Jonathan Kang Office of Disposal Operations (EM-43) Office of Environmental Management (EM)

1. Jonathan KangOffice of Disposal Operations (EM-43)Office of Environmental Management (EM) DOECAP Conference September 2010 EM M/LLW Disposition Update

2. DOE’s Radioactive Waste Management Priorities • Continue to manage waste inventories in a safe and compliant manner • Address high risk waste in a cost-effective manner • Maintain and optimize current disposal capability for future generations • Develop future disposal capacity in a complex environment • Promote the development of treatment and disposal alternatives in the commercial sector • Review current policies and directives • Provide needed oversight

3. DOE’s Waste Disposal Complex DOE Generator Site (no on-site disposal facility) Sites are closed Hanford West Valley Knolls Fermi INL Ames RMI Mound Bettis ANL LBNL Fernald BCL Kansas City NTS Rocky Flats Portsmouth Brookhaven LLNL Paducah LANL SLAC Oak Ridge Princeton (PPPL) ETEC Sandia Sandia General Atomics ITRI Savannah River Pantex Plant WIPP Legend CERCLA Disposal Facility LLW Operations Disposal Facility MLLW Operations Disposal Facility Regional LLW Disposal Facility Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) for TRU disposal 3

4. LLW/MLLW Program -- Retrospective • Historically, most (88%) LLW/MLLW disposed of in US was generated by DOE activities • FY1990-FY2008, approximately 9.6 million m3 of DOE wastes disposed • In same period, 1.3 million m3 of non-DOE LLW/MLLW was disposed in commercial facilities. • Most DOE generated LLW/MLLW results from decommissioning and site cleanup activities • FY1990-FY2008, about 70% was disposed on site where generated, with 10% at other DOE sites and 20% at commercial facilities • DOE/EM closely monitored off-site LLW/MLLW decisions during last year evaluate impacts of ARRA funding. In six month period: • ~92 of EM’s LLW+MLLW volume was disposed at the DOE site where generated • ~7% of EM’s LLW+MLLW was disposed at the EnergySolutions Clive, Utah, commercial facility • ~1% of EM’s LLW+MLLW was disposed at NTS

5. DOE LLW/MLLW Forecasts DOE updates its life-cycle LLW/MLLW forecasts annually and makes this information publically available in the Waste Information Management System (WIMS) Nearly 4.3 million m3 of LLW/MLLW will be generated FY2010-2015 Vast majority targeted to be disposed on site DOE plans to continue use of Nevada National Security Site and, as appropriate, commercial disposal Some large volume TBD streams exist • WIMS can be found at http://wims.arc.fiu.edu/WIMS 5 5

6. Annualized LLW/MLLW Forecasts (Base + ARRA Volume)

7. Highlights on LLW/MLLW Disposition Efforts • American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides needed funding for solid waste disposition, soil and groundwater remediation, and facility decontamination and decommissioning projects • Increased volumes of LLW/MLLW are expected in next few years • Pending EM cleanup and operations contracts include significant waste management scope • To ensure disposal plans are optimized, EM provided enhanced guidance to sites to ensure all disposal alternatives are evaluated • Recent developments and changes… • Toxic Substances Control Act Incinerator at Oak Ridge ceased operations last year and is in the midst of closure • DOE relying on commercial treatment alternatives • New complex-wide treatment contract awarded in July 2010 • Additional disposal alternatives are being sought • On site cells, NTS mixed waste cell, WCS federal disposal facility

8. Updates in LLW/MLLW Disposition – Disposal Focus • Continued use of onsite disposal at large cleanup sites • Continued optimized operations of DOE disposal facilities, especially for those wastes that cannot be disposed at commercial facilities • Nevada National Security Site (NNSS, formerly the NTS) operates as regional LLW and MLLW disposal facility • New site-wide EIS underdevelopment, which will analyze continued use of NNSS as regional disposal facility • Current Mixed Waste Disposal Unit at NNSS closes November 2010, but replacement facility is in progress • State of Nevada approved new mixed waste disposal cell in July 2010 • Construction initiated in August 2010 and is proceeding ahead of schedule • Operation scheduled 2nd quarter of FY 2011 • RCRA storage permit under development • Waste Control Specialists (WCS) received final license approval for commercial (Compact limited) and Federal LLW disposal facilities • DOE entered into agreement with TCEQ regarding coordination on Fed Facility and provided WCS written commitment regarding future ownership

9. Treatment Perspectives • To date MLLW generation from ARRA has not overwhelmed commercial capacity • Treatment of mixed waste is performed for the most part at commercial facilities • There remain very few DOE LLW+MLLW legacy streams with no path to disposal • DOE working with Energy Facility Contractors Group (EFCOG) WM Working Group to increase focus on these waste challenges • Office of Disposal Operations tracks these streams using WIMS

10. Treatment Perspectives (Cont’d) • New DOE National treatment contracts offer options for MLLW treatment, LLW handling and bulk survey for release (BSFR) • Treatment services (three awards): • ES (Clive, Bear Creek), Philotechnics (Philotechnics (Oak Ridge), IMPACT Services (Secure Support Facility, Oak Ridge), Toxco, Inc., Waste Control Specialists (Texas)) Perma-Fix (M&EC, DSSI, PFF (Florida), PFNW (Northwest)) • Bulk Survey for Release services (two awards): • Philotechnics (IMPACT Services, Toxco, Inc.), Studsvik (Studsvik Processing Facility Memphis) • Task orders can be issued by prime contractor or DOE direct • Treatment contracts and ordering procedures can be found at: http://www.emcbc.doe.gov/dept/contracting/primecontracts.php

11. Commercial Facilities Play an Essential Role in EM’s Ability to Manage its Wastes • DOE benefits from the existence of multiple treatment and disposal facilities. • This not only creates a competitive market condition, but ensures DOE waste has disposition paths (or multiple paths) • EM considers commercial TSDFs important and necessary partners. • DOECAP program provides the Department with the assurance that our commercial treatment/disposal vendors are providing us with safe, compliant and reliable waste management services.

12. Summary • Although DOE has made excellent progress in management of LLW/MLLW, some challenges remain and continued focus is needed • Some uncertainty remains on continuous availability of disposal capacity • Stakeholders remain engaged and will continue to challenge policies and plans • Although the numbers have decreased, problematic waste streams remain and will continue to be generated through additional facility D&D work • EM has 20 years of progress and experience in safely managing radioactive wastes and nuclear materials and is well positioned for continued success • EM is working to accelerate foot print reduction and solid waste disposition, and is targeting technological advances to reduce life-cycle cost of tank waste and nuclear materials disposition • Success requires cooperation among DOE, industry and stakeholders