Depleted Uranium Disposal Options
Publication: Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management
Volume 4, Issue 2
Abstract
Depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF6) has been produced in the United States since the 1940s as part of both the military program and the civilian nuclear energy program. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is the agency responsible for managing most of the depleted UF6 that has been produced in the United States. The total quantity of depleted UF6 that DOE has to or will have to manage is approximately 700,000 Mg. Studies have been conducted to evaluate the various alternatives for managing this material. This paper evaluates and summarizes the alternative of disposal as low-level waste (LLW). Results of the analysis indicate that UF6 needs to be converted to a more stable form, such as U3O8, before disposal as LLW. Estimates of the environmental impacts of disposal in a dry environment are within the currently applicable standards and regulations. Of the currently operating LLW disposal facilities, available information indicates that either of two DOE facilities—the Hanford Site or the Nevada Test Site—or a commercial facility—Envirocare of Utah—would be able to dispose of up to the entire DOE inventory of depleted UF6.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Accident facts (1995). 1995 Ed., National Safety Council, Itasca, Ill.
2.
“Barnwell Disposal Facility radioactive material license (disposal).” (1999). License No. 097, Amendment No. 47, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, 〈http://www.chemnuclear.com/ requests.htm〉.
3.
Chapter 7: “Disposition of the DUF6.” (1996). Affordable Cleanup? Opportunities for Cost Reduction in the Decontamination and Decommissioning of the Nation's Uranium Enrichment Facilities. Board on Energy and Environmental Systems, National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
4.
“Depleted uranium hexafluoride management program; the engineering analysis report for the long-term management of depleted uranium hexafluoride.” (1997). UCRL-AR-124080, prepared by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Science Applications International Corporation, Bechtel, and Lockheed Martin Energy Systems for U.S. Department of Energy, Vols. I and II, Rev. 2.
5.
“Hanford Site solid waste acceptance criteria.” (1998). HNF-EP-0063, Rev. 5, Fluor Daniel Hanford, Hanford, Wash.
6.
Hertzler, T., et al. ( 1994). “Depleted uranium disposal options evaluation.” EGG-MS-11297, prepared for EG & G Idaho, Inc., and the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management by Science Applications International Corporation, Idaho Falls, Idaho.
7.
“High-integrity Container, 300 Year.” (1996). WHC-S-0486, Westinghouse Hanford Company, Richland, Wash.
8.
Katz, J., and Rabinowitch, E. (1951). The chemistry of uranium, part I: The element, Its binary and related compounds. McGraw-Hill, New York.
9.
Kirk-Othmer. (1997). Encyclopedia of chemical technology, 4th Ed., Vol. 24, Wiley, New York.
10.
U.S. Department of Energy. (1995). “Depleted uranium: A DOE management challenge.” DOE/EM-0262, Office of Environmental Management, Office of Technology Development, Washington, D.C.
11.
U.S. Department of Energy. (1997). “Nevada Test Site waste acceptance criteria.” DOE/NV-325, Rev. 1, Nevada Operations Office, Las Vegas, Nev.
12.
U.S. Department of Energy. (1999a). “Final plan for the conversion of depleted uranium hexafluoride, as required by public law 105-204.” Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology, Germantown, Md.
13.
U.S. Department of Energy. (1999b). “Final programmatic environmental impact statement for alternative strategies for the long-term management and use of depleted uranium hexafluoride.” DOE/EIS-0269, Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology, Germantown, Md.
14.
U.S. Department of Energy. (1999c). “Radioactive waste management.” DOE Order 435.1, Office of Environmental Management, Washington, D.C.
15.
U.S. Department of Energy. (1999d). “Radioactive waste management manual.” DOE M 435.1-1, Office of Environmental Management, Washington, D.C.
16.
U.S. Department of Energy. (1999e). “Record of decision for long-term management and use of depleted uranium hexafluoride” Federal Register, 64, 43358–43364, Washington, D.C.
17.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (1991). “Technical position paper on waste form.” Rev. 1, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Washington, D.C.
18.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (1994). “Final environmental impact statement for the construction and operation of Claiborne Enrichment Center, Homer, Louisiana.” Docket No. 70-3070, NUREG-1484, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Washington, DC., Vols. 1 and 2.
19.
Waste acceptance criteria, Rev. 0. (1998). Waste Control Specialists, Andrews County, Tex.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management
Volume 4 • Issue 2 • April 2000
Pages: 65 - 72
History
Received: Dec 10, 1999
Published online: Apr 1, 2000
Published in print: Apr 2000
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.