|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
You are here:  EM Home > Waste and Materials Disposition Information |
|
|
|
|
|
As the Office of Environmental Management fulfills its mission, waste and materials
disposition plays a vital role in the cleanup of radioactive waste and the environmental
legacy of nuclear weapons production and nuclear energy research.
|
|
Waste and Materials Disposition Information |
Disposal of waste frequently falls on the critical path of cleanup projects. Significant planning
resources are spent to identify alternatives and find a path that is cost-effective
and in the best interest of the Federal government. In many instances, waste
disposition, (processing, treatment and disposal) is part of cleanup agreements and
is of interest to stakeholders and requires the oversight of regulators.
Below is a collection of reports and links to various documents that provide
information related to waste and material disposition. While most of these are
directly related to the Department of Energy’s waste management activities, some
links include information from the commercial sector. Some of the information provides
an historical context for current waste disposition alternatives.
|
Waste Volume Related Databases
Transuranic (TRU) Waste
High-Level Waste
The highly radioactive material resulting from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel,
including liquid waste produced directly in reprocessing and any solid material derived
from such liquid waste that contains fission products in sufficient concentrations;
and other highly radioactive material that is determined, consistent with existing law,
to require permanent isolation.
|
 |
Spent Nuclear Fuel
|
Fuel that has been withdrawn from a nuclear reactor following irradiation, the constituent elements of which have not been separated by reprocessing. SNF may include: (1) intact, non-defective fuel assemblies or fuel rods; (2) failed fuel assemblies or fuel rods; (3) segments of fuel rods or pieces of fuel derived from spent fuel rods; and (4) various nonfuel components and structural parts of irradiated fuel assemblies.
|
|
| |
 |
Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel
The Office of Environmental Management’s (EM) mission is to safely and efficiently manage its Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and prepare it for disposal in a geologic repository.
|
Special Nuclear Materials
Defined under the Atomic Energy Act as plutonium, uranium-233, and uranium enriched in the isotopes uranium-233 or uranium-235; does not include source material.
|
|
| |
|
Special Nuclear Materials
The Office of Environmental Management (EM), in coordination with the National Nuclear Security Administration, is responsible for disposition of approximately 12.8 metric tons of surplus, non-pit, weapons-usable plutonium-239. EM is also responsible for disposition of about 21 metric tons of surplus highly enriched uranium (HEU) materials, which includes approximately 13.5 metric tons contained in spent nuclear fuel; and less than 1 metric ton of surplus uranium-233.
|
|
|
|
Consolidation of Surplus Plutonium at Savannah River Site
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has amended the Record
of Decision (ROD) for the Storage and Disposition of Weapons-Usable Fissile Materials
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. The revised decision will consolidate
storage of surplus, non-pit weapons-usable plutonium from Hanford, LANL and LLNL at SRS,
pending disposition. |
Greater-Than-Class C Low-Level Radioactive Waste (GTCC LLW)
Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) LLW is LLW in which the concentrations of radionuclides exceed the limits for Class C LLW established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 10 CFR 61.55. GTCC LLW is generated in the commercial sector under NRC or Agreement State licensed activities.
The NRC has categorized LLW into four classes (A, B, C, and GTCC) based on the concentration of specific short-lived and long-lived radionuclides given in two tables in 10 CFR 61.55.
|
|
|
|
GTCC LLW Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 
On July 23, 2007, DOE published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS for the disposal of GTCC LLW. The NOI is the first of a series of steps to prepare the EIS, which will be a primary component in the determination of how and where to dispose of GTCC LLW. The NOI identifies the proposed disposal alternatives for analysis in the EIS, reports on the inventory of waste to be analyzed in the EIS, and invites public comments on the scope of the EIS.
|
NDAA Section 3116 Waste Determinations
Waste Management PEIS Reports and Records of Decision
Historical Waste Volume Reference Reports
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
