(1)

Development and Design Efforts on Waste Storage and Repackaging Facilities. These funds provide for the conceptual design, site selection studies and related planning and development activities in support of future construction and operation of radioactive waste storage and repackaging facilities. of the estimates follows:

$ 2,775,000

A summary

The increase of $0.3 million is associated with verifying the selected location for the geologic pilot plant repository for commercial waste. This work will be performed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Oak Ridge Operations Office to establish the suitability of geologic formations for solidified high-level commercial waste.

Handling procedures and processing requirements will be studied and requirements established. Laboratory work in support of the site suitability investigations will continue with the analysis and testing of core material from bore holes drilled at the site offering the best potential for a pilot plant repository. results will then be used for calculations of environmental effects, energy storage, rock stresses and stability, mining feasibility, and for engineering development to update conceptual design studies.

(b) Engineered Storage...

FY 1972: $186,493

FY 1973: $800,000

The

FY 1974: $700,000 To assure adequate and timely storage of commercially generated waste, the Atlantic Richfield Hanford Company at Richland, Washington, will continue the program management, safety studies, and engineering development required for design selection, and management/coordination of the effort being conducted by Kaiser Engineering for the conceptual design, cost estimate and site selection of an Engineered Storage Facility. The development activities include design selection and experimental testing of techniques for recanning and cleaning waste cans. near-term objectives are the preparation and documentation of a conceptual design and siting studies leading to an environmental statement.

Significant

Until such time that a more permanent solution, such as geologic disposal, is perfected for the safe disposition of solidified high-level commercial waste, it is necessary for the Commission to assure storage capabilities for the expected shipments of nuclear waste from industry. Accordingly, the efforts included in this project will produce the conceptual design, select a location and develop the required environmental information and safety statements for the submission of a future construction project request.

FY 1972: $110,214

FY 1973: $200,000

(c) Solid Waste Repackaging Facilities.... FY 1974: $400,000 The increase of $0.2 million represents increased activities on methods and facilities for safely exhuming and repackaging transuranium waste buried at Idaho Falls and Oak Ridge. As part of the program to place into retrievable storage the plutonium bearing waste previously buried at the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho, Aerojet Nuclear will continue the scoping and conceptual design of methods and facilities to exhume, sort and repackage the buried waste. Emphasis will be on studies leading to preparation of an environmental impact statement and to the conceptual design of an engineered system to provide for safe exhumation of the large volume (approximately 2.2 million cubic feet) of plutonium contaminated waste. As part of ORNL's radioactive solid waste program, conceptual design and planning for a central facility to handle and reprocess solid waste is being initiated.

The increase represents an increased activity on hydraulic fracturing as a method for disposal of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's liquid waste. The long-range waste management plan at ORNL reflects a need for a new facility to dispose of concentrate resulting from future operation of the liquid waste handling system. Accordingly, in FY 1974, ORNL will continue the effort to determine the adequacy of hydraulic fracturing for these additional wastes and to develop the information required for the environmental impact statement and the preparation of the conceptual design.

(e) Bedrock Waste Storage..

FY 1972: $735,281

FY 1973: $150,000

FY 1974: $ 0 The current effort on the Bedrock concept for storage/disposal of the Savannah River produced high-level waste will be terminated in the early part of FY 1973. Alternate methods of accommodating these wastes, including solidification processes and engineered storage at Savannah River, will be investigated in FY 1973 and FY 1974. This work is more fully described below.

These funds provide for the formulation of technical objectives, functional requirements and assessment of the availability, feasibility and practicality of technical options open to the waste management program. The resulting studies are incorporated in updated plans and revisions to the waste management technology development programs. Data and technology are generated in accordance with the objectives and requirements for controlling effluents, long-term storage of radioactive wastes and permanent disposal of waste. The increase of $1,685,000 over FY 1973 ($1,025,000) is primarily related to the expansion and initiation of studies related to solidification, volume reduction processes, storage alternatives and retrievability.

The Pacific Northwest Laboratories of Battelle will continue to investigate the various alternate methods of ultimate disposal of radioactive waste including, but not limited to, transmutation, ice-cap deposits, extraterrestrial disposition, disposal in geologic formations, deep hole injections and other methods which may have merit ($400,000). The Atlantic Richfield Hanford Company will investigate methods for removing the existing salt cakes from the present storage tanks ($100,000), methods for reducing the volume of the radioactive salt cake ($100,000), character of the waste and the containers for long-term storage ($110,000) and geologic investigations at the Hanford site to furnish information on the feasibility of the use of the Hanford site for long-term storage of Hanford produced waste either near surface or deep underground ($250,000). The current work on the basalt storage project will be terminated in FY 1973. Investigations of alternate methods of storage at Richland will be conducted in FY 1973 and FY 1974 as described earlier in this activity and also under waste treatment and handling processes.

NUCLEAR MATERIALS PROGRAM

continued contaminated waste ($300,000).

As a result of the termination of effort on the bedrock concept for storage/disposal of the Savannah River produced high-level waste, it is necessary to expand the effort on alternative solutions. Accordingly, E. I. du Pont at the Savannah River plant is expanding its investigation of engineered storage facilities as a possible interim solution to accommodate the current inventory and expected production of waste ($500,000).

Additional studies to be conducted in FY 1974 are: demonstrate the retrievability of calcined wastes ($100,000) at the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho, by Aerojet Nuclear; determine the geologic and hydrologic characteristics of the site for possible waste storage activities ($100,000) at the Nevada Test Site; evaluate polymeric matrices for incorporating waste ($100,000) at Brookhaven National Laboratory; and review of the various waste management concepts for the scientific acceptability of the proposed ideas ($100,000) by the National Academy of Sciences.

The investigations and development activities included in this category of the waste management program include: immobilization of AEC generated high-level liquid waste; commercially produced waste and the application of processes to solidify and prepare for acceptance at a Federal waste repository; and the problems associated with transuranium waste and the methods of separation and stabilization of these wastes. A summary of the estimates follows:

The $1.4 million increase is associated with the investigations of alternate methods of handling AEC produced high-level wastes at Hanford and Savannah River. The Atlantic Richfield Hanford Company is investigating methods of stabilizing the waste and the storage tanks and ways to immobilize the radioactive waste produced at Hanford In addition, it is planned to have Pacific Northwest Laboratory conduct investigations into various ($400,000). methods of solidifying the residual waste for future storage or disposition ($215,000). E. I. du Pont is expanding the experimental work to find the best alternative method of accommodating Savannah River radioactive waste by fixation in existing tanks or solidifying the waste for on-site engineered storage or off-site shipment. The need

(b) Commercial Waste Solidification.

FY 1974:

$2,310,000

FY 1972: $ 0 FY 1973: $815,000 The $1.5 million increase is attributed to the added thrust of the development of high-level waste solidification processes for use by industry. Utilizing the facilities established for the Waste Solidification Engineering Prototype (WSEP) program the Pacific Northwest Laboratory is conducting pilot plant experiments to develop improved solidification techniques which can be used by industry. As a result of specifications and requirements tentatively established for the form and containment of waste to be received at a Federal Repository, this effort should develop standard processes for industry application ($1,960,000). Additional investigations planned for FY 1974 are: Aerojet Nuclear at Idaho on fluid bed calcination of Purex waste ($150,000) and the incorporation of calcined waste in a low-soluability matrix material ($100,000); and Argonne National Laboratory on consolidation techniques for fuel cladding hulls ($100,000).

(c)

Transuranium Waste Separation and Stabilization.

FY 1972: $125,000

FY 1973: $330,000

FY 1974:

$1,010,000 The $0.7 million increase is due to the added emphasis on transuranium waste problems. Programs related to the solution of these problems will be at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory ($350,000), Pacific Northwest Laboratory ($300,000), the Atlantic Richfield Hanford Company ($260,000) and Atomics International ($100,000). Investigation of the methods for incineration of combustible transuranic contaminated solid waste will be carried out, including Pressurized Aqueous Combustion and Incineration in Molten Salt. Additional studies will investigate modification of current processes to achieve greater transuranium isolation and control. Possible processes for transuranic separation or partitioning from high-level waste to improve long-term waste management will also be investigated. Development of Airborne Waste Treatment Methods. $ 1,035,000 The activities sponsored by this category relate principally to research, development, and testing of air filters and filtration systems for the control of airborne particulate materials, iodine and iodine compounds at reactors and chemical separation facilities. These projects will be directed at improving the fixation theory, filter efficiency and reliability, charcoal absorbers and related systems.

C.

The increased costs of $525,000 in FY 1974 over FY 1973 ($510,000) reflect increased effort in the development of methods
for the retention, fixation, and safe storage of fission product rare gasses and tritium expected to be produced in both
commercial and AEC facilities. Work will continue on evaluating the performance of various charcoals in retaining radio-
active materials under normal and accident situations, including the behavior of iodine and methyl iodide, the evaluation

of various charcoal impregnants and evaluation of the effect of aging on filters and absorbers. High Efficiency Particulate
Air (HEPA) filter development, testing and qualification will also continue. Analysis of activated carbons made from