ML19039A253

Final NRC Presentation for 02-12-2019 NRC Public Meeting

ML19039A253
Person / Time
Site:	PROJ0734
Issue date:	02/12/2019
From:	Harry Felsher, Chris Mckenney, Bo Pham Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs
To:
H FELSHER DUWP
References
Download: ML19039A253 (15)

Text

U.S. NRC NDAA WIR Monitoring Successes at U.S.

DOE Savannah River Site 02-12-2019 Bo Pham, Acting Director, DUWP Christepher McKenney, Acting Deputy Director, DUWP Harry Felsher, DUWP/LLWPB

NRC Monitoring at Savannah River Site (SRS)

• NRC Monitoring in Coordination with South Carolina as Required by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (NDAA)

• NRC Monitoring at Saltstone Disposal Facility (SDF) since 2007

• NRC Monitoring at F-Tank Farm (FTF) since 2012

• NRC Monitoring at H-Tank Farm (HTF) since 2015 2

NRC Monitoring Activities at SRS

• NRC Issues Plan to Monitor DOE

• Current NRC Monitoring Plans include Monitoring Areas and Monitoring Factors

• Monitoring Activities include:

- onsite observation visits

- technical reviews

- data reviews 3

Overall Successes for NRC Monitoring at SRS

• NRC/DOE Management Meetings

• Separate Monthly Teleconference Calls:

- NRC/DOE

- NRC/SCDHEC/EPA Region 4

• Updated Monitoring Plans

• NRC Letters Supplementing a Monitoring Plan

• Coordination of NRC/DOE Research Activities

• Making Progress on Closure of Monitoring Factors 4

Monitoring at SDF

• Initial SDF Monitoring Plan Issued in 2007

• Revision 1 SDF Monitoring Plan Issued in 2013

• 20 SDF OOVs since 2007

• 16 SDF TRRs issued, including:

- hydraulic performance of saltstone

- technetium waste release

- engineered cover performance 5

Successes for Monitoring at SDF

• Prioritization of Monitoring Factors Informed by Risk and Uncertainty

• DOE Research Aligned with NRC High-Priority Monitoring Factors

- saltstone cores

- simulated saltstone

• NRC Closed or Lowered in Priority Seven Monitoring Factors in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018

• NRC Opened Two New Monitoring Factors in FY 2018 6

7 MA 1 Inventory MA 2 Infiltration and Erosion Control MA 3 Waste Form Hydraulic Performance MA 4 Waste Form Physical Degradation MA 5 Waste Form Chemical Degradation MA 6 Disposal Structure Performance

- 1.01 -

Inventory in Disposal Structures §

- 2.01 -

Hydraulic Performance of Closure Cap

- 3.01 -

Hydraulic Conductivity of Field-Emplaced Saltstone +/-

- 4.01 -

Waste Form Matrix Degradation +/-

- 5.01 -

Radionuclide Release from Field-Emplaced Saltstone +/-

- 6.01 -

Certain Risk-Significant Kd Values in Disposal Structure Concrete

- 1.02 -

Methods Used to Assess Inventory

- 2.02 -

Erosion Control of the SDF Engineered Surface Cover and Adjacent Area.

- 3.02 -

Variability of Field-Emplaced Saltstone +/-

- 4.02 -

Waste Form Macroscopic Fracturing +/-

- 5.02 -

Chemical Reduction of Tc by Saltstone +/-

- 6.02 -

Tc Sorption in Disposal Structure Concrete +/-

- 3.03 -

Applicability of Laboratory Data to Field-Emplaced Saltstone +/-

- 5.03 -

Reducing Capacity of Saltstone

- 6.03 -

Performance of Disposal Structure Roofs and HDPE/GCL Layers

- 3.04 -

Effect of Curing Temperature on Saltstone Hydraulic Properties +/-

- 5.04 -

Certain Risk-Significant Kd Values for Saltstone

- 6.04 -

Disposal Structure Concrete Fracturing

- 5.05 -

Potential for Short-Term Rinse-Release from Saltstone

- 6.05 -

Integrity of Non-cementitious Materials

§ Periodic Monitoring Factors (i.e., MFs related to data that NRC staff expects to review on a periodic basis)

Low Priority Medium Priority

+/- High Priority Closed Current Status and Prioritization of SDF Monitoring Factors MA 7 Subsurface Transport MA 8 Environmental Monitoring MA 9 Site Stability MA 10 Performance Assessment Model Revisions MA 11 Radiation Protection Program

- 7.01 -

Certain Risk-Significant Kd Values in Site Sand and Clay

- 8.01 -

Leak Detection §

- 9.01 -

Settlement Due to Increased Overburden

- 10.01 -

Implementation of Conceptual Models +/-

- 11.01 -

Dose to Individuals During Operations

- 8.02 -

Groundwater Monitoring §

- 9.02 -

Settlement Due to Dissolution of Calcareous Sediment

- 10.02 -

Defensibility of Conceptual Models +/-

- 11.02 -

Air Monitorin

- 10.03 -

Diffusivity in Degraded Saltstone

- 8.03 -

Identification and Monitoring of Groundwater Plumes in the Z Area +/-

- 10.04 -

Kd Values for Saltstone

- 10.05 -

Moisture Characteristic Curves

- 10.06 -

Kd Values for Disposal Structure Concrete

- 10.07 -

Calculation of Build-Up in Biosphere Soil

- 10.08 -

Consumption Factors and Uncertainty Distributions for Transfer Factors

- 10.09 -

Kd Values for SRS Soil

- 10.10 -

Far-Field Model Calibration

- 10.11 -

Far-Field Model Source Loading Approach

- 10.12 -

Far-Field Model Dispersion

- 10.13 -

Impact of Calcareous Zones on Contaminant Flow and Transport

- 10.14 -

Scenario Development and Defensibility

§ Periodic Monitoring Factors (i.e., MFs related to data that NRC staff expects to review on a periodic basis)

Low Priority

NRC/DOE Joint Plan for SDF

Purpose:

Identify Information Needed to Support NRC Finding of Reasonable Assurance that DOE Demonstrated Meeting Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations Part 61 Subpart C Performance Objectives at SDF

• Needed Information Based on NRC High-Priority Monitoring Factors

• DOE Establishes the Schedule of Providing Information to NRC

• Joint Plan Issued 10/23/2018 - ML18235A068 8

Monitoring at Tank Farms (TFs)

• FTF Monitoring Plan Issued in January 2013

• TFs Monitoring Plan Issued in October 2015 to Include HTF

• Eight Onsite Observation Visits Since 2012

• 15 TFs TRRs issued, including:

- tank grouting

- waste release

- final inventory and risk estimates after tank closure 9

Current Prioritization of TFs Monitoring Factors

• NRC Performed Independent Analysis to Risk-Inform TFs Monitoring Plan and Prioritize Monitoring Factors 10

NRC/DOE Successes at TFs

• Highest Priority Monitoring Factor 2.1 (Solubility-Limiting Phases/Limits and Validation) was Addressed by DOE in Recent Research Efforts 11

- Results of several years of waste release testing of Tank 18 high-level waste samples completed in 2016

- NRC staff completed Waste Release Testing Technical Review Report (TRR) in 2018

Path Forward for Monitoring at TFs

• Results of DOE Tank 18 Waste Release Experiments Indicated Risk-Significant Solubilities for Plutonium (Pu) and Higher than Expected Solubility for Other Key Radionuclides

• Next Steps Include:

- reduction in uncertainty in barriers affecting the timing and magnitude of peak Pu dose including:

• natural system attenuation (chemical barrier delaying timing and magnitude of peak dose)

• tank/grout performance (hydraulic and chemical barrier to release)

• tank vault performance (chemical barrier to release) 12

CNWRA Research to Support NRC NDAA WIR Monitoring at SRS

• More Recent Activities Included:

- tank grout groundwater conditioning experiments

- saltstone/technetium release experiments 13

List of Recent CNWRA Research Reports for NRC on SDF and TFs

• Saltstone Leaching Experiments-Status Report, September 2015. ML15302A086

• Tank Grout Water Conditioning Tests-Status Report, September 2015. ML15302A081

• Fiscal Year 2016 Tank Grout Water Conditioning Tests-Status Report, January 2017. ML18285A834

• Fiscal Year 2016 Saltstone Leaching Experiment-Status Report, May 2017. ML17221A038

• Two more reports expected soon 14

Future Activities at SRS

• DOE Plans to Issue Revised SDF Performance Assessment (PA) in 2020

• NRC Will Review Revised SDF PA and Issue Revised SDF Technical Evaluation Report

• NRC Will Issue Revised SDF Monitoring Plan

• NRC Currently Reviewing DOE Revised General Separations Area Groundwater Model for SDF and TFs 15