DEPLOYMENT OF MULTIPLE TECHNOLOGIES FOR REMEDIATION OF NUMEROUS MIXED WASTE STREAMS

摘要

As the remediation of Department of Energy (DOE) sites progresses toward completion, disposition of mixed waste presents a significant hurdle which is a major factor in a sites’ ability to meet cost, schedule, and regulatory milestone goals. The ability to treat or stabilize and dispose of mixed waste is a challenge confronting all DOE sites. A multitude of treatment approaches must be deployed to satisfactorily remediate the wide variety of mixed waste streams found at most sites. The treatment of these waste streams is often made even more difficult since these streams can be very small in size and unique in physical properties. Treatment of these small, unique waste streams is difficult from a licensing and permitting standpoint and often is very expensive on a unit cost basis. Currently, there are many mixed waste streams existing in the DOE Complex for which no technically viable treatment option has been permitted. The Ashtabula Environmental Management Project (AEMP) in Ashtabula, Ohio has developed a remediation approach that uses on-site treatment as the principal mechanism for dispositioning over 300 cubic meters (approximately 10,500 cubic feet) of legacy mixed waste. These materials exist as several small volume waste streams, many of which are not acceptable at commercial treatment facilities. The on-site treatment approach has the advantage of lowering off-site treatment and disposal costs, which can be very significant when dealing with a multitude of small volume mixed waste streams. The on site approach also allows the AEMP to maintain control of the completion of Federal Facility Compliance (FFCA) Act Milestones. The treatment approach implemented by Earthline Technologies uses several technologies such as microencapsulation, macroencapsulation, mo lten salt oxidation, stabilization through compression forming and molten aluminum processing. Each of these technologies has been proven technically feasible through DOE sponsored programs. The deployment of these technologies will allow the DOE to cost effectively meet federally mandated mixed waste disposition milestones and will make the technologies available to other DOE sites faced with similar small waste stream disposal problems. The permitted treatment of these waste streams is currently underway at the Earthline Technologies facility in Ashtabula, Ohio.