Underutilized and surplus lead stocks and leaded components are a common legacyenvironmental problem across much of the Department of Energy (DOE) Complex. Whileseeking to dispose of these items through its Environmental Management Program, DOEoperational programs continue to pursue contemporary mission requirements such as managingand/or storing radioactive isotopes that require lead materials for shielding. This paradox wasidentified in late 1999 when DOE’s policies for managing scrap metal were assessed. In January2000, the Secretary of Energy directed the National Center of Excellence for Materials Recycle(NMR) to develop and implement a comprehensive lead reuse program for all of DOE.Fluor Hanford, contractor for DOE Richland Operations, subsequently contacted NMR to pilotlead reclamation and reuse at the Hanford Site. This relationship resulted in the development ofa beneficial reuse pathway for lead reclaimed from spent fuel transport railcars being stored atHanford. The 1.3 million pounds of lead in the railcars is considered radiologically encumbereddue to its prior use. Further, the material was considered a mixed Resource Conservation andRecovery Act (RCRA) low-level radioactive waste that would require expensive storage ormacro encapsulation to meet land disposal restrictions prior to burial.Working closely with Flour Hanford and the Office of Air, Water, and Radiation (EH-412),NMR developed a directed reuse pathway for this and other radiologically encumbered lead.When derived supplemental release limits were used, the lead recovered from these railcarsbecame eligible for reuse in shielding products to support DOE and commercial nuclear industryoperations. Using this disposition pathway has saved Hanford one third of the cost of disposingof the lead and the cost of acquiring additional lead for nuclear shielding applications.Furthermore, the environmental costs associated with mining and producing new lead forshielding products and stewardship of the waste was eliminated. Methods and processesdeveloped in cooperation with Fluor Hanford are applicable to, and have been successfullyapplied to, lead stocks at DOE sites such as Savannah River, Mound, Los Alamos, and Idaho.
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