Waste Management at the Nevada Test Site Fiscal Year 2001 – Current Status

摘要

The performance objectives of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National NuclearrnSecurity Administration Nevada Operations Office Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLW) disposalrnfacilities located at the Nevada Test Site transcend those of any other radioactive waste disposalrnsite in the United States. Situated at the southern end of the Great Basin, 244 meters (800 feet)rnabove the water table, the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) has utilized arncombination of engineered shallow land disposal cells and deep augured shafts to dispose arnvariety of waste streams. These include high-volume low-activity waste, classified radioactivernmaterial, and high-specific-activity special case waste. Twenty-four kilometers (15 miles) northrnof Area 5 is the Area 3 RWMS. Here, bulk LLW disposal takes place in subsidence craters formedrnfrom underground nuclear weapons testing. Earliest records indicate that documented LLWrndisposal activities have occurred at the Area 5 and Area 3 RWMSs since 1961 and 1968,rnrespectively. However, these activities have been managed under a formal program only sincern1978. This paper describes the technical attributes of the facilities, present and future capacitiesrnand capabilities, and provides a description of the process from waste approval to finalrndisposition. The paper also summarizes the current status of the waste disposal operations.