ridge, which noted that the storage drums had “the potential to generate hydrogen and oxygen gases higher than anticipated.”
Ben Williams, a spokesman in the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management in Oak Ridge, said a completed safety analysis “revealed that the containers and current configuration” do not pose a threat and are safe for long-term storage. In response to questions, Williams said DOE contractors currently are “conducting additional analysis to determine the safest methods to repackage and dispose of the waste.” The unspecified number of containers will remain in storage at the Melton Valley Solid Waste Storage Facility and the Transuranic Waste Processing Center in Oak Ridge “until the additional analysis is complete and work is scheduled,” Williams said. That is likely to be done in Fiscal Year 2017, he said.
The containers were shipped to ORNL from DOE’s Savannah River Site in the 1980s for repackaging and long-term storage. Each of the drums reportedly has multiple layers of containment, with the small quantity of plutonium oxide and/or metal inside the inner-most component. Williams confirmed that DOE plans to ultimately dispose of the materials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico.
Advisory Board Backs DOE’s Cleanup Plans
The Department of Energy’s environmental advisory board in Oak Ridge has largely given support to the agency’s plans for moving ahead with cleanup projects over the next couple of years. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management in Oak Ridge hosted a workshop in the spring to gather input from the public and other stakeholder groups before submitting its budget request to Washington for Fiscal Year 2017. DOE officials discussed plans for near-term projects and stated its priorities.
Dave Hemelright, chair of the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board, said DOE’s information and project choices were submitted to the 22 advisory board members, and about 75 percent responded with their priorities.The board’s choices largely mirrored those of DOE. Here are the ranked results:
- Complete demolition of the gaseous diffusion buildings and support facilities at the East Tennessee Technology Park.
- Complete the direct disposition of the U-233 material (known as CEUSP or Consolidated Edison Uranium Solidification Project) and initiate processing campaign for the rest of the U-233 stockpile at ORNL.
- Complete the design of a new waste disposal facility in Oak Ridge.
- Begin construction of the Outfall 200 Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12.
- Complete processing of contact- and remote-handled transuranic waste “debris.”
- Construct and operate the TRU sludge mock test facility.
According to Hemelright, some of the advisory board members submitted ideas not included on DOE’s proposed list of projects, such as addressing contaminated groundwater, off-site migration of hazardous contaminants and demolishing other dirty and deteriorated buildings on the federal reservation.
Oak Ridge Cleanup to Cost $18 Billion
Sue Cange, the Department of Energy’s environmental manager in Oak Ridge, said it will take about $18 billion in funding to do the work that’s scheduled to be completed by 2047 – the current date for cleanup completion in the Federal Facilities Agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. That’s a steep increase from the $12 billion figure that was provided a year ago by Mike Koentop, the executive officer of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. But Koentop said there hasn’t been a significant cost increase over the past 12 months. Rather, he said, it was a mistake on his part last year in calculating the overall cleanup costs with insufficient information. “It was my fault,” Koentop said. He said the $18 million figure cited by Cange is the most accurate estimate available.
