P I

Y

Monthly Report of Radioactive

Waste Management Activities

August 1976

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsi- bility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Refer- ence herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recom- mendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views ....A ws expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the

tent or any agency thereof.

Ju& 0 1 1326

-L.

Monsanto

DISCLAIMER

Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document.

RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT STATUS R E P O R T August 1976

The following summary represents the s ta tus o f the Mound Laboratory Waste Management a c t i v i t i e s f o r the month of A u g u s t 1976. e f f o r t s and a c t i v i t i e s conducted by various departments of the Laboratory.

The items reported include

r . Program Changes

None

11. Current A c t i v i t i e s

A. s torage pad i n Idaho d u r i n g the month of Augus t due t o budgetary cons t ra in ts .

There were no shipments o f T R U waste t o the INEL 20-year re t r ievable

ICC hearings dealing w i t h the so le t r a i n issue a re continuing. pected that no rul ing wil l be forthcoming for several months.

Mound Laboratory plans t o make two shipments of TRU waste t o Idaho i n September. All indications are t h a t the three r a i l c a r r i e r s w h o handle Mound Laboratory’s TRU waste on i t s route to Idaho will continue t o ship a t e x i s t - i n g r a t e s . Previous plans t o b r i n g i n ConRail f o r a review of packaging and handling f o r the various categories of TRU waste are on hold,

I t is ex-

B. In August a t o t a l of 3698 f t 3 of low level radioactive waste was shipped t o Chem Nuclear’s Barnwell, S o u t h Carolina burial g r o u n d s u n d e r an ex is t ing contract w i t h Nuclear Engineering Company. 2827 f t 3 of low level a l p h a waste from the R Building Upgrading and 871 f t 3 of low level t r i t i a t e d waste. a f t e r the Kentucky excise t a x was applied t o allow f o r the ex t ra cost of s h i p p i n g t o Barnwell , expires on October 31 , 1976. However, funds wil l r u n ou t before t h e end of September. a new contract based u p o n the competitive b i d s submitted e a r l i e r t h i s quar te r by Chem Nuclear, NECO and Southwest Nuclear. All three b i d on the basis of burial a t the Barnwell s i t e . The contract has been awarded t o Chem Nuclear a n d approval signatures a re current ly being obtained. The new contract , based upon a projected waste shipment o f 35,500 f t 3 f o r FY-1977 should be ac t ive by October 1 , 1976. The cost per cubic foot of typical Mound waste wil l be approximately $2.38 versus $2.lO/ft3 under the old NECO contract and $2.40/ft3 w i t h the exis t ing modified NECO contract .

This f igure included

The exis t ing NECO cont rac t , which was modified

Therefore, s teps have been taken t o obtain

ERDA response t o a request from NECO t o contact the Kentucky Department of Revenue ‘concerning the excise t a x i s s t i l l under consideration. was referred t o J . F , McNett, legal counsel w i t h ERDA/ALO. Some informal

The question

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discussions have been held with Mr. McNett concerning actions t h a t Mound Laboratory m i g h t take. However, no o f f i c i a l guidance has been received a t th is time.

Recently i n a telephone conversation w i t h R . L. Armbruster, NECO's legal counsel, i t was learned t h a t N E C O has not taken any legal action t o date against the S t a t e of Kentucky. Department of Revenue seeking a reasonable in te rpre ta t ion of the law which would exempt Federal contractors , b u t have met w i t h no success. I t was n o t indicated when or i f NECO w o u l d f i l e s u i t .

They have been ta lking w i t h the

C . t o the Nevada Test S i t e . drums containing a t o t a l of 683,400 curies of t r i t ium. The drums, a f t e r p a i n t touchup, inspection of gaskets, label ing, checks f o r surface con- tamination and other QA procedures were loaded i n t o a NECO Super Tiger overpack a n d transported t o Nevada by Tri-State Trucking. the drums were unloaded without incident and moved t o t h e spec ia l ly con- s t ruc ted storage p a d . Each drum was ident i f ied w i t h a labeled number on i t s l i d and a uniquely numbered seal was placed t h r o u g h the bol t on the bol t r i n g . Data packets were prepared l i s t i n a the contents of each drum. A s e t was sent with t $ e dr iver a n d a duplicate s e t was transmitted t o NVOO by mail. Laboratory f o r Nevada on Sentember 7 , 1976. A t h i r d shipment i s scheduled for September 13, 1976. The fourth a n d f ina l shipment o f t h i s se r ies wil l be made in October consisting o f the current inventory of 83 gallon drums ( l l ) , 4 c l a s s i f i e d drums and the remainder of the 55 gallon drum inventory, leaving approximately 6-8 drums on-si t e . Successful disposit ion of Mound Laboratory's h i g h level t r i t i a t e d waste a t NTS represents the culmination of many months of queries a n d neaotiations on the p a r t waste manaaement personnel.

On August 31, 1976, the f i r s t shipment of t r i t i a t e d waste was made This i n i t i a l shipment consisted o f 42 55-gallon

A t the t e s t s i t e

The second shipment o f 42 drums was prepared a n d l e f t the

o f E R D A a n d MRC

D . D u r i n g recent discussions with R . Y . Lowery, E R D A / A L O , i t was agreed t h a t Mound Laboratory's acid T R U waste could be released f o r shipment t o the 20-year re t r ievable storage pad in Idaho. The acid on F l o r c o waste may be shipped immediately. This decision was made on the basis of Idaho's acceptance o f conclusions reached by Mound and ALO personnel.

Ref. ( 1 ) Le t te r D . 0. Davis, E R D A / A L O t o G . Wehmann E R D A / I D dated February 6 , 1 9 7 6 .

Ref. ( 2 ) Le t te r G . Wehmann, E R D A / I D t o D. D . Davis E R D A / A L O dated ADril 1 , 1976.

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Mound has h a d a l l TRU acid waste on hold t o invest igate potent ia l pressure buildup within the drums. In l i n e hydrogenous waste has a l so been on h o l d because of potent ia l hydrogen generation problems. July 7 , 1976, Mound detai led a plan fo r disposing of the acid on Autodri a n d hydrogenous waste categories . Mound will continue with i t s program of inspection on the Acid/Autodri packages as described in t h i s l e t t e r . Action on the hydrogenous disposal plan i s subject t o approval from Idaho, which i s expected. s i s t s basical ly of redrumming and d i lu t ing the hydrogenous waste w i t h LSA material t o bring the t o t a l d r u m contents below the 4 x l o 5 nanocuries/gram o f alpha emitting material w h i c h has been s e t fo r acceptable hydrogenous waste .

I n a l e t t e r t o A L O on

Although the acid waste has been released,

The program con-

E . i t i s so l id i f i ed for burial continues t o be made by truck in 30 gallon HDPE l ined drums. ground pipe1 ine normally used f o r t r ans fe r . b u t no major problems in pumping o u t the beta water sumps in SW Building in to the drums fo r t ransport t o the so l id i f i ca t ion f a c i l i t y . However, t h i s scheme i s recognized as only an interim solut ion. Meetings of involved personnel have resu l ted in the decision t o proceed with the in s t a l l a t ion of a new above the g round high in t eg r i ty t r ans fe r l i n e . The l i n e will be e a s i l y pressure tes ted a n d monitored for leaks. I t will give absolute assurance t h a t n o beta water i s added t o the environment by t h i s operation. Engineering i s ac t ive ly pursuing design of the l i n e ,

Transfer of low level beta waste water from SW t o WDA Buildings where

This operation was necessitated due t o leakage of the under- There have been inconveniences,

F. Further runs were made with the LSA cyclone inc inera tor in August t o co l l ec t additional d a t a on the effect iveness of the venturi scrubber f o r the removal of par t icu la te from the off gas. I n addi t ion , experiments con- t inue regarding the expected l i f e of a s ing le HEPA f i l t e r placed downstream of the off gas handling system. col lected on temperature a n d pressure a t various points t h r o u g h o u t the in- c inera tor a n d i t s support equipment. Work has begun on fabr icat ion of an additional fume hood t o permit burning of " h o t " t r a sh . burning of Pu-238 contaminated LSA trash will begin before the end o f the 1 s t quar te r of FY-1977. d i s s ipa t e the r a d i a n t heat from the drum during the b u r n . This will allow a more continuous operation t o be carr ied o u t without excessive heat loads t o the surroundings,

Also during the m o n t h f u r t h e r d a t a was

I t i s expected t h a t

Modifications are a l so being made t o more e f fec t ive ly

111. Future Plans

Tritium waste shipments will continue t o the Nevada Test s i t e . t r a c t fo r burial of low level waste will be enacted.

A new con-

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I V . Waste In vent o r.y / S h i p pi n q Summa ry

The enclosed t a b l e d e t a i l s the waste a c t i v i t y t h a t has occurred during the past m o n t h . The d a t a i s broken down by s p e c i f i c containers and type of waste. f o r shipments (Building 23) . co l lec t ion pad (maxima a t these areas are s e t for th i n an internal memo, "Handling o f Radioactive Wastes," dated August 10, 1 9 7 2 ) a n d , thus , lags generation by a few days a t the most.

The summary describes a c t i v i t y centered a r o u n d the staging area I t does n o t include materials a t each

Radioactive Waste Management Status Report

IV. WASTE INVENTORY/SHIPPING SUMMARY (Continued)

30 Gal. Drums

LSA+ B&LQ*

Beginning Inventory - 1 5 3 6 j

Accumulated - -

Shipped - -

Ending Inventory - 153

Shipped FY-76A - -

55 Gal. Drums

LSA B&LO

83 Gal Drums

L SA B&LO

89 7 28

75 25

72 4 2

92 695(2)

7 2 42

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Total Boxes Vol ume

LSA B&LQ ( F T 3 )

8 3

43 -

32 -

19 3

70

8,205

5,059

4,007

9,257

8,009

TRU Vol urne ( FT3)

5,584

8

-

5,592

-

+ LSA-Low Specif ic Act ivi ty Waste, f o r Plutonium (Group I ) , a c t i v i t y l eve l s are l e s s than 100 nCi/gram and 1 m C i per package; may be shipped by van.

* B&LQ - Type B and Large Quantity Waste (Group I ) . a n d g rea t e r t h a n t h i s amount f o r Large Quant i ty ; must be shipped i n appropriate DOT approved conta iner ; Super Tiger o r ATMX r a i l c a r .

Activity levels between 1 mCi and 20 Ci per package f o r Type B

* T R U contaminated r e fe r s t o de f in i t i on of T R U waste as contained i n September 1 9 , 1973, AECM 0511 i ssue and sub- sequent guidance from A L O , a n d cons is t s primarily of Plutonium-238.

( 1 ) These 153 drums are grea te r than 10 nCi/gram and wi l l require repackaging in TRU containers .

( 2 ) This value includes 109 of the 120 drums of t r i t i um a n d c l a s s i f i e d waste on which negot ia t ions with SRP and NTS f o r burial a re current ly being conducted. T h e reniaining 11 drums a r e l i s t e d in the 83-gallon column.

SUMMARY-TRITIUM WASTE 8/31/76

Breakdown b y Waste Cateqory - No o f Drum

10 1 8

28 ?

69 1 1

120

Solid So1id and Octane Mixed Octane Oil Water - Histor ical Samples Water Water (Big I T ' ) Hardware

Breakdown b.y Si7e o f Drum - No. o f Drums

1 1 109 120

83 gallon 55 gallon

Breakdown by Quant i ty and Category

3.87 0.67 1.97 4.38 7.19

230.07 17.60 Negl .

265.75 g

Sol i d Sol id + Octane Mixed Octane Oi 1 Water - Histor ical Samples Water Water ( B i g ' T I ) Hardware

C 1 ass i f i cat ion S ta tus

C las s i f i ed Unclassif ied

4 Drums 116 Drums 120 Drums

83-Gall on Drum Caqeqories

Octane - 8 Big 'TI - 1 Sol id - - 2

1 1

Breakdown by Act iv i ty Index - No. of Drums

1 62 57

120

L-Low I- Intermediate H- Hi gh

< I O cu r i e s / f t3

>lo00 c u r i e s / f t 3 10-1000 c u r i e s / f t 3

Breakdown by Curie Content - No. of Drums

1 19 94

6 120

Small Qty. Type A Type B Large Qty .

Up t o 25 C i / P k p U t , t o 1000 C i / P k g 1000 t o 50,000 Ci/Pkg

>50,000 Ci/Pkg

SUMMARY REPORT

Chem Nuclear's Barnwell, S o u t h Carolina Burial Ground

Since Mound Laboratory i s current ly sendinq i t s low level radioactive waste t o the Barnwell s i t e for b u r i a l a n d s ince i t appears t h a t the new contract f o r dis- posit ion of the waste will be with Chem Nuclear, some background information con- cerning t h i s s i t e m i g h t be of i n t e r e s t ,

Chem Nuclear Systems, I n c . , operates a b u r i a l ground on a n %300-acre s i t e 6 miles west of Barnwell, S o u t h Carolina. I n operation s ince 1971, the s i t e i s bordered on the west by the Barnwell Nuclear Fuel P l a n t operated by Allied-General Nuclear Services, and by the E R D A Savannah River P l a n t . The area i s sparsely populated, w i t h agr icu l ture as the major industry. The land i s generally f l a t . Annual r a in - f a l l i s 43 i n . and i s evenly d is t r ibu ted t h r o u g h o u t the year .

The s o i l is composed mainly of 3-5 f t of sand, underlain by red clay sand extending t o a depth o f about 70 f t . Below t h i s there i s about 400 f t of sand followed by 700 f t of s i l t , clay a n d s a n d above several hundred t o as much as several thousand f e e t of claystone, s i l t s t o n e , sandstone and conglomerate. Detailed s tudies of the geology and hydrology for th i s area have been prepared f o r Chem Nuclear Systems and f o r the adjacent Barnwell Nuclear Fuel Plant . See References 3 and 4 .

Rainfall s inks rapidly into the surface s a n d a n d moves south a t a ra te of 0 . 1 - 0 . 2 f t lday toward a small t r ibu tary o f the Savannah River. The o n l y k n o w n use o f the r i v e r f o r domestic water supply occurs 90 miles downstream.

There i s an aquifer in the sand 75 f t below the ground. k a o l i n i t i c sand i n the 25-70 f t depth range act as a permeability bar r ie r separating the surface waters from confined waters below. depths of 40-50 f t below the surface. t h a n 30 f t below the g r o u n d surface.

Beds of kaolin and

Some groundwater i s encountered a t The water tab le i s not expected t o be c loser

The pr inciple aquifers from which major local water supplies a r e drawn are recharged 20 or more miles northwest of the s i t e . extend t o depths of less t h a n 150 f t . i s small. I t i s thought t o be highly unlikely t h a t t h i s source could become con- tami na ted by materi a1 escapi na the b u r i a1 ground.

There a r e some pr ivate wells nearby which The amount of water withdrawn from these wells

A recent GAO reporf? concerning the U . S . burial grounds, b o t h commercial a n d ERDA, looked a t the Barnwell geology a n d hydrology a n d compared i t with desi rable s i t e c r i t e r i a s e t down in a USGS report of 197a which were:

..

1 ) The s i t e should be generally devoid of surface water.

2 ) Erosion a n d weathering should not be a t a r a t e which could grea t ly a l t e r the land surface over the next few hundred years .

3 ) The hydrology must be such t h a t flow from the disposal s i t e does not lead t o areas which provide potential pathways t o man, such a s f ractured bedrock, public waterways, a n d aquifers used f o r water supply.

4 ) The hydrogeologic conditions must be simple enough f o r r e l i a b l e residence time predictions t o be made.

5 ) The predicted residence time of radionuclides must be several hundred years.

6 ) The natural water tab le should be below the d i s p o s a l s i t e by a t 1 eas t several meters.

7 ) Large water tab le f luctuat ions should be unlikely.

GAO determined t h a t charac te r i s t ics n o t well defined a t the Barnwell s i t e i n t h i s regard included

a ) The extent of porous a n d permeable sand a n d gravel.

b ) Fluctuations in the water tab le .

These items need f u r t h e r invest igat ion as they pertain t o the possible m i g r a t i o n of rad ioac t iv i ty i n the burial g rounds . USGS has plans t o conduct these surveys a t Barnwell as well as other commercial disposal s i t e s .

The b u r i a l trenches a r e dug t o a depth of 20 f t and a r e 475 f t long x 50 f t wide a t t h e t o p , reducing t o 40 f t a t the bottom. The bottom of the trench has a 12 slope toward one end. A 1 x 1 f t ditch runs along the center l ine of the trench a n d i s f i l l e d w i t h crushed rock t o assure drainage a n d col lect ion of water should water e n t e r the trench. In addi t ion, i t i s now current pract ice t o p u t 3-5 f t of sand on the bottom of the trench as a sa fe ty fac tor to keep waste containers above any minor amounts of water t h a t m i g h t en te r the trench. Galvanized s t e e l stand pipes are located a t each end of the trench and a t 1 / 3 and 2/3 the length of the trench. These pipes a r e 3 i n . i n diameter a n d extend to the b o t t o m of the rock-f i l led ditch i n the trench so t h a t the completed trenches may be checked periodically f o r the presence of water.

Cartons and boxes of waste are stacked i n the trench w i t h drums b e i n g dumped i n a random fashion. Wastes a r e covered each night and a minimum of 8 i n . of d i r t separates shipments of special nuclear material (SNM). Trenches a r e f i l l e d w i t h waste t o w i t h i n 3 f t of the or iginal ground surface. The waste i s covered with 8-13 f t of compacted dirt which i s mounded. The d i r t cover i s 5 f t thick a t the edge and 10 f t thick above center l ine and extends 5 f t beyond each edge of the burial trench t o a drainage channel surrounding each trench. There i s a m i n i m u m of 10 f t o f undisturbed e a r t h ,between trenches.

The trenches a re monitored each month f o r the presence of water; none has been found t o date .

Ten on-si te sample wells extending %75 f t t o the shallow aqui fe r are located several f e e t beyond the end of every t rench. These wells are sampled semiannually. No rad ioac t iv i ty above background levels has been detected in these samples o r i n 20 additional wells t o the water tab le which are located around the perimeter of the burial ground. Off-s i te a i r , vegetation, s o i l and animal l i f e a re monitored e i t h e r continuously or on a regular bas i s . The S t a t e of South Carolina conducts a n independent survey program.

W i t h re-rwct t o long term care of the Barnwell s i t e , the GAO repor t f o u n d t h a t S o u t h Carolina has attempted t o define w h a t long-term care will require a n d t o e s t a b l i s h b u r i a l payments i n l i n e w i t h such requirements. The S o u t h Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control recent ly received a report on a special study i t commissioned concerning the funding arrangements f o r meeting the S t a t e ' s obl igat ion r e l a t i v e t o maintenance, surve i l lance , and contingency costs associated w i t h the Barnwell s i t e . sidered were ( 1 ) the charge per cubic foot

The two major f a c t o r s t h a t t h e study con-

1 ) the charge per cubic foot f o r adequate long-term c a r e , and

2 ) the funding arrangements needed t o protect the S t a t e if the 1 icensee ceased operations before the planned decommissioning da te .

South Carolina cur ren t ly receives 8 cents f o r each cubic foot o f waste buried. of January 1975 , the S ta te h a d a balance of $118,283 i n an interest-earning account. In addi t ion, t h e l icensee maintains a $20,000 performance bond. cluded t h a t

As

The study con-

1 ) the required s i z e of the perpetual care fund 3s of January 1975 should have been $1 ,643,550 t o generate s u f f i c i e n t income t o pay f o r the annual routine survei l lance and maintenance costs ,

2 ) $130,000 should be added t o the f u n d each year f o r contingencies, and

3 ) $2,583,400 would be required by 1955 t o adequately maintain the s i t e .

In 1955--the estimated date the s i t e would reach capacity--the f u n d wil l have $1,211,971 a t the current charge of 8 cents a cubic foot. T h i s would leave a shortage of $1,371,429. The s t u d y recommended an increase of 6 cents a cubic foot , or a t o t a l fee o f 14 cents for each cubic foot of waste buried. The study a l so recommended t h a t the l icensee execute a $1,621,172 performance bond t o pro tec t the taxpayers of S o u t h Carolina from b e i n g required t o bear the cos t of long-term care fo r the s i t e should the l icensee cease operation before the planned decommissioning date.

I n general i t appears tha t operations and conditions a t the Barnwell s i t e compare favorably with o ther burial s i t e s . I n addition the S ta te and people of South Carolina recognize the importance of the nuclear Dower industry t o t h e i r economic and social well being and, hence, a re more receptive t o the burial grounds operation than some other States .

References

1. WASH 1269, "Tritium Control Technology," T . B . Rhinehamrner and P. H. Lamberger, December 1973.

2 . "Improvements Needed in the Land Disposal of Radioactive Wastes - A Problem of Centuries," GAO Report t o Congress, January 1 2 , 1976.

3. "Geology and Hydrology o f Proposed Chem Nuclear Services , Inc. Waste Disposal S i t e Near Barnwell, S o u t h Carolina," H . S . Johnson (December 1969) 20 p p .

4 . Allied Chemical Company Barnwell Nuclear Fuel Plant Safety Analysis Report, (November 1968).