SLUDGE RETRIEVAL FROM HANFORD K WEST BASIN SETTLER TANKS [electronic resource].
- Published:
- Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy. Office of Environmental Management, 2011. and Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
- Additional Creators:
- Hanford Site (Wash.), United States. Department of Energy. Office of Environmental Management, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
- Access Online:
- www.osti.gov
- Summary:
- In 2010, an innovative, remotely operated retrieval system was deployed to successfully retrieve over 99.7% of the radioactive sludge from ten submerged tanks in Hanford's K-West Basin. As part of K-West Basin cleanup, the accumulated sludge needed to be removed from the 0.5 meter diameter by 5 meter long settler tanks and transferred approximately 45 meters to an underwater container for sampling and waste treatment. The abrasive, dense, non-homogeneous sludge was the product of the washing process of corroded nuclear fuel. It consists of small (less than 600 micron) particles of uranium metal, uranium oxide, and various other constituents, potentially agglomerated or cohesive after 10 years of storage. The Settler Tank Retrieval System (STRS) was developed to access, mobilize and pump out the sludge from each tank using a standardized process of retrieval head insertion, periodic high pressure water spray, retraction, and continuous pumping of the sludge. Blind operations were guided by monitoring flow rate, radiation levels in the sludge stream, and solids concentration. The technology developed and employed in the STRS can potentially be adapted to similar problematic waste tanks or pipes that must be remotely accessed to achieve mobilization and retrieval of the sludge within.
- Subject(s):
- Note:
- Published through SciTech Connect., 01/13/2011., "chprc-01180-fp rev 0", WM2011 WASTE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE DOE 03/07/2011 THRU 03/11/2011 PHOENIX AZ., and ERPENBECK EG; LESHIKAR GA.
- Funding Information:
- DE-AC06-08RL14788
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