Hanford facility dangerous waste permit application, general information portion. Revision 3

For purposes of the Hanford facility dangerous waste permit application, the US Department of Energy`s contractors are identified as ``co-operators`` and sign in that capacity (refer to Condition I.A.2. of the Dangerous Waste Portion of the Hanford Facility Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Permit). Any identification of these contractors as an ``operator`` elsewhere in the application is not meant to conflict with the contractors` designation as co-operators but rather is based on the contractors` contractual status with the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office. The Dangerous Waste Portion of the initial Hanford Facility Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Permit, which incorporated five treatment, storage, and/or disposal units, was based on information submitted in the Hanford Facility Dangerous Waste Permit Application and in closure plan and closure/postclosure plan documentation. During 1995, the Dangerous Waste Portion was modified twice to incorporate another eight treatment, storage, and/or disposal units; during 1996, the Dangerous Waste Portion was modified once to incorporate another five treatment, storage, and/or disposal units. The permit modification process will be used at least annually to incorporate additional treatment, storage, and/or disposal units as permitting documentation for these units is finalized. The units to be included in annual modifications are specified in a schedule contained in the Dangerous Waste Portion of the Hanford Facility Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Permit. Treatment, storage, and/or disposal units will remain in interim status until incorporated into the Permit. The Hanford Facility Dangerous Waste Permit Application is considered to be a single application organized into a General Information Portion (this document, DOE/RL-91-28) and a Unit-Specific Portion. The scope of the Unit-Specific Portion is limited to individual operating treatment, storage, and/or disposal units for which Part B permit application documentation has been, or is anticipated to be, submitted. Documentation for treatment, storage, and/or disposal units undergoing closure, or for units that are, or are anticipated to be, dispositioned through other options, will continue to be submitted by the Permittees in accordance with the provisions of the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. However, the scope of the General Information Portion includes information that could be used to discuss operating units, units undergoing closure, or units being dispositioned through other options. Both the General Information and Unit-Specific portions of the Hanford Facility Dangerous Waste Permit Application address the contents of the Part B permit application guidance documentation prepared by the Washington State Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with additional information needs defined by revisions of Washington Administrative Code 173-303 and by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments. Documentation contained in the General Information Portion is broader in nature and could be used by multiple treatment, storage, and/or disposal units (i.e., either operating units, units undergoing closure, or units being dispositioned through other options)

Stabilization of in-tank residual wastes and external tank soil contamination for the Hanford tank closure program: application to the AX tank farm

Mixed high-level waste is currently stored in underground tanks at the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Hanford Site. The plan is to retrieve the waste, process the water, and dispose of the waste in a manner that will provide less long-term health risk. The AX Tank Farm has been identified for purposes of demonstration. Not all the waste can be retrieved from the tanks and some waste has leaked from these tanks into the underlying soil. Retrieval of this waste could result in additional leakage. During FY1998, the Sandia National Laboratory was under contract to evaluate concepts for immobilizing the residual waste remaining in tanks and mitigating the migration of contaminants that exist in the soil column. Specifically, the scope of this evaluation included: development of a layered tank fill design for reducing water infiltration; development of in-tank getter technology; mitigation of soil contamination through grouting; sequestering of specific radionuclides in soil; and geochemical and hydrologic modeling of waste-water-soil interactions. A copy of the final report prepared by Sandia National Laboratory is attached

Assessment of the need for dry cooling: 1981 update

An assessment of the need for dry cooling of steam-electric power plants over the time period 2000 to 2020 is documented. In the assessment three scenarios for future growth in electrical energy were examined. Characteristics of fresh water supply and consumptive use of water in each of the 99 aggregated subareas within the contiguous United States were reviewed; based on this review the need for dry cooling in each pertinent subarea was delineated

Performance Assessment Monitoring Plan for the Hanford Site Low Level Waste Burial Grounds

As directed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL), Fluor Hanford, Inc. will implement the requirements of DOE Order 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management, as the requirements relate to the continued operation of the low-level waste disposal facilities on the Hanford Site. DOE Order 435.1 requires a disposal authorization statement authorizing operation (or continued operation) of a low-level waste disposal facility. The objective of this Order is to ensure that all DOE radioactive waste is managed in a manner that protects the environment and personnel and public health and safety. The manual (DOE Order 435.1 Manual) implementing the Order states that a disposal authorization statement shall be issued based on a review of the facility's performance assessment and composite analysis or appropriate Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 documentation. The disposal authorization shall specify the limits and conditions on construction, design, operations, and closure of the low-level waste facility. Failure to obtain a disposal authorization statement shall result in shutdown of an operational disposal facility. In fulfillment of the requirements of DOE Order 435.1, a disposal authorization statement was issued on October 25, 1999, authorizing the Hanford Site to transfer, receive, possess, and dispose of low-level radioactive waste at the 200 East Area and the 200 West Area Low-Level Burial Grounds. The disposal authorization statement constitutes approval of the performance assessment and composite analysis, authorizes operation of the facility, and includes conditions that the disposal facility must meet. One of the conditions is that monitoring plans for the 200 East Area and 200 West Area Low-Level Burial Grounds be written and approved by the DOE-RL. The monitoring plan is to be updated and implemented within 1 year following issuance of the disposal authorization statement to incorporate and implement conditions specified in the statement. The plan must meet the following criteria. The site-specific performance assessment and composite analysis shall be used to determine the media, locations, radionuclides, and other substances monitored. The environmental monitoring program shall be designed to include measuring and evaluating releases, migration of radionuclides, disposal unit subsidence, and changes in disposal facility and disposal site parameters that may affect long-term performance. The environmental monitoring programs shall be capable of detecting changing trends in performance to allow application of any necessary corrective action before exceeding the performance objectives stated in the order

Preliminary performance assessment strategy for single-shell tank waste disposal

The disposal of the waste stored in single-shell tanks at the Hanford Site is recognized as a major environmental concern. A comprehensive program has been initiated to evaluate the various alternatives available for disposal of these wastes. Theses wastes will be disposed of in a manner consistent with applicable laws and regulations. Long-term waste isolation is one measure of performance that will be used for purposes of selection. The performance of each disposal alternative will be simulated using numerical models. Contained herein is a discussion of the strategy that has and continues to evolve to establish a general analytical framework to evaluate this performance. This general framework will be used to construct individual models of each waste disposal alternative selected for purposes of evaluation. 30 refs., 3 figs

Review of water resource potential for developing geothermal resource sites in the western United States

Water resources at 28 known geothermal resource areas (KGRAs) in the western United States are reviewed. Primary emphasis is placed upon examination of the waer resources, both surface and ground, that exist in the vicinity of the KGRAs located in the southwestern states of California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico. In most of these regions water has been in short supply for many years and consequently a discussion of competing demands is included to provide an appropriate perspective on overall usage. A discussion of the water resources in the vicinity of KGRAs in the States of Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington are also included

Single-Shell Tank Closure Work Plan

This document details the single-shell tank closure work plan

Coal ash usage in environmental restoration at the Hanford site

The ash stockpiled next to the 284E steam plant is mixed fly ash, bottom ash, and slag. The ash consists of (1) baghouse residue and (2) a mixture of bottom ash and slag which is washed out of the bottom of the boilers daily. In 1991, a Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) was performed on several samples of this ash (Hazen Research 1991). This procedure is designed to determine the mobility of organic and inorganic anatytes present in liquid, solid, or multiphasic wastes (EPA 1994). The ash tested came from surge bins, conveyor samples, and bottom ash and fly ash from the boilers at 284E. Antimony, cadmium, germanium, molybdenum, silver, thallium, tungsten, and vanadium were tested for, but on all samples were below detection Limits for the testing method. Analytes present in relatively high concentrations (but less than one part per thousand) included barium, boron, chromium, fluorine, and zinc. The size of ash particles passing through a Taylor sieve series was very evenly distributed from 1 to 200m

Cooling ponds: survey of the state of the art

Non