scholarly journals Los Alamos National Laboratory transuranic waste quality assurance project plan. Revision 1

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Los Alamos ◽  
Los Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Project Plan ◽  
Quality Assurance Project ◽  
Transuranic Waste

Integrated Quality Assurance Program for Transuranic Waste Management at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Plutonium Facility

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Balkey ◽  
L. J. Sanchez ◽  
R. E. Wieneke
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
New Mexico ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Quality Assurance Program ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Los Alamos ◽  
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is one of two design laboratories in the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE) weapons complex. It has over 60 years of experience in handling radioactive materials and, consequently, in radioactive waste management. The current focus at LANL for actinide research and development is the Plutonium Facility, which has been in operation since 1978 and is the major source of transuranic (TRU) waste. The Nuclear Materials Technology (NMT) Division is responsible for operating the Plutonium Facility. It has a dedicated group of personnel who manage radioactive and hazardous waste, and address environmental regulations. The TRU Waste Certification Program has prescriptive requirements that must be met for waste to be certified by the DOE’s Carlsbad Field Office, which provides oversight to the final waste repository, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Quality assurance expectations are also well defined, from top-tier documents such as 10 Code of Federal Regulations 830.120. Quality Assurance Requirements, which carry the force of law, through CAO-94-1012, Quality Assurance Program Document, from WIPP, to LANL internal working documents. Internal and external audits are conducted regularly to verify the adequacy of the program for meeting these requirements. To ensure compliance with quality requirements in waste operations, the NMT-7 Waste Management and Environmental Compliance Group has two full-time quality assurance (QA) specialists. They are responsible for maintaining the Quality Assurance Program (QAP). They work directly with waste management personnel, and they are frequently in the field, working beside waste management technicians. They are responsible for ensuring that applicable QAP elements are implemented as required, and that waste operations are effective. They review waste management program documents and waste operations for compliance with requirements, and they observe selected waste operations regularly to ensure that these operations are being conducted in accordance with established procedures. A yearly surveillance schedule is established to guide assessment activities, but it has the flexibility to allow the QA specialists to address any problem areas they may encounter. The QA specialists track performance indicators and evaluate them for systemic issues that may affect quality, including tracking program corrective actions to completion. Monthly reports on QA activities are submitted to group managers. The QA specialists are also asked, on occasion, to lead quality-related investigations and to work with operations personnel to propose solutions. As a direct result of their efforts, the waste management group won Pin˜on quality assurance recognition from Quality New Mexico for the group’s commitment to quality.

scholarly journals A Model for a National Low Level Waste Program

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Blankenhorn
Keyword(s):  
National Laboratory ◽  
National Program ◽  
Savannah River ◽  
Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Los Alamos ◽  
Waste Hierarchy ◽  
Los Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Low Level ◽  
River Site ◽  
Transuranic Waste

A national program for the management of low level waste is essential to the success of environmental clean-up, decontamination and decommissioning, current operations and future missions. The value of a national program is recognized through procedural consistency and a shared set of resources. A national program requires a clear waste definition and an understanding of waste characteristics matched against available and proposed disposal options. A national program requires the development and implementation of standards and procedures for implementing the waste hierarchy, with a specific emphasis on waste avoidance, minimization and recycling. It requires a common set of objectives for waste characterization based on the disposal facility’s waste acceptance criteria, regulatory and license requirements and performance assessments. Finally, a national waste certification program is required to ensure compliance. To facilitate and enhance the national program, a centralized generator services organization, tasked with providing technical services to the generators on behalf of the national program, is necessary. These subject matter experts are the interface between the generating sites and the disposal facility(s). They provide an invaluable service to the generating organizations through their involvement in waste planning prior to waste generation and through championing implementation of the waste hierarchy. Through their interface, national treatment and transportation services are optimized and new business opportunities are identified. This national model is based on extensive experience in the development and on-going management of a national transuranic waste program and management of the national repository, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The Low Level Program at the Savannah River Site also successfully developed and implemented the waste hierarchy, waste certification and waste generator services concepts presented below. The Savannah River Site services over forty generators and has historically managed over 12,000 cubic meters of low level waste annually. The results of the waste minimization program at the site resulted in over 900 initiatives, avoiding over 220,000 cubic meters of waste for a life cycle cost savings of $275 million. At the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the low level waste program services over 20 major generators and several hundred smaller generators that produce over 4,000 cubic meters of low level waste annually. The Los Alamos National Laboratory low level waste program utilizes both on-site and off-site disposal capabilities. Off-site disposal requires the implementation of certification requirements to utilize both federal and commercial options. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is the US Department of Energy’s first deep geological repository for the permanent disposal of Transuanic waste. Transuranic waste was generated and retrievably stored at 39 sites across the US. Transuranic waste is defined as waste with a radionuclide concentration equal to or greater than 100 nCi/g consisting of radionuclides with half-lives greater than 20 years and with an atomic mass greater than uranium. Combining the lessons learned from the national transuranic waste program, the successful low level waste program at Savannah River Site and the experience of off-site disposal options at Los Alamos National Laboratory provides the framework and basis for developing a viable national strategy for managing low level waste.

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