A tremendous challenge exists in the remediation of some 200 underground storage tanks (USTs) in the DOE complex, which are currently used to store millions of gallons of high level nuclear waste. Hanford Nuclear Reservation, in eastern Washington state, houses 177 of these tanks and is the site of initial remediation development work [1]. The wastes consist of mixed solids, often in multiple layers formed at different times from different waste streams, in contact with concentrated salt solutions. The long term disposal of these wastes is a goal of considerable importance to the public, especially since some of the waste is stored in single shelled tanks (SSTs), a number of which are assumed to be leaking. Meeting this challenge will require the completion of three subtasks: make operational a long term geologic repostory for glass logs formed from vitrified waste, develop a process which can be approved in the U.S. for performing the vitrification, safely transfer the wastes between tanks as needed to prepare for long term storage.
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