Recharacterization and segregation of transuranic wastes from low-level wastes by means of nondestructive assay at Los Alamos National Laboratory Solid Waste Operations facility

James D. Soukup

doi:10.1117/12.339072

29 January 1999 Recharacterization and segregation of transuranic wastes from low-level wastes by means of nondestructive assay at Los Alamos National Laboratory Solid Waste Operations facility

James D. Soukup

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 3536, Nuclear Waste Instrumentation Engineering; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.339072
Event: Photonics East (ISAM, VVDC, IEMB), 1998, Boston, MA, United States

Abstract

Over the past five years, portable High Purity Germanium (HPGe) gamma spectroscopy systems have been used with non- destructive assay techniques to characterize waste items at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LAND). The systems currently are used to characterize approximately 30 percent of Land waste annually, and have been used to segregate low-level wastes from transuranic (TRU) wastes at the generator facilities. As a result of the tremendous cost savings realized from the low-level/TRU waste segregation activities, a pilot program was initiated to recharacterize wastes currently stored and managed at the Solid Waste Operational facility. In the pilot program, 84 cubic meters of plutonium contaminated wastes were characterized, with 10 percent of the waste, by volume, found to be low-level waste. A follow-on effort was commenced to identify wastes in the LAND waste database that may be improperly classified as TRU. The items determined to be `suspect' TRU account for over 90 percent of the TRU waste volume in storage at the Solid Waste Operations facility. In a second recharacterization phase, over 68 cubic meters of TRU waste were recharacterized. Over 62 cubic meters of the recharacterized waste was found to be low-level waste.

Citation Download Citation

James D. Soukup "Recharacterization and segregation of transuranic wastes from low-level wastes by means of nondestructive assay at Los Alamos National Laboratory Solid Waste Operations facility", Proc. SPIE 3536, Nuclear Waste Instrumentation Engineering, (29 January 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.339072

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