Tank Waste & Waste Processing
The Department has approximately 88 million gallons of liquid waste stored in underground tanks and approximately
4,000 cubic meters of solid waste derived from the liquids stored in bins. The current DOE estimated cost for retrieval,
treatment and disposal of this waste exceeds $50 billion to be spent over several decades. The highly radioactive portion
of this waste, located at the Hanford Site, Idaho National Laboratory, and Savannah River sites, must be
treated and immobilized, and prepared for shipment to a waste repository. Efforts currently focus on improving pre-treatment
process to reduce the amount of waste that must be disposed, retrieval technologies, vitrification performance, and
breakthrough immobilization technologies.
Currently projects are focusing on:
- In-tank sludge washing at Hanford
- Enhanced waste processing at Idaho, Hanford, and Savannah River
- Disposition of salt waste at Savannah River
- Low and Medium curie waste pretreatment at Hanford
- Improved in-situ characterization/monitoring methods at Hanford, Idaho, and Savannah River, and sludge heel retrieval at Savannah River
- Advanced melter technology at Savannah River and other melter studies
New Projects will focus on addressing the recommendations from the National
Research Council of the National Academies of Sciences Final Report (April 2006)
“Tank Waste Retrieval Processing, and On-Site Disposal at Three Department of
Energy Sites.” Projects will focus on (1) options for chemical cleaning of
tanks; (2) emerging technologies to assist tank-waste removal, including robotic
enhancements to current waste retrieval technologies, and (3) near- and
long-term performance and monitoring of tank fill materials as they interact
with the environment. New projects will also focus on addressing recommendations
for improvements from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Technical Evaluation
Reports for Savannah River’s and Idaho’s waste determinations under Section 3116
of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005.
