ENVIRONMENTAL-NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITIES AT ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY – WEST

摘要

Argonne National Laboratory-West (ANL-W) has a full suite of nuclear facilities including two large hot cell facilities, analytical chemistry laboratory, sodium processing facilities, two operating reactors, electron microscopy laboratory and various support facilities. ANL-W is located on the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, but is operated by University of Chicago under the Department of Energy Chicago Operations office. Although the primary funding source is from the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology, many of the programs are focused on solving waste management problems. The Spent Fuel Treatment project is treating sodiumbonded spent nuclear fuel and recovering uranium for interim storage. The fission products and transuranic elements from this fuel are being incorporated into two high level waste forms: a metal waste and glass bonded ceramic. This project includes treatment operations, process implementation, remote equipment design, and waste form qualification. These activities involve all aspects of waste management and new technology application. The second large ANL-W project involving DOE-NE is the Plant Closure Project which involves the processing of a large quantity of elemental sodium coolant and the placing of the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) into a industrially and radiologically safe condition. The sodium process has been developed and implemented at ANL-W and has been processing sodium for the past eighteen months. The EBR-II work involves deactivating systems and removing hazards so that minimum surveillance will be required until the reactor is decommissioned. In addition to these large projects, ANL-W is using its unique suite of facilities to address waste management problems throughout the DOE complex. Various waste process operations are preparing many different streams for disposal including visual examination of WIPP wastes, gas generation experiments, phytoremediation of soils, solidification of hazardous liquids and sludges, characterization of greater than class C wastes and immobilization of HEPA filters. New non-destructive examination methods are also being developed and tested in support of spent fuel and waste characterization requirements. All of these activities are possible because of the existing infrastructure that enables the ANL-W site to handle large quantities of transuranics and high activity radioactive materials in a safe manner while implementing new and innovative technologies.