OREM team members with the transport cask used to ship the legacy waste out of state for permanent disposal. (Photo: DOE)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has successfully removed legacy radioactive waste stored for more than five decades, marking a significant cleanup milestone. The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and cleanup contractor UCOR processed and shipped highly radioactive source material, including radium-226 and boron, out of state for permanent disposal.
The waste, originally used in 1970s experiments to study atomic nucleus structures, was safely packaged using a multilayered containment system to ensure protection during transit. The shipment followed strict safety protocols and used specialized transportation casks designed to shield against radiation and withstand severe accident scenarios.
“The team did an outstanding job in preparing the shipment, following all regulations with the safety of workers and the public in mind,” said Patrick Rapp, Transuranic Waste Processing Center area project manager.
Processing: Removal of the source material is part of ongoing efforts to enhance the safety of the Oak Ridge Reservation by steadily eliminating legacy waste from the site. Teams at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center have processed 98 percent of Oak Ridge’s transuranic debris waste inventory, with significant progress in shipping both contact-handled and remote-handled waste for disposal.
In February, OREM restored full production to the Transuranic Waste Processing Center following the replacement of a 900-pound waste drum crusher that had broken. During the time the crusher was inactive, crews were required to manually cut and reduce the size of waste drums, a task that presented more risks, took more time, and was more labor intensive.
Transuranic waste processed at the center is shipped to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico for permanent disposal.
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