DOE looks to dispose of tank waste as LLW

摘要

The Department of Energy is considering solidifying 2,000 gallons of Hanford's tank waste and disposing of it as low-level radioactive waste at an off-site facility. Disposal of the tank waste as LLW is part of the DOE's Test Bed Initiative, under which a portion of liquid waste from tank SY-101 at the Hanford Site will be pretreated to remove most key radionuclides, shipped off-site to be grouted into a solid, then disposed of at either EnergySolutions' LLW facility near Clive, Utah, or Waste Control Specialists' federal waste facility in Andrews County, Texas. In December 2017, the DOE completed a proof-of-concept demonstration using three gallons of Hanford tank waste. The waste was successfully pretreated, transported to Perma-Fix Environmental Services Northwest, adjacent to the Hanford Site, for solidification, and disposed of as treated LLW at Waste Control Specialists' Texas facility.