ML20140E576
| ML20140E576 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Framatome ANP Richland |
| Issue date: | 06/03/1997 |
| From: | Maas L SIEMENS POWER CORP. (FORMERLY SIEMENS NUCLEAR POWER |
| To: | Weber M NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| References | |
| LJM:97:054, LJM:97:54, NUDOCS 9706120148 | |
| Download: ML20140E576 (4) | |
Text
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Y SIEMENS t
70-1n 7 June 3,1997
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LJM:97:054 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attn: Mr. M.F. Weber, Chief I
Licensing Branch j
Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, NMSS j
Washington, DC 20555 i
1
Dear Mr. Weber:
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Subject:
Update on Siemens Power Corporation's (SPC's) Progress on Reducing inventory of Stored Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW)
Ref.: 1. Letter, L.J. Maas (SPC) to R.F. Burnett (USNRC), "Siemens Power Corporation (SPC)
Low-Level Radioactive Solid Waste Reduction Plan," March 1,1994 i
introduction j
Via the referenced letter in early 1994, SPC conveyed to the NRC the status of its plans to j
reduce its onsite inventory of stored solid LLRW. In that letter SPC outlined the basic elements of its selected solid waste reduction plan and set forth a number of projected waste reduction j-milestones based on successfulimplementation of the plan. These milestones consisted of volumes of containerized LLRW that SPC projected would remain on site at the end of September 1994,1995, and 1997. The purpose of this communication (June 1997) is to
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update the NRC on the status of this pronram, including work ongoing and remaining to be done.
Discussion Significant progress has been rnade in the conduct of SPC's solid LLRW inventory reduct' ion program, resulting in a significant reduction and continuing decline in stored onsite inventory.
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Highlights of that progress are provided below.
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- 1. Stored containerized solid LLRW inventory is currently at approximately 59 K ft' (end of
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T May,1997). The stored inventory reported at the time of the Reference 1 report was 134 K
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fta. At that time the stored inventory was tracked via a manual system and a re-tabulation / verification campaign conducted shortly thereafter resulted in a revised January 31,1994 figure of 140 K ft'. The current stored LLRW inventory represents a 58%
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reduction in the inventory on-hand at the time of the Reference 1 correspondence.
1 9706120148 970603 PDR ADOCK 07001257 C
pogn Siemens Power CorpWstl6n Nuclear Division 2101 Horn Rapids Road Tel:
(509) 375-8100 Engin6ering & Manufacturing P.o. Box 130 Fax:
(509) 375-8402 RicNand. WA 99352-o130
M.F. Weber LJM:97:054 June '3', (997 Page 2
- 2. Since October 1994, the manual system for tracking stored LLRW inventory has been replaced by the automated Radioactive Waste Container Database developed and maintained by SPC's Waste Management Engineering Section. The database removes uncertainties of the sort associated with the January 31,1994 estimate (see 1, above).
- 3. All stored containereed LLRW has been fully designated per the chemical hazard designation j
. procedures of the Washington Department of Ecology's Dangerous Waste Regulations (WAC 173-303). This effort was conducted per a Solid Waste Designacion Plan accepted by l
Ecology and was completed as of July 1995. Ecology's WAC 173-303 Dangerous Waste Regulations are Washington's equivalent of the federal EPA RCRA hazardous waste regulations.
2235 ft per month in FY 94 (October-September),1745 ft' per month in FY 95,1378 ft3 per month in FY 96, and 1119 it per month for the first eight months of FY 97. A formal 5
SPC Waste Minimization Council was established in early 1995 and the significant waste generation reductions achieved have been the result of concerted efforts oy Waste Management Engineering and waste generating organizations throughout the site.
- 5. SPC's Solid Waste Uranium Recovery (SWUR) incinerator was returned to service in May 1996 and is currently operating to dispose of SPC's stored inventory of combustible LLRW.
After elimination of this backlog SWUR will operate periodically to process much shorter term accumulations of currently generated combustible LLRW.
- 6. A process has been designed and a waste management vendor contracted to perform uranium recovery on a large volume (approximately 40 K ft ) of stored LLRW waste that is also dangerous per the waste designation criteria of Ecology's Dangerous Waste Regulations, i.e. mixed waste. The process will perform economic recovery of uranium for return to SPC's fuel fabrication process and is also anticipated to render the residue chemically non-dangerous. The residues will therefore be strictly LLRW, suitable for near-J surface burial or incineration, as appropriate. This modular facility was initially scheduled to be brought on site in early CY 1996. Delays in the construction of these modules, a task being performed by a sub-contractor to the selected waste processing vendor, have pushed the arrival of the modules out to September 1997.
- 7. SPC has completed construction of a new waste storage pad that will be used to store both dangerous and mixed containerized solid wastes. Wastes accommodated on this pad will include a relatively small volume of mixed wastes in long-term storage due to a lack of current processing / disposal options plus other low-level radioactive waste (mixed and non-mixed) that will be accumulated on a medium term (or;e to two year) basis while awaiting processing of the sort described in 6, above. This replacement pad is a significant upgrade over the existing pad, e.g. a significant portion of the ped is covered and the entire pad is appropriately sloped to control run-on/run-off. Use of the new pad cannot begin until the Washington State Department of Ecology formally approv(s a dangerous waste closure plan for the current pad. That plan was submitted to Ecology or, April 9,1997, with approval anticipated by July 1997.
s M.F. Weber LJM:97:054 JLne '3', (997 Page 3
- 8. Under the terms of a consent decree with the Washington State Department of Ecology, SPC will be processing off the contents (liquids / sludges) of its surface impoundments. The Lagoon Uranium Recovery / Solids Processing Facility (LUR/SPF) will house the key uranium recovery processes of this inventory work-off campaign and is currently being considered by the NRC as an amendment to SPC's NRC license. Over the course of the surface impoundment inventory reclamation (late 1997-mid 2004), LUR/SPF will generate 8
approximately 25K ft of solid treatment residues, approximately 70% of which will be generated in the first two years of LUR/SPF operation. Current plans call for these residues to be shipped directly for burial as a LLRW, however processing of certain portions of the waste residues for additional uranium recovery remains a possibility, in either case, the LUR/SPF residues should constitute a transient, one-time solid LLRW stream. The impact of this waste stream was beyond the time frame of the Reference 1 projections and, due to its transitory nature, has not been included in the revised projections provided in 8, below, if for any unforeseen reasons the LUR/SPF residues (or other surface impoundment closure solid waste streams) are retained on site and therefore significantly impaut inventory in long-term storage, the stored containerized LLRW inventory projections will be appropriately revised.
- 9. Based on waste reduction activities already completed and best estimates of schMules for work to be completed, current projected waste reduction milestones are as follows:
Date Total Containerized Solid Waste Inventory, ft3 (approx.)
September 97 51 K March 98 31 K September 98 10 K The 51 K estimate for September 1997 exceeds the 26 K projected in the referenced letter due t %
to a later-than-anticipated SWUR restart, lower than anticipated SWUR throughput rates, and most importantly, the delay in bringing the mixed waste uranium recycling process on-line (see 6, above). As noted in 8, above, these projections do not reflect one-time transitory wastes associated with SPC's planned surface impoundment inventory processing.
Conclusior}
Since its initial stored LLRW inventory reduction projections to the NRC in March 1994, SPC has made substantial progress in both reducing its onsite stored LLRW inventory as well as its LLRW generation rates. Programmatic upgrades have occurred in waste tracking / accounting systems, se'id waste processing / recycling facilities, and solid waste storage facilities. Some schedule slippage has occurred, primarily related to delays in bringing a vendor-built and operated solid waste uranium recovery facility on line. However no significant technical difficulties are foreseen in achieving or exceeding previously predicted waste volume reductions.
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l Ju,.F., Weber M
LJM:97:054 l
ne 3,1997 Page 4 l
Please feel free to contact me on 509-375-8537 if you have questions regarding SPC's past i
i progress or future plans in this important area.
Very truly yours, d
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\\W u:-
L. J. Maas, Manager Regulatory Compliance
/pg i
i Enclosures cc:
C. A. Hooker, NRC Region IV l
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