3 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
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
Recommended from our members
Integrating removal actions and remedial actions: Soil and debris management at the Fernald Environmental Management Project
Since 1991, excess soil and debris generated at the Fernald Environmental management Project (FEMP) have been managed in accordance with the principles contained in a programmatic Removal Action (RvA) Work Plan (WP). This plan provides a sitewide management concept and implementation strategy for improved storage and management of excess soil and debris over the period required to design and construct improved storage facilities. These management principles, however, are no longer consistent with the directions in approved and draft Records of Decision (RODs) and anticipated in draft RODs other decision documents. A new approach has been taken to foster improved management techniques for soil and debris that can be readily incorporated into remedial design/remedial action plans. Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) process. This paper describes the methods that were applied to address the issues associated with keeping the components of the new work plan field implementable and flexible; this is especially important as remedial design is either in its initial stages or has not been started and final remediation options could not be precluded
Recommended from our members
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