12 research outputs found
SGW-35753-FP Revision 0 Treatability Test for Removing Technetium-99 from 200-ZP-1 Groundwater, Hanford Site FLUOR" Approved for Public Release; Further Dissemination UnlL'TIited Treatability Test for Removing Technetium-99 from 200-ZP-1 Groundwater, Hanf
ABSTRACT The 200-ZP-I Groundwater Operable Unit (OU) is one of two groundwater OUs located within the 200 West groundwater aggregate area of the Hanford Site. The primary risk-driving contaminants within the 200-ZP-I OU include carbon tetrachloride and technetium-99 (Tc-99). A pump-and-treat system for this OU was initially installed in 1995 to control the 0.002 kg 1m 3 (2000 IlgIL) contour of the carbon tetrachloride plume. Carbon tetrachloride is removed from groundwater with the assistance of an air-stripping tower. Ten extraction wells and three injection wells operate at a combined rate of approximately 0.017m 3/s (17.03 Lis). In 2005, groundwater from two of the extraction wells (299-WI5-765 and 299-WI5-44) began to show concentrations greater than twice the maximum contaminant level (MCL) ofTc-99 (33,309 beq/nr' or 900 pCi/L). The Tc-99 groundwater concentrations from all ten of the extraction wells when mixed were more than one-half of the MCL and were slowly increasing. If concentrations continued to rise and the water remained untreated for Tc-99, there was concern that the water re-injected into the aquifer could exceed the MCL standard. Multiple treatment technologies were reviewed for selectively removing Tc-99 from the groundwater. Of the treatment technologies, only ion exchange was determined to be highly selective, commercially available, and relatively low in cost. Through research funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the ion-exchange resin Purolite® A-530E 1 was found to successfully removeTc-99 from groundwater, even in the presence of competing anions. For this and other reasons, Purolite® A-530E ion exchange resin was selected for treatability testing. The treatability test required installing resin columns on the discharge lines from extraction wells 299-W15-765 and 299-WI 5-44. Preliminary test results have concluded that the Purolite" A-530E' resin is effective at removing Tc-99 from groundwater to below detection limits even in the presence of competing anions (e.g., nitrate and sulfate) at concentrations five to six magnitudes higher than Tc-99. 'PuroHte"' A-530E is a registered trademark of the Purolite Company
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Nonliner analysis techniques for use in the assessment of high-level waste storage tank structures
Reinforced concrete in combination with a steel liner has had a wide application to structures containing hazardous material. The buried double-shell waste storage tanks at the US Department of Energy's Hanford Site use this construction method. The generation and potential ignition of combustible gases within the primary tank is postulated to develop beyond-design-basis internal pressure and possible impact loading. The scope of this paper includes the illustration of analysis techniques for the assessment of these beyond-design-basis loadings. The analysis techniques include the coupling of the gas dynamics with the structural response, the treatment of reinforced concrete in regimes of inelastic behavior, and the treatment of geometric nonlinearities. The techniques and software tools presented provide a powerful nonlinear analysis capability for storage tanks. 10 refs., 13 figs., 1 tab
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Removal of Dissolved and Suspended Radionuclides From Hanford Waste Vitrification Plant Liquid Wastes
It was determined during Preliminary Design of the Hanford Waste Vitrification Plant that certain intermediate process liquid waste streams should be decontaminated in a way that would permit the purge of dissolved chemical species from the process recycle shop. This capability is needed to ensure proper control of product glass chemical composition and to avoid excessive corrosion of process equipment. This paper discusses the process design of a system that will remove both radioactive particulates and certain dissolved fission products from process liquid waste streams. Supporting data obtained from literature sources as well as from laboratory- and pilot-scale tests are presented. 3 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs
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Westinghouse independent safety review of Savannah River production reactors
Westinghouse Electric Corporation has performed a safety assessment of the Savannah River production reactors (K,L, and P) as requested by the US Department of Energy. This assessment was performed between November 1, 1988, and April 1, 1989, under the transition contract for the Westinghouse Savannah River Company's preparations to succeed E.I. du Pont de Nemours Company as the US Department of Energy contractor for the Savannah River Project. The reviewers were drawn from several Westinghouse nuclear energy organizations, embody a combination of commercial and government reactor experience, and have backgrounds covering the range of technologies relevant to assessing nuclear safety. The report presents the rationale from which the overall judgment was drawn and the basis for the committee's opinion on the phased restart strategy proposed by E.I. du Pont de Nemours Company, Westinghouse, and the US Department of Energy-Savannah River. The committee concluded that it could recommend restart of one reactor at partial power upon completion of a list of recommended upgrades both to systems and their supporting analyses and after demonstration that the organization had assimilated the massive changes it will have undergone
Evaluating environmental liability through risk premiums charged on loans to agribusiness borrowers
Environmental activities of a company may result in payments for hazardous waste site costs. Based upon current financial accounting standards, prospective payments for these costs are not always reported as liabilities on financial statements. Agribusiness lenders require complete information on the environmental status of agribusiness borrowers in order to assess the potential effects of environmental liability. In addition, agribusiness lenders have been held responsible by the judicial system for the environmental problems of their borrowers. Publicly available, financial and environmental data was used to develop models to quantify the effects of environmental status regardless of whether environmental liabilities are included in the financial statements. The results indicate that environmental status is dependent upon source of environmental hazard and company size, adjusted for industry affiliation. Affiliation with particular 4-digit SIC codes reduces the probability of the borrower being considered a significant environmental liability risk. [EconLit Citations: Q13, K32, G20]. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.