Upgrades Expand Waste Processing Abilities in Oak Ridge

Before and after upgrades: The first frame shows the cask processing enclosure area prior to removal of outdated equipment, including a conveyer, soil mixer and ventilation system. The second frame shows the addition of a ventilation line to support more waste processing activities.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and contractor United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) are improving the Transuranic Waste Processing Center (TWPC) to broaden waste processing capabilities.

TWPC is one of only two facilities in the U.S. Department of Energy’s complex capable of processing legacy transuranic waste. Its 38,000-square-foot processing building has four waste treatment areas: contact-handled glovebox, box breakdown area, hot cell and the cask processing enclosure (CPE). Such equipment protects personnel from radiological and chemical hazards when handling hazardous or radioactive materials.

“TWPC has unique capabilities to process and prepare transuranic waste for final offsite disposal,” Federal Project Director Michael Griswold said. “Investing in the site and making the necessary upgrades supports the department’s important mission.”

Workers installed new, higher quality cameras and monitoring software.

The CPE was originally designed to process waste from buried casks. After that work was completed, it was redesigned to support treating contaminated soil from remediation of a buried legacy tank at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). With that work done, the space is available to support new activities, prompting additional upgrades to the CPE.

The remodeled CPE area allows TWPC to process large waste boxes from deactivation and demolition work at ORNL and the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Earlier this year, UCOR crews began removing outdated equipment and electrical controls from the CPE. Workers modified the ventilation system and installed new cameras, monitoring software and a drum crusher. They previously cut drums with a reciprocating saw, but with the addition of the new machine, they will operate safer and more efficiently.

The updated cask processing enclosure area provides space to handle large waste boxes from deactivation and demolition activities.

“We have a relatively small footprint, so repurposing nonfunctional space and providing more tools to our skilled workforce is essential to accelerating legacy waste cleanup on the Oak Ridge Reservation,” TWPC Facility Operations Manager Adam Fraser said.

-Contributor: Ella Stewart