West Valley Demonstration Project Overview

Transcription

1 West Valley Demonstration Project Overview Bryan Bower DOE WVDP Director May 3,

2 The former nuclear fuel reprocessing facility at West Valley Vitrification Facility (Vit) Main Plant Process Building (MPPB) Fuel Receiving & Storage Building (FRS) Utility Room Expansion Laundry Room Building demolished in 2013 Utility Room Fire Pumphouse Load-in/Load-out Facility Plant Office Building Water Storage Tank 2

3 Mission The West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) mission was defined by an act of Congress in 1980 Public Law Solidify the high-level radioactive waste (HLW) at the Center 2. Develop containers suitable for permanent disposal of the waste 3. Transport the solidified waste to a federal repository for permanent disposal 4. Dispose of low-level radioactive waste (LLW) and transuranic (TRU) waste 5. Decontaminate and decommission the underground highlevel waste tanks, facilities and any material and hardware used in connection with the Project Completed Completed Pending Repository In Progress In Progress 3

4 Solidify the High-Level Waste DOE selected vitrification technology to produce a stable waste form Approximately 600 tons of glass produced; 24 million curies; 275 canisters Average canister dose rate: 2,600 R/hr; maximum 7,500 R/hr Completed in 2002 over 80 months of safe, successful radioactive operations The canisters of vitrified HLW are stored in the Main Plant Process Building Inside the Vitrification Cell before system startup Test canister before hot operations 4

5 Decommission the reprocessing plant and associated facilities The Main Plant Process Building cannot be demolished until the canisters of HLW have been removed and relocated to dry cask storage The HLW canisters are being placed into stainless steel containers, called overpacks, which in turn are put into steel reinforced, concrete storage casks 5 canisters of HLW are put into one overpack, which is inside a cask The casks are placed onto a steel reinforced concrete pad Each fully loaded cask weighs about 87 tons Objective: Demolish Main Plant Process Building Obstacle: Canisters in Storage Solution: Package in Robust Casks and Relocate 5

6 Move the High Level Waste (HLW) 20 canisters of HLW have been removed from the Main Plant Process Building and loaded into four storage casks The four casks have been relocated to the storage pad 1 st Cask Placed on the Interim Storage Pad 1 st Cask Loaded onto Vertical Cask Transporter 6

7 Remove radioactive materials from buildings Workers are decontaminating buildings by removing contaminated equipment, such as tanks, pipes, and pumps Workers are also removing other types of hazardous materials, such as asbestos Removing Tanks Cutting Pipes Asbestos Abatement 7

8 Demolish buildings After the radioactive and other hazardous materials have been removed, buildings can be demolished 8

9 Ship waste off site Over 1,500,000 cubic feet of lowlevel waste (LLW) has been shipped off site for disposal Industrial, sanitary, and hazardous waste is also shipped off site for disposal Low-level radioactive waste (LLW) loaded for shipping There is currently no place to dispose of another category of radioactive waste called, transuranic (TRU) waste, so it is stored onsite Transuranic (TRU) waste in storage 9

10 Ship waste off site Large, contaminated components, which were removed during deactivation of the vitrification system, will be shipped to a low-level waste disposal facility this year 1. Concentrator Feed Makeup Tank (CFMT) Package: 13 W x 19 L x 14 H; ~ 150 tons 2. Melter Feed Hold Tank (MFHT) Package: 13 W x 16 L x 14 H; ~ 140 tons 3. Vitrification Melter Package: 12.5 W x 15 L x 13 H; ~190 tons 10

11 Where we are... and where we are going. 11