AIKEN, S.C. – EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto congratulated employees at the Savannah River Site (SRS) on May 12 for two significant accomplishments.
May 16, 2016
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EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto, directly left of the Tank Closure Monument, gathers with federal and contractor employees at SRS.
EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto, right, and SRR Construction Engineer Ona Alexander place a medallion on the Tank Closure Monument in H Tank Farm, commemorating the operational closure of Tank 12, the eighth underground radioactive liquid waste tank closed at the site.
DOE-Savannah River Manager Jack Craig speaks during the celebration.
EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto speaks to more than 1,500 SRS federal and contractor liquid waste employees, stakeholders, and guests on May 12 at SRS.
EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto rides a shielded canister transporter driven by SRR Operator JD Irons. The transporter carries the 4,000th canister of high-level glassified waste poured at DWPF.
EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto, left, greets employees and guests at SRS. The SRR team includes lead corporation AECOM along with partners Bechtel, CH2M and BWX Technologies, all of which were present at the event.
AIKEN, S.C. – EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto congratulated employees at the Savannah River Site (SRS) on May 12 for two significant accomplishments.
EM and liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation (SRR) marked 20 years of radioactive operations at the site’s Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) and the operational closure of Tank 12, the eighth underground radioactive liquid waste tank closed at the site.
Regalbuto spoke to more than 1,500 federal and contractor liquid waste employees, stakeholders, and other guests to address the accomplishments and recognize the importance of the SRS liquid waste mission.
“SRS has a proven track record of making safe, measurable progress toward tank waste cleanup goals shared by DOE, the State of South Carolina, and the local community,” Regalbuto said.
Calling DWPF an “EM workhorse,” she said the facility has brought DOE closer to achieving its cleanup goals.
At DWPF, the nation’s only operating nuclear waste vitrification facility, tank waste is heated with glass-forming materials and poured into canisters, where it cools to a solid glass form facilitating long-term storage.
The facility has been safely treating high-level liquid waste at SRS since the transfer of sludge waste feed to the facility in 1996. Soon after, the first radioactive canister was poured, and more than 4,000 canisters have been poured since.
Since its startup, DWPF has removed approximately 58.6 million curies, a measure of radioactivity, from SRS liquid waste. The DWPF melter has poured nearly 16 million pounds of molten glass, and the facility has seen only two different melters in its lifetime. Melter 2 has poured more than 10 million pounds of glass and is still safely and efficiently operating, exceeding its design life by more than 10 years.
Dozens of DWPF retirees attended the celebration and were recognized for their dedication to the mission.
DOE-Savannah River Manager Jack Craig said DOE is celebrating outstanding milestones in the SRS liquid waste program spanning 20 successful years.
“DWPF sets the stage for tank closures by removing the most hazardous part of the waste,” Craig said. “Now that Tank 12 becomes the eighth closed in 20 years, it may seem routine to close a waste tank. But all waste closures are different, and we’re learning from each one.”
Waste tank closure is accomplished by filling the entire tank and its component voids with specially formulated grout. SRR workers added more than 900,000 gallons of grout to Tank 12 and its associated systems from January 19 to April 27 this year. More than 550 cement trucks traversed SRS to accomplish this project.
The second tank closed in the SRS H Tank Farm, Tank 12 is an old-style tank, constructed in the early 1950s and placed into service in 1956. It was closed ahead of the May 31, 2016, deadline set in the Federal Facility Agreement between DOE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC).
In recent years, employees have pumped waste material from the tank, cleaned it with specialized mechanical and chemical processes, and isolated the tank from all systems. These activities were prerequisites leading to regulatory confirmation that the tank was ready for closure.
Tom Foster, SRR president and project manager, whose first day on the job was May 9, spoke to the audience and echoed the view that the liquid waste work is an important mission.
“Our work keeps our employees safe,” Foster said. “Our work keeps the environment safe. Our work protects our communities. I’m proud to lead a company with these kinds of accomplishments in its record.”
At the celebration, Craig recognized the unique partnership between DOE, EPA, and SCDHEC.
“All of us working together as a team has paved the way to where DOE is now and where DOE will be going,” he said.
There are many layers of regulatory approvals and closure documentation before a tank can be declared operationally closed. Developing partnerships with the outside agencies is an integral part of the tank closure process.
Craig said DOE expects to dispose of the 36 million gallons of radioactive waste remaining in the 43 other waste tanks by retrieving the waste and treating it. This allows DOE to operationally close the tanks at SRS.
“From the evidence you’ve seen, I know we will succeed. DOE’s and our nation’s expectations will be met,” he said to the crowd. “DOE is committed to protecting the workers, the public, and the environment while achieving risk reduction in compliance with regulatory commitments. The continued safe performance of SRS liquid waste operations by SRR employees will continue to reduce that risk.”