Method of characterizing void volume headspace in vented transuranic waste sludge drums using limited sampling data

摘要

The Department of Energy must demonstrate to the Environmental Protection Agency that a drum headspace sample is representative of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) within the entire void space of the waste container in order to demonstrate compliance in the future when drums could be directly emplaced in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. A test program is underway at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory to determine if the drum headspace VOC concentration is representative of the concentration in the entire drum void space and demonstrate that the VOC concentration in the void space of each layer of confinement can be estimated using a model incorporating diffusive and permeative transport principles and limited waste drum sampling data. A comparison of model predictions of VOC concentration in the innermost layer of confinement with actual measurement from transuranic waste sludge drums demonstrate that the model may be useful in characterizing VOC concentration throughout entire drum void volume.