1 - paducah environmental information center

Paducah Site
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement for Alternative Strategies for
the Long-Term Management and Use of
Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride).
On October 16, 1995, DOE submitted an
Implementatipn Plan that incorporated complete
and near-term actions in accordance with these
five focus areas. The Implementation Plan also
committed to managing the DUF 6
Cylinder
Program using a Systems Engineering Approach.
The approach was developed concurrent with
field response actions and is enhanced through
an open dialogue between DNFSB staff and
DOE and Energy Systems personnel. _ The
Implementation Plan specifies the following
interim and final deliverables and defines their
respective cont~iit to establish an operative
Systems Engineering process for the continued
improvement of DUF 6
management:
• Contents Transfer; and
• Off-site Transport.
DOE is upgrading the quality of the
cylinder yards to help maintain the integrity of
the cylinders. Fewer cylinders are stored in the
refurbished yards resulting in easier access for
inspections to detect corrosion or leaks. To
accommodate the resulting space needs, DOE
initiated construction of a new 470,000 square
feet cylinder yard (C-745-T) which was
completed during the spring of 1998. The C-
745-L (North) cylinder yard was reconstructed
in 1999 and covers 196,000 square feet. The
design for refurbishment of more existing
storage yards is complete and the reconstruction
is planned for FY 2000-2003, pending funding.
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System Requirement Document -
identifies the system requirements;
System Engineering Management
Plan - identifies organization, direction,
and controls for system integration;
Engineering Development Plan -
. identifies development actions, costs,
and schedules for technical
improvements;
• DUF 6
Cylinder Program
Management Plan - identifies costs,
schedules, and controls for operating the
system and implementing required
actions; and
• Approved Safety Analysis Reports
defines the safety envelope.
The system includes several operational
functions to maintain containment of the DUF 6
•
These operational functions are:
• Surveillance and Maintenance;
• Handling and Stacking;
In May 1997 the DOE communicated to the
DNFSB that two cyl~nderpopulations needed to
be painted to remain compliant with. National
Board Inspection Code (NBIC) "in service"
pressure vessel standards. At Paducah a
population of approximately 3,870 cylinders
(former G yard bottom-row cylinders) were
identified as requiring to be painted by 2010.
Because it was not logical to separate the
cylinders on the bottom row from the top row, it
was determined that a total of approximately
7,800 cylinders at Paducah would be painted.
During fiscal years 1996, 1997, and 1998 a total
of 3,368 cylinders were painted. Cylinder
painting activities at Paducah were terminated
after 1998 in light of DOE's near term plans to
begin conversion of the depleted UF6 in. 2005.
If conversion begins in 2005 the remaining
worst case cylinders can be converted by 2010.
If conversion does not become operational in
2005, alternative mitigating actions, such as
restarting cylinder painting operations will need
to be implemented.
In December 1998 toxicity test results at
KPDES Outfall 017 exceeded the KPDES limit
for toxicity (see discussion in Section 2).
Subsequent tests confirmed the toxicity
exceedance and a Toxicity Reduction Evaluation
Plan was established. Zinc from cylinder
3-18
Environmental Program Information