DOE/ORO/2327 Oak Ridge Reservation Annual Site Environmental ...

Annual Site Environmental Report
with Nuclear Weapons Complex partners, and implementing computed tomography. The implementation
of digital radiography is a long-term process, and the progress made to date has reduced the chemical
waste stream from film processing significantly and will continue to grow as the technology matures.
Recycling Initiatives
B&W Y-12 has a well-established recycling program and continues to identify new material streams
and to expand the types of materials that can be recycled by finding new markets and outlets for the
materials. As shown in Fig. 4.10, over 0.7 million kilograms (1.7 million pounds) of materials was
diverted from landfills and into viable recycle processes. Currently, recycled materials range from officerelated
materials to operations-related materials such as scrap metal, tires, and batteries. Many recycling
activities have been implemented, including the 2009 activities highlighted in this section.
Fig. 4.10. Y-12 Recycling Results.
DOE-Wide Secure Electronics Recycling
Like all DOE facilities, Y-12 faced the challenge of managing electronic waste (items such as printed
circuit boards and hard drives) in a manner that met cyber security and potential hazardous waste
requirements. Based on past successes of collaborative efforts with DOE’s Business Center for Precious
Metals Sales and Recovery, Y-12 approached the center to establish a team to address electronic media
waste. The team was able to select and establish a contract vehicle with a facility for the destruction of
Y-12’s electronic storage media followed by recovery of the resulting precious metals. The contract
vehicle is being made available to the entire DOE Complex with the anticipation that other DOE sites will
take advantage of this opportunity. All DOE NNSA sites and contractors that use this center see reduced
waste generation and associated cost avoidance due to using these services. In 2009 alone, Y-12 reduced
its generation of silver-bearing Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) waste and electronic
media waste by 9,532 kg (21,016 lb), resulting in a cost avoidance $82,848 from recycling via the DOE
Business Center for Precious Metals Sales and Recovery.
Expanded Recycling Program
B&W Y-12 expanded recycling initiatives in 2009 to include the recycling of electronic media
including circuit boards, used oil filters, and security sensitive paper to an off-site recycling vendor. These
recycling initiatives were fully implemented during 2009.
4.2.6.3 Energy Management
Progress Meeting DOE EO 13423 Goals
The Y-12 Complex developed the FY 2009 Y-12 National Security Complex Executable Plan Update
and Annual Report on Energy Management for the National Nuclear Security Administration
The Y-12 National Security Complex 4-13