[en] This report presents Hanford Site barometric data that can be used to determine the breathing rate of Hanford Site tanks and details the derivation of the data. The barometric pressure data recorded at the Hanford Weather Station were used for this analysis. Data for 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991 were used

[en] During the initial phases of the Ferrocyanide Safety Program, it was presumed that actual sludge in tanks would behave as if it were a two-phase system in which a brine phase would seep through the insoluble solid phase of ferrocyanide and other precipitated salts. After flowsheet materials were produced and extensively tested, it became apparent that the ferrocyanide precipitates held extensive quantities of water (50% by weight or more) that were far above what would be expected from hydrated salts. Because little or no draining of this fluid occurred over a period of months, it was concluded that the precipitates and their solution would act as a homogeneous single phase in much the same way as natural clays. Suggestions were made that the testing of clays could add to existing knowledge of sludge hydraulic and rheologic properties, at a much-reduced cost in chemicals and time over that required for flowsheet materials. Tests were conducted in a 400-L volume of ferrocyanide sludge simulant to determine thermal characteristics around heated zones. At low heat loads, surface vapor losses were much lower than return rates, resulting in no net change in water content. Under boiling conditions, no bulk dryout occurred. These results were consistent with the results from earlier small-scale experiments

[en] A review is given of present and planned combustible radioactive waste treatment systems in the US. Advantages and disadvantages of various systems are considered. Design waste streams are discussed in relation to waste composition, radioactive contaminants by amount and type, and special operating problems caused by the waste

[en] This is the twelfth progress report on Division of Waste Management programs being conducted at the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory (HEDL) for the United States Department of Energy. The report describes progress in the first half of 1979 on the following programs: Acid Digestion of Combustible Wastes; and Chemical Treatment of Transuranic Contaminated Metals

[en] The Radioactive Acid Digestion Test Unit (RADTU) will process 5 kg/hour of combustible solid waste and is designed to handle almost all solid combustible waste found in plutonium processing with plutonium contamination levels up to scrap. The RADTU is designed with special safety features to safely contain high masses of fissile materials and to safely handle unusual materials and reactive chemicals which may find their way into the waste. Nonradioactive operating experience to date has been very satisfactory. RADTU has been operated for extended runs on both a 24-hour per day basis as well as on a one shift per day basis. Some minor operating problems have been encountered as expected in a shakedown operation. In general, solutions to these have been readily found. 12 figures

[en] The single-shell waste tanks at the Hanford Site that contain significant quantities of ferrocyanide have been considered a possible hazard, since under certain conditions the ferrocyanide in the waste tanks could undergo an exothermic chemical reaction with the nitrates and nitrites that are also present in the tanks. The purpose of this report is to assess the credibility of local dryout of ferrocyanide due to a hotspot. This report considers the following: What amount of decay heat generation within what volume would be necessary to raise the temperature of the liquid in the sludge to its boiling point? What mechanisms could produce a significant local concentration of heat sources? Is it credible that a waste tank heat concentration could be as large as that required to reach the dryout temperatures? This report also provides a recommendation as to whether infrared scanning of the ferrocyanide tanks is needed. From the analyses presented in this report it is evident that formation of dry, and thus chemically reactive, regions in the ferrocyanide sludge by local hotspots is not credible. This conclusion is subject to reevaluation if future analyses of tank core samples show much higher ¹³⁷Cs or ⁹⁰Sr concentrations than expected. Since hotspots of concern are not credible, infrared scanning to detect such hotspots is not required for safe storage of tank waste

[en] The following conclusions resulted from operation of Radioactive Acid Digestion Test Unit (RADTU) for processing transuranic waste: (1) the acid digestion process can be safely and efficiently operated for radioactive waste treatment.; (2) in transuranic waste treatment, there was no detectable radionuclide carryover into the exhaust off-gas. The plutonium decontamination factor (DF) between the digester and the second off-gas tower was >1.5 x 10⁶ and the overall DF from the digester to the off-gas stack was >1 x 10⁸; (3) plutonium can be easily leached from undried digestion residue with dilute nitric acid (>99% recovery). Leachability is significantly reduced if the residue is dried (>450⁰stack temp.) prior to leaching; (4) sulfuric acid recovery and recycle in the process is 100%; (5) nitric acid recovery is typically 35% to 40%. Losses are due to the formation of free nitrogen (N₂) during digestion, reaction with chlorides in waste (NO₂stack was > 1.5 x 10⁶ andl), and other process losses; (6) noncombustible components comprised approximately 6% by volume of glovebox waste and contained 18% of the plutonium; (7) the acid digestion process can effectively handle a wide variety of waste forms. Some design changes are desirable in the head end to reduce manual labor, particularly if large quantities of specific waste forms will be processed; (8) with the exception of residue removal and drying equipment, all systems performed satisfactorily and only minor design and equipment changes would be recommended to improve performance; and(9) the RADTU program met all of its planned primary objectives and all but one of additional secondary objectives

[en] This paper illustrates the composition of the Hanford Site ferrocyanide tanks using three-component diagrams. The diagrams show the thermodynamic and physical relationships between reactants and diluents as a function of concentration. They have been especially useful for clarifying safety work and chemistry issues. The three-component diagrams act as a way to aid in the understanding of both possible and probable tank layer compositions. Most overall tank compositions appear to be nonreactive and indicate that the fraction of material that might react in tank is only a small part of the total. The result has been a focus of effort on compositions that can actually propagate and a deemphasis on the many combinations that are endothermic. As sampling data becomes available actual tank compositions wig be plotted on the diagrams

[en] Application and operation of the Water Vapor-Nitrogen Process for removing sodium from LMFBR components is reviewed. Emphasis is placed on recent efforts to verify the technological bases of the process, to refine the values of process parameters and to ensure the utility of the process for cleaning and requalifying components. (author)

No abstract available