Category 3 low-level waste must be in a stable waste form for disposal at the Hanford Low-Level Burial Grounds (refer to Hanford Site Solid Waste Acceptance Criteria, Section 3.4.1). In general, the easiest way to meet the stability requirement is by packaging the waste in a High Integrity Container (HIC).
HICs Available at Hanford
The Hanford Site maintains an inventory of HICs. Generators can have their Category 3 waste overpacked in a HIC at the Low-Level Burial Grounds. There is a special rate for overpacking and disposal of Category 3 in a HIC. The following configurations of HICs are available on the Hanford Site:
- Culvert Type I Concrete HIC (6 ft. diameter by 6 ft. high)
- Culvert Type II Concrete HIC (8 ft. diameter by 7 ft. high)
- Vault type concrete HIC (10.5 ft. long by 7 ft. wide by 9.5 ft. high)
Approved Commercial HICs
Waste generators can also provide their own HICs. The list below identifies commercially available HICs that have been approved to meet stability requirements for use at the Hanford Low-Level Burial Grounds. The Waste Management Acceptance Organization must perform an evaluation of the loading of all HICs to ensure that they will withstand the soil overburden in the Low-Level Burial Grounds. Contact your Waste Management Representative for information about these Hanford approved HICs.
Note - HDPE HIC's must also be reviewed and approved to meet the fire protection requirements of Section 3.5.2. The fire protection review is performed during the waste stream profile review.
- Arrow Pak High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)HIC
- NUKEM Nuclear Technologies NUHIC-55
- SEG Enduro Pak HDPE HIC
- SEG SQ113 Concrete HIC
- Any NRC-approved HIC
Special HICs
The following packages have been evaluated and approved as HICs:
- Hanford IXM unit (Hanford Specification H-1-46279)
- Vectra 95 drum capacity HIC
