Incorporation of pollution prevention and waste minimization practices during the decommissioning of Building 310 at Argonne National Laboratory-East

The decommissioning of radiologically contaminated buildings at Department of Energy (DOE) sites provides a major opportunity to include pollution prevention and waste minimization (P2/WMin) practices to minimize waste using authorized release opportunities, and recycle and reuse (R2) activities on a complex-wide basis. The ``P2/WMin Users Guide for Decommissioning Projects`` (a.k.a. Users Guide or Guide) will be used to incorporate P2/WMin practices into the decommissioning and dismantlement (D and D) of Building 310 retention tanks at Argonne National Laboratory-East (ANL-E). The Building 310 service floor retention-tank facility contains ten isolated retention tanks that served to store excess radioactive liquids generated during process operations. The building consists of three rooms containing three tanks each and a larger room containing one tank. Due to a concern that the deteriorating facility could expose personnel working in the vicinity to radioactive contamination, a decision was made to decommission the building. The Users Guide, a document prepared under the auspices of the Office of Pollution Prevention (EM-77), details a step-by-step approach for incorporating P2/WMin options into a project`s documentation and subsequent decommissioning activities. It is a compilation of lessons learned and strategic P2/WMin initiatives from across the DOE complex. The benefits derived from using P2/WMin initiatives for the D and D of Building 310 include an accelerated decommissioning schedule, reduction in health risk, and the elimination of six release sites from the DOE EM-40 list. The benefits derived from implementation of P2/WMin initiatives into this project include cost savings, reduction in long-term liability, and deployment of technologies without impacting scope or schedule for the project

Becoming a special educator – Finnish and Swedish students' views of their future profession

Peer reviewe

Digital game elements, user experience and learning

The primary aim of this paper is to identify and theoretically validate the relationships between core game design elements and mechanics, user motivation and engagement and consequently learning. Additionally, it tries to highlight the moderating role of player personality traits on learning outcomes and acceptance and suggest ways to incorporate them in the game design process. To that end, it outlines the role of narrative, aesthetics and core game mechanics in facilitating higher learning outcomes through intrinsic motivation and engagement. At the same time, it discusses how player goal orientation, openness to experience, conscientiousness, sensation seeking and need for cognition influence the translation of the gameplay experience into valuable learning outcomes and user acceptance of the technology

The figured worlds of teaching: Finding coherence in teachers' identities

This paper considers the ways that teachers identities for teaching shape the ways that they engage with and plan to implement new curricula in the context of sustained professional development. Findings from a five-year long intensive professional development suggest that teachers identities are constructed through their engagement in particular figured worlds, and more importantly, that their experiences within these figured worlds come to shape the ways they think about specific aspects of their teaching

Applying a life cycle decision methodology to Fernald waste management alternatives

During the past five years, a number of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded efforts have demonstrated the technical efficacy of converting various forms of radioactive scrap metal (RSM) into useable products. From the development of large accelerator shielding blocks, to the construction of low-level waste containers, technology has been applied to this fabrication process in a safe and stakeholder supported manner. The potential health and safety risks to both workers and the public have been addressed. The question remains: can products be fabricated from RSM in a cost efficient and market competitive manner? This paper presents a methodology for use within DOE to evaluate the costs and benefits of recycling and reusing some RSM, rather than disposing of this RSM in an approved burial site. This life cycle decision methodology, developed by both the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and DOE Fernald, is the focus of the following analysis

A life cycle analysis approach to D and D decision-making

This paper describes a life cycle analysis (LCA) approach that makes decontamination and decommissioning (D and D) of US Department of Energy facilities more efficient and more responsive to the concerns of the society. With the considerable complexity of D and D projects and their attendant environmental and health consequences, projects can no longer be designed based on engineering and economic criteria alone. Using the LCA D and D approach, the evaluation of material disposition alternatives explicitly includes environmental impacts, health and safety impacts, socioeconomic impacts, and stakeholder attitudes -- in addition to engineering and economic criteria. Multi-attribute decision analysis is used to take into consideration the uncertainties and value judgments that are an important part of all material disposition decisions. Use of the LCA D and D approach should lead to more appropriate selections of material disposition pathways and a decision-making process that is both understandable and defensible. The methodology and procedures of the LCA D and D approach are outlined and illustrated by an application of the approach at the Department of Energy`s West Valley Demonstration Project. Specifically, LCA was used to aid decisions on disposition of soil and concrete from the Tank Pad D and D Project. A decision tree and the Pollution Prevention/Waste Minimization Users Guide for Environmental Restoration Projects were used to identify possible alternatives for disposition of the soil and concrete. Eight alternatives encompassing source reduction, segregation, treatment, and disposal were defined for disposition of the soil; two alternatives were identified for disposition of the concrete. Preliminary results suggest that segregation and treatment are advantageous in the disposition of both the soil and the concrete. This and other recent applications illustrate the strength and ease of application of the LCA D and D approach