TRANSPORTATION OPERATIONS We are also responsible for the Department-wide transportation operations and traffic management support programs to assure the safe, secure, efficient, and economic shipment of DOE materials in compliance with applicable Federal laws and regulations. Major activities in FY 1984 for Transportation Operations and Traffic Management include reducing rates on DOE shipments through volume discounts, data automation for more efficient utilization and management of resources, training and workshops for personnel involved in DOE shipment of hazardous materials; and activities to assure uniform DOE compliance with DOT and IAEA rules and regulations. In FY 1985 transportation management training will be expanded to include advanced training for traffic managers and DOE contractors. The packaging certification program will receive increased emphasis with documentation reviews to assure that the packagings for hazardous materials continue to meet current regulations. The negotiation with carriers will be expanded to assure even more efficient, economical movement of DOE shipments. LONG-TERM WASTE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY This program addresses the long-term management and disposal of defense wastes. This program is consistent with the Defense Waste Management Plan for permanent disposal of defense high-level and transuranic waste the President submitted to you. HIGH-LEVEL WASTE TECHNOLOGY As I mentioned earlier, we are developing the technology for the long-term management of defense high-level waste at DOE sites with first emphasis on the DWPF at Savannah River. During FY 1985 we will perform large-scale tests with simulated waste to optimize the design and demonstrate the reliability of the DWPF systems, including slurry feed, off-gas, salt disposal, and process controls. Smaller scale tests with actual high-level waste from the Savannah River Plant will continue in hot cells. Together, these tests will assure that the DWPF will work as designed. We will continue to describe and document the predicted behavior of the glass waste form in a geologic repository and make confirmatory tests. During FY 1985 emphasis will shift toward planning, development, selection, and implementation of the long-term technology for high-level waste at Hanford. DEFENSE WASTE PROCESSING FACILITY (Charts 40-41) The DWPF will immobilize defense high-level waste at Savannah River for storage, transportation, and disposal in a geologic repository. The sludge fraction of the high-level waste, which contains most of the hazardous radionuclides and virtually all of the long-lived activity, will be immobilized directly in borosilicate glass after extracting mercury. The activity in the soluble salt fraction of the waste, primarily radioactive cesium, will be separated by precipitation in the tank farm and can be used as a beneficial byproduct, possibly in an immobilized form. The decontaminated salt will be solidified and disposed of on the Savannah River site. When the DWPF is operational in FY 1989, we will begin to work off the backlog of high-level waste from production operations at Savannah River, reaching a steady-state operation in about 15 years. Construction of the DWPF began ahead of schedule in October 1983 and site grading, installation of temporary construction facilities, and equipment procurement are underway. The design is almost 50 percent complete and on schedule. Design and construction will continue in FY 1985, leading to "hot" operation in FY 1989. We are requesting $238 million for the project in FY 1985 which is our major program increase over FY 1984. This funding is necessary to maintain the project schedule and stay within the total estimated cost. By the end of FY 1985, the design will be about 80 percent complete. Construction of the main process buildings and support facilities will continue, and additional major procurements will be made for essential construction materials and equipment. It is very important that our construction schedule be maintained. We have planned this project to be cost effective consistent with the Grace Commission's recommendations. Any delays will not only increase costs but will also cause significant operational problems at Savannah River. We are running out of tank space in which to store high-level waste, and we must continue to remove waste from the old tanks before problems develop. Major delays in DWPF could require the building of additional tanks and make the high-level waste cleanup job greater and more expensive. The total estimated construction cost for the DWPF is $870 million and is based on a newly revised cost estimate. The amounts of escalation and contingency have been significantly reduced from the previous estimate of $910 million. Additional scope has also been added to the project that was originally planned for inclusion in a subsequent line item project (Stage 2). Technical improvements have eliminated the need for most of the Stage 2 requirements. The remaining items, which now make up about 10 percent of the DWPF project, are necessary to provide a complete facility to handle both sludge and salt waste. The cost estimate for this project has been reduced by about 70 percent from the original capital cost estimate of $2.8 billion (FY 1979) through research and development and design optimization. We will continue to pursue opportunities to reduce its cost even further through effective project management by DOE staff and contractors during the construction phase. TRANSURANIC WASTE TECHNOLOGY This technology program focuses on supporting the WIPP. The first priority is to certify newly generated waste for the WIPP if it meets the acceptance criteria. This reduces the growth in the backlog of stored waste that requires examination before it can be sent to or processed for the WIPP. Second, the inventory of "old" stored waste will be examined and certified or processed consistent with the WIPP schedule. In Idaho we have completed the final designs for two pilot plants in FY 1983--the Stored Waste Examination Pilot Plant to examine and certify stored waste containers for the WIPP, and the Processing Experimental Pilot Plant to demonstrate processes for treating stored waste containers (Chart 42) that do not meet the In FY 1985 we are continuing construction on both WIPP criteria. pilot plants. Other FY 1985 activities include: (1) completing process engineering studies required to certify remote handled wastes and transfer of the technology to the sites; (2) installing and testing a drum counter at Richland; (3) begin certifying newly generated remote handled waste at ORNL; and (4) continuing technology development and transfer for reduced waste generation at all sites. LOW-LEVEL WASTE TECHNOLOGY The Low-Level Waste (LLW) Technology program supports waste operations at DOE sites. In FY 1984 handbooks will document technologies for corrective measures for existing shallow land burial grounds, improved practices and procedures for operations for new shallow land burial grounds, and waste treatment options for use by generators and operators. DOE has been developing an alternative to shallow land burial for potentially low-level waste. While these wastes fall within the definition of LLW, they may require greater isolation than that provided by shallow land burial due to their beta/gamma activity, heat, chemical toxicity, or if their physical size and shape would preclude WIPP waste acceptance certification. The Greater Confinement Disposal Test at the Nevada Test Site is evaluating a borehole concept (10 foot diameter, 120 feet deep) for special low-level waste. In FY 1984 cesium and strontium capsules have been emplaced in the Greater Confinement Disposal Test. In FY 1985 they will be monitored and predictive modeling will be developed. AIRBORNE WASTE TECHNOLOGY In The Airborne Waste Technology program supports DOE operations in controlling and disposing gaseous and particulate effluents. FY 1984 this program will be completed with a topical report on real-time effluent monitoring systems and a final closeout report of efforts accomplished in the program since its inception. In FY 1985 the orderly completion of a few program-related tasks will be performed under the low-level waste program. TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT This program seeks to assure that safe, efficient, and reliable transportation will be available for defense nuclear wastes. Technology development, testing, and operational safety and accident analyses are conducted at the Transportation Technology Center at the Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Chart 43) In FY 1984 a prototype TRUPACT unit will be fabricated, and regulatory compliance testing will be performed. (Chart 44) The high-level waste cask final design will be completed and a prototype cask fabricator selected. Major components of the first production unit of the new shipping package for cesium and strontium capsules will be delivered and made available for use. We will evaluate the impacts of regulatory changes; develop standards for packaging; and maintain data bases on shipments, incidents, routing, emergency response, and state and local legislation. In FY 1985 work will focus on research, development, and evaluation of nuclear materials transport systems to meet the Department's program requirements. This will include structural and thermal analysis and modeling, test environment characterization, testing facility development, transportation logistics and economic analysis on specific programs under development, analysis of State and local government transportation packaging legislation, analysis of IAEA Safety Series 6 impact on U.S. packaging, and accident assessment and risk analysis under |