%0 Book %A National Research Council %T Tank Waste Retrieval, Processing, and On-site Disposal at Three Department of Energy Sites: Final Report %@ 978-0-309-10170-7 %D 2006 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11618/tank-waste-retrieval-processing-and-on-site-disposal-at-three-department-of-energy-sites %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11618/tank-waste-retrieval-processing-and-on-site-disposal-at-three-department-of-energy-sites %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 214 %X DOE Tank Waste: How clean is clean enough? The U.S. Congress asked the National Academies to evaluate the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) plans for cleaning up defense-related radioactive wastes stored in underground tanks at three sites: the Hanford Site in Washington State, the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, and the Idaho National Laboratory. DOE plans to remove the waste from the tanks, separate out high-level radioactive waste to be shipped to an off-site geological repository, and dispose of the remaining lower-activity waste onsite. The report concludes that DOE’s overall plan is workable, but some important challenges must be overcome—including the removal of residual waste from some tanks, especially at Hanford and Savannah River. The report recommends that DOE pursue a more risk-informed, consistent, participatory, and transparent for making decisions about how much waste to retrieve from tanks and how much to dispose of onsite. The report offers several other detailed recommendations to improve the technical soundness of DOE's tank cleanup plans. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Research Needs for High-Level Waste Stored in Tanks and Bins at U.S. Department of Energy Sites: Environmental Management Science Program %@ 978-0-309-07565-7 %D 2001 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10191/research-needs-for-high-level-waste-stored-in-tanks-and-bins-at-us-department-of-energy-sites %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10191/research-needs-for-high-level-waste-stored-in-tanks-and-bins-at-us-department-of-energy-sites %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %K Engineering and Technology %P 146 %X The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has approximately 400 million liters (100 million gallons) of liquid high-level waste (HLW) stored in underground tanks and approximately 4,000 cubic meters of solid HLW stored in bins. The current DOE estimate of the cost of converting these liquid and solid wastes into stable forms for shipment to a geological repository exceeds $50 billion to be spent over several decades (DOE, 2000). The Committee on Long-Term Research Needs for Radioactive High-Level Waste at Department of Energy Sites was appointed by the National Research Council (NRC) to advise the Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP) on a long-term research agenda addressing the above problems related to HLW stored in tanks and bins at DOE sites. %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Review of the Continued Analysis of the Supplemental Treatment Approaches of Low-Activity Waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation: Review #1 %@ 978-0-309-27500-2 %D 2022 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26423/review-of-the-continued-analysis-of-the-supplemental-treatment-approaches-of-low-activity-waste-at-the-hanford-nuclear-reservation %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26423/review-of-the-continued-analysis-of-the-supplemental-treatment-approaches-of-low-activity-waste-at-the-hanford-nuclear-reservation %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 47 %X The Hanford Nuclear Reservation, where about two-thirds of the nation's weapons plutonium was produced from 1944 to 1987, is the site of the largest and most complex nuclear cleanup challenge in the United States. Section 3125 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 calls for a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) to develop a framework of decisions to be made among the supplemental treatment technologies, waste forms, and disposal locations for low-activity waste in the Hanford tanks. In addition, Section 3125 calls for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide a concurrent, independent peer review of the ongoing FFRDC analysis. This review report, the first of three to address the Congressional mandate, focuses on the technical quality and completeness of the FFRDC's draft framework. %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Final Review of the Study on Supplemental Treatment Approaches of Low-Activity Waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation: Review #4 %@ 978-0-309-67288-7 %D 2020 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25710/final-review-of-the-study-on-supplemental-treatment-approaches-of-low-activity-waste-at-the-hanford-nuclear-reservation %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25710/final-review-of-the-study-on-supplemental-treatment-approaches-of-low-activity-waste-at-the-hanford-nuclear-reservation %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Conflict and Security Issues %P 130 %X The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management is responsible for managing and cleaning up the waste and contamination at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, the nation's biggest and most complex nuclear cleanup challenge. At the site, 177 underground tanks collectively contain about 211 million liters of waste that includes high-activity and low-activity materials. At the request of Congress, Final Review of the Study on Supplemental Treatment Approaches of Low-Activity Waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation: Review #4 focuses on approaches for treatment and disposal of the supplemental portion of the low-activity waste from the tanks. This review report discusses developments since the publication of Review #3 and provides a summary of public comments on the third committee review report. The authoring committee then shares their views on these comments and whether they change any of the findings or recommendations in the third review report. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Tank Wastes Planned for On-Site Disposal at Three Department of Energy Sites: The Savannah River Site: Interim Report %@ 978-0-309-09693-5 %D 2005 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11415/tank-wastes-planned-for-on-site-disposal-at-three-department-of-energy-sites %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11415/tank-wastes-planned-for-on-site-disposal-at-three-department-of-energy-sites %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 88 %X In response to a request from Congress, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) asked the National Academies to evaluate its plans for managing radioactive wastes from spent nuclear fuel at sites in Idaho, South Carolina, and Washington. This interim report evaluates storage facilities at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, with a particular focus on plans to seal the tanks with grouting. The report finds that tanks at the site do not necessarily need to be sealed shut as soon as the bulk of the waste has been removed. Postponing permanent closure buys more time for the development and application of emerging technologies to remove and better immobilize residual waste, without increasing risks to the environment or delaying final closure of the "tank farms." The report also recommends alternatives to address the lack of tank space at the site, as well as the need for focused R&D activities to reduce the amount and improve the immobilization of residual waste in the tanks and to test some of the assumptions used in evaulating long-term risks at the site. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Evaluation of Criteria for Selecting a Salt Processing Alternative for High-Level Waste at the Savannah River Site: Interim Report %D 2001 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10088/evaluation-of-criteria-for-selecting-a-salt-processing-alternative-for-high-level-waste-at-the-savannah-river-site %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10088/evaluation-of-criteria-for-selecting-a-salt-processing-alternative-for-high-level-waste-at-the-savannah-river-site %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 32 %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Alternatives for High-Level Waste Salt Processing at the Savannah River Site %@ 978-0-309-07194-9 %D 2000 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9959/alternatives-for-high-level-waste-salt-processing-at-the-savannah-river-site %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9959/alternatives-for-high-level-waste-salt-processing-at-the-savannah-river-site %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 154 %X The Second World War introduced the world to nuclear weapons and their consequences. Behind the scene of these nuclear weapons and an aspect of their consequences is radioactive waste. Radioactive waste has varying degrees of harmfulness and poses a problem when it comes to storage and disposal. Radioactive waste is usually kept below ground in varying containers, which depend on how radioactive the waste it. High-level radioactive waste (HLW) can be stored in underground carbon-steel tanks. However, radioactive waste must also be further immobilized to ensure our safety. There are several sites in the United States where high-level radioactive waste (HLW) are stored; including the Savannah River Site (SRS), established in 1950 to produce plutonium and tritium isotopes for defense purposes. In order to further immobilize the radioactive waste at this site an in-tank precipitation (ITP) process is utilized. Through this method, the sludge portion of the tank wastes is being removed and immobilized in borosilicate glass for eventual disposal in a geological repository. As a result, a highly alkaline salt, present in both liquid and solid forms, is produced. The salt contains cesium, strontium, actinides such as plutonium and neptunium, and other radionuclides. But is this the best method? The National Research Council (NRC) has empanelled a committee, at the request of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), to provide an independent technical review of alternatives to the discontinued in-tank precipitation (ITP) process for treating the HLW stored in tanks at the SRS. Alternatives for High-Level Waste Salt Processing at the Savannah RIver Site summarizes the finding of the committee which sought to answer 4 questions including: "Was an appropriately comprehensive set of cesium partitioning alternatives identified and are there other alternatives that should be explored?" and "Are there significant barriers to the implementation of any of the preferred alternatives, taking into account their state of development and their ability to be integrated into the existing SRS HLW system?" %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Long-Term Institutional Management of U.S. Department of Energy Legacy Waste Sites %@ 978-0-309-07186-4 %D 2000 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9949/long-term-institutional-management-of-us-department-of-energy-legacy-waste-sites %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9949/long-term-institutional-management-of-us-department-of-energy-legacy-waste-sites %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 178 %X It is now becoming clear that relatively few U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) waste sites will be cleaned up to the point where they can be released for unrestricted use. "Long-term stewardship" (activities to protect human health and the environment from hazards that may remain at its sites after cessation of remediation) will be required for over 100 of the 144 waste sites under DOE control (U.S. Department of Energy, 1999). After stabilizing wastes that remain on site and containing them as well as is feasible, DOE intends to rely on stewardship for as long as hazards persist—in many cases, indefinitely. Physical containment barriers, the management systems upon which their long-term reliability depends, and institutional controls intended to prevent exposure of people and the environment to the remaining site hazards, will have to be maintained at some DOE sites for an indefinite period of time. The Committee on Remediation of Buried and Tank Wastes finds that much regarding DOE's intended reliance on long-term stewardship is at this point problematic. The details of long-term stewardship planning are yet to be specified, the adequacy of funding is not assured, and there is no convincing evidence that institutional controls and other stewardship measures are reliable over the long term. Scientific understanding of the factors that govern the long-term behavior of residual contaminants in the environment is not adequate. Yet, the likelihood that institutional management measures will fail at some point is relatively high, underscoring the need to assure that decisions made in the near term are based on the best available science. Improving institutional capabilities can be expected to be every bit as difficult as improving scientific and technical ones, but without improved understanding of why and how institutions succeed and fail, the follow-through necessary to assure that long-term stewardship remains effective cannot reliably be counted on to occur. Long-Term Institutional Management of U.S. Department of Energy Legacy Waste Sites examines the capabilities and limitations of the scientific, technical, and human and institutional systems that compose the measures that DOE expects to put into place at potentially hazardous, residually contaminated sites. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T An End State Methodology for Identifying Technology Needs for Environmental Management, with an Example from the Hanford Site Tanks %@ 978-0-309-06183-4 %D 1999 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6366/an-end-state-methodology-for-identifying-technology-needs-for-environmental-management-with-an-example-from-the-hanford-site-tanks %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6366/an-end-state-methodology-for-identifying-technology-needs-for-environmental-management-with-an-example-from-the-hanford-site-tanks %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %K Engineering and Technology %P 106 %X A major issue in the cleanup of this country's nuclear weapons complex is how to dispose of the radioactive waste resulting primarily from the chemical processing operations for the recovery of plutonium and other defense strategic nuclear materials. The wastes are stored in hundreds of large underground tanks at four U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites throughout the United States. The tanks contain hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of radioactive and hazardous waste. Most of it is high-level waste (HLW), some of it is transuranic (TRU) or low- level waste (LLW), and essentially all containing significant amounts of chemicals deemed hazardous. Of the 278 tanks involved, about 70 are known or assumed to have leaked some of their contents to the environment. The remediation of the tanks and their contents requires the development of new technologies to enable cleanup and minimize costs while meeting various health, safety, and environmental objectives. While DOE has a process based on stakeholder participation for screening and formulating technology needs, it lacks transparency (in terms of being apparent to all concerned decision makers and other interested parties) and a systematic basis (in terms of identifying end states for the contaminants and developing pathways to these states from the present conditions). An End State Methodology for Identifying Technology Needs for Environmental Management, with an Example from the Hanford Site Tanks describes an approach for identifying technology development needs that is both systematic and transparent to enhance the cleanup and remediation of the tank contents and their sites. The authoring committee believes that the recommended end state based approach can be applied to DOE waste management in general, not just to waste in tanks. The approach is illustrated through an example based on the tanks at the DOE Hanford Site in southeastern Washington state, the location of some 60 percent by volume of the tank waste residues. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T The Hanford Tanks: Environmental Impacts and Policy Choices %@ 978-0-309-05585-7 %D 1996 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5403/the-hanford-tanks-environmental-impacts-and-policy-choices %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5403/the-hanford-tanks-environmental-impacts-and-policy-choices %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %K Engineering and Technology %P 76 %X The Hanford Site (also known as the Hanford Reservation) occupies approximately 1,450 km2 (560 square miles) along the Columbia River in south-central Washington, north of the city of Richland. The site was established by the federal government in 1943 to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons. Currently, the mission of the site, under the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is management of wastes generated by the weapons program and remediation of the environment contaminated by that waste. As part of that mission, DOE and the State of Washington Department of Ecology prepared the Hanford Site Tank Waste Remediation System Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The Hanford Tanks is a general review of the DEIS. Its findings and recommendations are the subject of this report. Selection of a disposition plan for these wastes is a decision of national importance, involving potential environmental and health risks, technical challenges, and costs of tens to hundreds of billions of dollars. The last comprehensive analysis of these issues was completed 10 years ago, and several major changes in plans have occurred since. Therefore, the current reevaluation is timely and prudent. This report endorses the decision to prepare this new environmental impact statement, and in particular the decision to evaluate a wide range of alternatives not restricted to those encouraged by current regulatory policies. %0 Book %T Barriers to Science: Technical Management of the Department of Energy Environmental Remediation Program %D 1996 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10229/barriers-to-science-technical-management-of-the-department-of-energy %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10229/barriers-to-science-technical-management-of-the-department-of-energy %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 32 %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Interim Report from the National Research Council Committee on Development and Implementation of a Cleanup Technology Roadmap %D 2008 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12165/interim-report-from-the-national-research-council-committee-on-development-and-implementation-of-a-cleanup-technology-roadmap %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12165/interim-report-from-the-national-research-council-committee-on-development-and-implementation-of-a-cleanup-technology-roadmap %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 15 %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Environmental Management Technology-Development Program at the Department of Energy: 1995 Review %@ 978-0-309-05481-2 %D 1996 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5172/environmental-management-technology-development-program-at-the-department-of-energy %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5172/environmental-management-technology-development-program-at-the-department-of-energy %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 146 %X This book provides the National Academy of Sciences' 1995 review of the technology development program for the remediation of the Department of Energy's weapons complex facilities. It makes scientific, technical, and programmatic recommendations to strengthen technology development within DOE and ensure that it meet its goals of cost effectiveness, safety, and decreased risk. The recommendations address DOE's five focus areas: landfill stabilization; contaminant plume containment and remediation; facility transitioning, decommissioning, and final disposition; mixed waste characterization treatment; and high-level waste in tanks. The book also addresses technologies in areas that cross cut the above focus area programs, namely characterization monitoring and sensor technologies, efficient separations and processing, robotics, and waste disposal. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Systems Analysis and Systems Engineering in Environmental Remediation Programs at the Department of Energy Hanford Site %@ 978-0-309-06181-0 %D 1998 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6224/systems-analysis-and-systems-engineering-in-environmental-remediation-programs-at-the-department-of-energy-hanford-site %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6224/systems-analysis-and-systems-engineering-in-environmental-remediation-programs-at-the-department-of-energy-hanford-site %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %K Engineering and Technology %P 62 %X The primary purpose of systems engineering is to organize information and knowledge to assist those who manage, direct, and control the planning, development, production, and operation of the systems necessary to accomplish a given mission. However, this purpose can be compromised or defeated if information production and organization becomes an end unto itself. Systems engineering was developed to help resolve the engineering problems that are encountered when attempting to develop and implement large and complex engineering projects. It depends upon integrated program planning and development, disciplined and consistent allocation and control of design and development requirements and functions, and systems analysis. The key thesis of this report is that proper application of systems analysis and systems engineering will improve the management of tank wastes at the Hanford Site significantly, thereby leading to reduced life cycle costs for remediation and more effective risk reduction. The committee recognizes that evidence for cost savings from application of systems engineering has not been demonstrated yet. %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Review of the Final Draft Analysis of Supplemental Treatment Approaches of Low-Activity Waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation: Review #3 %@ 978-0-309-49521-9 %D 2019 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25509/review-of-the-final-draft-analysis-of-supplemental-treatment-approaches-of-low-activity-waste-at-the-hanford-nuclear-reservation %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25509/review-of-the-final-draft-analysis-of-supplemental-treatment-approaches-of-low-activity-waste-at-the-hanford-nuclear-reservation %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 80 %X In 1943, as part of the Manhattan Project, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation was established with the mission to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons. During 45 years of operations, the Hanford Site produced about 67 metric tonnes of plutonium—approximately two-thirds of the nation's stockpile. Production processes generated radioactive and other hazardous wastes and resulted in airborne, surface, subsurface, and groundwater contamination. Presently, 177 underground tanks contain collectively about 210 million liters (about 56 million gallons) of waste. The chemically complex and diverse waste is difficult to manage and dispose of safely. Section 3134 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 calls for a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) to conduct an analysis of approaches for treating the portion of low-activity waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation intended for supplemental treatment. The third of four, this report provides an overall assessment of the FFRDC team's final draft report, dated April 5, 2019. %0 Book %T Interim Report -- Committee on Cesium Processing Alternatives for High-Level Waste at the Savannah River Site %D 1999 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9703/interim-report-committee-on-cesium-processing-alternatives-for-high-level-waste-at-the-savannah-river-site %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9703/interim-report-committee-on-cesium-processing-alternatives-for-high-level-waste-at-the-savannah-river-site %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 27 %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Advice on the Department of Energy's Cleanup Technology Roadmap: Gaps and Bridges %@ 978-0-309-13231-2 %D 2009 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12603/advice-on-the-department-of-energys-cleanup-technology-roadmap-gaps %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12603/advice-on-the-department-of-energys-cleanup-technology-roadmap-gaps %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 284 %X Beginning with the Manhattan Project and continuing through the Cold War, the United States government constructed and operated a massive industrial complex to produce and test nuclear weapons and related technologies. When the Cold War ended, most of this complex was shut down permanently or placed on standby, and the United States government began a costly, long-term effort to clean up the materials, wastes, and environmental contamination resulting from its nuclear materials production. In 1989, Congress created the Office of Environmental Management (EM) within the Department of Energy (DOE) to manage this cleanup effort. Although EM has already made substantial progress, the scope of EM's future cleanup work is enormous. Advice on the Department of Energy's Cleanup Technology Roadmap: Gaps and Bridges provides advice to support the development of a cleanup technology roadmap for EM. The book identifies existing technology gaps and their priorities, strategic opportunities to leverage needed research and development programs with other organizations, needed core capabilities, and infrastructure at national laboratories and EM sites that should be maintained, all of which are necessary to accomplish EM's mission. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Research and Development on a Salt Processing Alternative for High-Level Waste at the Savannah River Site %@ 978-0-309-07593-0 %D 2001 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10170/research-and-development-on-a-salt-processing-alternative-for-high-level-waste-at-the-savannah-river-site %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10170/research-and-development-on-a-salt-processing-alternative-for-high-level-waste-at-the-savannah-river-site %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 96 %X The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is nearing a decision on how to process 30 million gallons of high-level radioactive waste salt solutions at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to remove strontium, actinides, and cesium for immobilization in glass and eventual shipment to a geologic repository. The department is sponsoring research and development (R&D) work on four alternative processes and plans to use the results to make a downselection decision in a June 2001 time frame. The DOE requested that the National Research Council help inform this decision by addressing the following charge: evaluate the adequacy of the criteria that will be used by the department to select from among the candidate processes under consideration; evaluate the progress and results of the research and development work that is being undertaken on these candidate processes; and assess whether the technical uncertainties have been sufficiently resolved to proceed with downsizing the list of candidate processes. Responses to the last two points are provided in this report. Research and Development on a Salt Processing Alternative for High-Level Waste at the Savannah River Site focuses exclusively on the technical issues related to the candidate processes for radionuclide removal from high-level waste salt solutions at SRS. The committee's interim report served as a response to the first point of this charge, and may be read in Appendix B. In that report, the committee found that DOE's proposed criteria are an acceptable basis for selecting among the candidate processes under consideration, but that the criteria should not be implemented in a way that relies on a single numerical "total score." %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Technologies for Environmental Management: The Department of Energy's Office of Science and Technology %@ 978-0-309-06647-1 %D 1999 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9656/technologies-for-environmental-management-the-department-of-energys-office-of %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9656/technologies-for-environmental-management-the-department-of-energys-office-of %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %K Engineering and Technology %P 84 %X The Department of Energy's Environmental Management Program (DOEEM) is one of the largest environmental clean up efforts in world history. The EM division charged with developing or finding technologies to accomplish this massive task, its Office of Science and Technology (OST), has been reviewed extensively, including six reports from committees of the National Research Council's (NRC's) Board on Radioactive Waste Management (BRWM) that have been released since December 1998. These committees examined different components of OST's technology development program, including its decision-making and peer review processes and its efforts to develop technologies in the areas of decontamination and decommissioning, waste forms for mixed waste, tank waste, and subsurface contamination. Gerald Boyd, head of OST, asked the Board on Radioactive Waste Management (BRWM) to summarize the major findings and recommendations of the six reports and synthesize any common issues into a number of overarching recommendations. %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Review of the Continued Analysis of Supplemental Treatment Approaches of Low-Activity Waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation: Review #2 %@ 978-0-309-69083-6 %D 2022 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26632/review-of-the-continued-analysis-of-supplemental-treatment-approaches-of-low-activity-waste-at-the-hanford-nuclear-reservation %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26632/review-of-the-continued-analysis-of-supplemental-treatment-approaches-of-low-activity-waste-at-the-hanford-nuclear-reservation %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 76 %X The Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state, which produced plutonium for nuclear weapons from 1944-1987, is the site of the largest and most complex nuclear cleanup challenge in the United States. The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) is responsible for managing the cleanup of the radioactive and other hazardous wastes stored in 177 underground tanks at the site. DOE plans to use vitrification, or immobilization in glass waste forms, for all of the high-level radioactive waste at Hanford. However, because the volume of "low-activity waste" exceeds DOEs capacity limits for vitrification, DOE must decide how to treat the remaining "supplemental low-activity waste" (SLAW) so that it can be safely disposed in a near-surface disposal site. To help inform its decision, DOE contracted with a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), led by Savannah River National Laboratory, to analyze and report its findings about three potential alternative technologies.At the request of Congress, the National Academies reviewed the FFRDC report in terms of its value for decision making and how well it meets various Congressional requirements related to Hanford cleanup. The review concludes that the FFRDC report is overall very strong, provides a useful framework for evaluating the technology options, and is responsive to guidance from the first National Academies review. The framework provides for structured side-by-side comparisons, using relevant criteria, of a limited number of alternatives for managing SLAW. Recommendations for strengthening the report include estimating a lifecycle cost profile for constructing and operating each alternative, and providing more in-depth discussion on potential challenges that may need to be addressed in obtaining the necessary various regulatory approvals.