AIKEN, S.C. - EM protects workers, the public, and the environment at and around the Savannah River Sit e (SRS) through safe work practices and controls established by nuclear and criticality safety engineers.
These engineers with SRS liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation (SRR) establish controls to maintain a safe work environment at the liquid waste facilities. They accomplish that by developing and revising documented safety analyses (DSAs). The controls are produced from the analyses of events that could compromise liquid waste operations.
Salt waste comprises approximately 90 percent of the 34.9 million gallons of liquid waste inventory stored at the two SRS tank farms, making its disposition a priority. Workers prepare batches of the waste, process them to separate radionuclides from the waste, and stabilize and store the resultant streams.
The engineers revised liquid waste facility DSAs to accommodate increased salt feed rates from the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF), which is in testing and commissioning. They also update the DSAs to ensure safe interface between the liquid waste facilities and SWPF.
SRR’s nuclear and criticality safety team recently completed the safety bases supporting tank closure cesium removal (TCCR). This supplemental salt processing technology demonstration project features self-shielded ion exchange columns and a specialty resin designed to remove cesium from the salt waste.
That team establishes the foundation for how work is safely performed, said Dr. Jonathan Bricker, manager of SRR’s nuclear and critical safety group.
“In recognition of the importance of processing salt waste to the SRR mission, the SRR nuclear and criticality safety organization has focused efforts on the development of documented safety analyses supporting salt batch preparation as well as salt waste processing initiatives," Bricker said. “This includes tank closure cesium removal and preparing the liquid waste facilities to interface with the Salt Waste Processing Facility."
It took two years to develop the TCCR DSA, allowing for analyses of potential hazards, including a hurricane or earthquake.
Jim Folk, DOE-Savannah River Assistant Manager for Waste Disposition, said ensuring infrastructure is designed for the worst-case scenario guarantees the future of SRS and the surrounding areas.
“Developing and deploying facility DSAs is a large part of the process to safely begin or restart operations," Folk said. “SRR employees are steady in their approach to ensuring quality products, and I commend them for completing the work in a safe and disciplined manner."
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
