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Conference Spotlight
2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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DNFSB spots possible bottleneck in Hanford’s waste vitrification
Workers change out spent 27,000-pound TSCR filter columns and place them on a nearby storage pad during a planned outage in 2023. (Photo: DOE)
While the Department of Energy recently celebrated the beginning of hot commissioning of the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP), which has begun immobilizing the site’s radioactive tank waste in glass through vitrification, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has reported a possible bottleneck in waste processing. According to the DNFSB, unless current systems run efficiently, the issue could result in the interruption of operations at the WTP’s Low-Activity Waste Facility, where waste vitrification takes place.
During operations, the LAW Facility will process an average of 5,300 gallons of tank waste per day, according to Bechtel, the contractor leading design, construction, and commissioning of the WTP. That waste is piped to the facility after being treated by Hanford’s Tanks Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) system, which filters undissolved solid material and removes cesium from liquid waste.
According to a November 7 activity report by the DNFSB, the TSCR system may not be able to produce waste feed fast enough to keep up with the LAW Facility’s vitrification rate.
Educational Session|Panel|Sponsored by Business/Economic Performance
Tuesday, August 11, 2020|2:00–3:30PM EDT
Session Organizer:
David Heler (Accelerant)
Knowledge Manager:
Amber Von Ruden (Exelon Corporation)
2:00pm-3:00pm SOUL is a Knowledge Management platform that takes advantage of digital transformation, professional expertise and social collaboration to transfer knowledge throughout an organization to internal and external stakeholders. SOUL Artificial Intelligence (AI) helps students speed up their learning through customized reinforcement experiences. Management also benefits from Big Data techniques to discover trends and key insights from the learning process in the organization. Through machine learning, SOUL can help managers find out "training gaps" or hidden talent in the company. SOUL allows and encourages the integration and use of innovative e-learning materials, serious games, 3D models, virtual reality and high-level interactive tools, thus enhancing flexible learning while minimizing training cost and time. Focusing on improving the knowledge transfer experience, SOUL provides a cost-effective solution for knowledge management that creates an exciting learning environment that engages the users, improving the results. 3:00pm-3:30 pm: The continued viability of Palo Verde requires a streamlined ”Maintaining The Plant” process that does not diminish nuclear safety or equipment reliability. NEI Efficiency Bulletin 17-23 implementation is intended to result in plant maintenance being performed in a highly efficient manner that will improve plant productivity and maintain equipment reliability at expected levels, all at a reduced cost. This is being achieved through innovation, automation, and elimination within existing processes.
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Reference — Palo Verde Slides
Reference — Accelerant Slides
Session Notes
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