TRU Waste Processing Center

TWPC Overview/Status

ETEBA Meeting

June 25, 2015

Charlie Anderson TWPC General Manager

TRU Waste Processing Center

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TWPC Location

• Located on approximately 25 acres of land owned by Department of Energy (DOE) in the Melton Valley area of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), approximately three quarters of a mile east of State Highway 95.

TRU Waste Processing Center

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ETTP

ORNL

Y-12

City of Oak Ridge

TWPC

Oak Ridge Reservation Sites

TRU Waste Processing Center

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TWPC

• TWPC is composed of 38,000 square foot Processing Building and various support facilities.

• Construction started in 2001 with initial operations in 2004.

• TWPC processes waste from ORNL generally classified as TRU waste.

• Wastes are treated, as appropriate, and stabilized or sorted to result in stable waste forms that can be permanently disposed at approved final repositories.

• TRU waste will be disposed of at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

• Low Level Waste is typically disposed of at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) or other suitable repository.

TRU Waste Processing Center

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Wastren Advantage, Inc.

• Wastren Advantage, Inc. (WAI) operates TWPC under a prime contract to the DOE Oak Ridge Environmental Management (OREM) Program.

• WAI is a small business headquartered in Piketon, Ohio, with project offices throughout the United States.

• Provides nuclear operations, waste processing and facility management throughout the DOE complex.

• Provides a variety of other services including consulting, construction, and other services across the country for both commercial and federal clients.

• Specifically within DOE EM, WAI manages more nuclear facilities than any other small business in the DOE complex.

TRU Waste Processing Center

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TWPC Leadership Team

Charlie Anderson General Manager

Linda Green Executive Assistant

John Grillo Business Operations,

Engineering, Performance Assurance & Training

Director

Bob Hunt Operations

Director

Mike Littleton SH&Q Director

Sabine Collins Project Controls

Manager

Troy Ayres Facility Security

Officer

Fred Heacker Waste Management,

Nuclear Safety & Environmental

Programs Director

Kent Samuels Human Resources

Manager

TRU Waste Processing Center

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TWPC Commitment to Safety

• Partnership with DOE/WAI

• Over 5 million M/H since last lost time accident (5.2 million over 13+ years)

• 3.2 million M/H since last OSHA recordable accident (5+ years)

• National Safety Council “Perfect Safety Award” 11 Years Running

• VPP Legacy of Stars Site

• ISO 14001:2004 Certified Legacy of Stars

TRU Waste Processing Center

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Key Processing Elements

• Key elements of the TWPC: – Hot Cell

– Box Breakdown Area

– Glovebox

– Cask Processing Enclosure

– Contact Handled Staging Area

– NDA/NDE

– Multi-Purpose Building (MPB)

– Contact Handled Marshalling Building (CHMB)

TRU Waste Processing Center

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TRU Debris and Soils Waste Inventory

• Oak Ridge’s original TRU Waste inventory is comprised of the following: – Contact Handled (CH) Debris and Soils ~1,500 m3

– Remote Handled (RH) Debris and Soils ~560 m3

TRU Waste Processing Center

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Mission Accomplishments – CH Waste

• Original CH waste inventory ~1,500 m3 • CH waste processing and disposal status:

– 98% processed – 69% shipped to permanent disposal

• CH waste inventory remaining to be processed includes difficult waste streams (High Fissile, Pyrophoric, Potential Energetic Chemical wastes)

TRU Waste Processing Center

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Mission Accomplishments – RH Waste

• Original RH inventory ~ 560 m3

• RH waste processing and disposal status: – 86% processed – 29% shipped to permanent disposal

• Remaining inventory includes some difficult waste streams (e.g., high dose neutron casks)

TRU Waste Processing Center

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Remaining Mission • Complete CH waste processing ~50 m3

– Technically Challenging waste • High Fissile, Pyrophoric, Potential Energetic Chemical wastes

– ORNL new generation / NFS Soils

– Target 1st quarter FY 18

• Complete RH waste processing~ 180 m3 – Legacy RH casks

• High neutron

• Gamma

– Legacy RH drums

– Tank W1A soils

– ORNL new generation RH casks (inventory growth)

– Target 4th quarter of FY 17

TRU Waste Processing Center

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Remaining Mission

• Manage extended storage of TRU wastes – TWPC/ORNL legacy storage

• Ship all waste categories to disposal (TRU, LLW, MLLW) – Dependent on phased (CH/RH) WIPP restart

– Non-TRU fall-out from waste processing

TRU Waste Processing Center

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Key Challenges WIPP Suspension Impacts

• Drove need for extended storage of TRU waste – TWPC is nearing its physical storage capacity for CH waste and has

already reached storage capacity limits for RH waste – Alternative waste storage options were required to continue waste

processing operations at TWPC – Material at risk (MAR) management challenges under DSA

• Suspended high dose RH waste processing – Processing of high dose RH waste casks was stopped due to the lack of

RH storage capacity

TRU Waste Processing Center

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Key Challenges Extended CH Waste Storage

• OREM will utilize both ORNL legacy TRU waste storage facilities and TWPC – Solves TWPC physical capacity constraints

and potential MAR limitations

• CH waste storage projections during suspension – TWPC ~5,000 drums – ORNL ~2100 drums

• ~1,000 legacy drums

• ~1,100 NFS soil drums

• TWPC has returned ~ 964 drums to ORNL legacy TRU waste storage facilities

ORNL legacy TRU waste storage

Transfers to ORNL legacy TRU waste storage

TRU Waste Processing Center

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Key Challenges Extended RH Waste Storage

• Utilize storage capacity at ORNL for RH canisters and deploy RH canister over-packs (ROPs)

– ROPs have been designed and procured

– Multi-layer construction

• Coated Schedule 40 steel pipe outer layer

• Concrete (rebar) inner layer

• HDPE (poly) inner liner

– Addresses high neutron dose concerns through utilization of poly-shielded 72B canisters

– Approximately 247 total RH waste canisters will be generated

TRU Waste Processing Center

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Key Challenges Extended RH Waste Storage

• Implemented DSA Revision 31 controls for ROP operations on 6/15/15

• Conducted Readiness Activities for ROP operations

• Transferred 1st ROP on 6/25/15

TRU Waste Processing Center

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Key Challenges “Technically Challenged” Wastes

• SWSA 5 Fissile Wastes – Oxides (combustible gas hazard)

• Deflagration to Detonation Transition (DDT) hazard

• Currently evaluating DDT impacts

• Planning remote container access

– Metals oxidation (combustible gas hazard)

• Potential Energetic Chemicals – Pyrophoric

– Lithium Hydride, Lithium Batteries

– Potential utilization oxide processing equipment

– Process planning conducted under Energetic Materials Program

TRU Waste Processing Center

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WAI Near-Term Plan

• Continue processing and CCP certification of RH TRU Debris

• Initiate shipments of new RH Overpacks to ORNL legacy waste storage facilities

• Complete TRU Waste Processing Center Hot Cell maintenance outage to increase reliability during RH processing

• Prepare and execute additional contract extensions

TRU Waste Processing Center

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Summary

• Surpassed 5 million safe work hours without a lost-time accident

• Processed 98% of CH debris inventory and 86% of RH debris inventory

• Completed Site Treatment Plan milestones for CCP Certification of 50% of the remaining CH and RH inventories eight months ahead of the enforceable schedule

• Completed Design, Procurement and Implementation of new RH Overpacks to enable RH processing during Waste Isolation Pilot Plant suspension

• Focused to address remaining waste streams