AIKEN, S.C. (January 11, 2016) – DOE has announced release of a Request for Information (RFI) on the optimal design of Saltstone Disposal Units (SDU) in support of the Savannah River Site (SRS) liquid waste program mission, along with plans to hold an Industry Day to provide additional information on the SDU project.
This effort seeks input from commercial industry to help identify the optimal system, structure or component (SSC) to safely contain and disposition low-level nuclear waste in the form of Saltstone. The goal of this inquiry is to ascertain from industry experts the most cost-effective and timely way to design and construct SDUs with sufficient capacity to maintain uninterrupted liquid waste processing at SRS.
The Request for Information, posted on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) at https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOE/PAM/SRO/DESOL0009364/listing.html, outlines the detailed information DOE is seeking to support its evaluation of the most cost-effective SSC to safely contain and disposition Saltstone within specified design and schedule constraints.
Interested parties are requested to respond to the RFI and address specified capabilities information by February 19, 2016. Additionally, an Industry Day will be held on January 27, 2016, at the New Ellenton Community Center in New Ellenton, SC, from 9 AM – 3 PM.
The Industry Day conference will consist of technical presentations on the project and identification of expectations. The purpose of the conference will be to familiarize interested parties with the optimal Saltstone Disposal Unit design. The RFI provides contact, location and registration information/deadline for Industry Day. An SRS overview driving tour will be provided as part of the conference.
Saltstone Disposal Units are permanent disposal units to contain low-activity waste grout produced from solidification of decontaminated non-hazardous salt waste at the Savannah River Site.
These units are cylindrical concrete tanks that are based on a design used commercially for storage of water and other liquids.
The most recently developed unit design, SDU-6, is cylindrical, and 10 times larger than the others. It is 375 feet in diameter and 43 feet tall, while units 2, 3 and 5 are 150 feet in diameter and 22 feet tall. SDU-6 and future units will hold approximately 30 million gallons of grouted decontaminated salt solution each, about 10 times the amount of other SDUs.
When all of the units are filled, they will be capped with clean concrete to isolate them from the environment. Closure operations will begin after most of the units have been constructed and filled.
This RFI is solely for information and planning purposes; it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. If a solicitation is released in the future, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities website at https://www.fbo.gov.
