Strategic Guidance on the Management of LLW and ILW / LLW ...

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LLW Repository LtdNational Waste ProgrammeNWP/REP/011Issue 2.1 – Jan 2013Page 38 of 585.2.9. Optimised Disposal to Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR)UsageLLWILW/LLWSurface contaminatedVolumetricallycontaminatedActivatedAluminiumCopperMild steelMild steel (coated)Stainless steelStainless steel (coated)Description of techniqueOptimised disposal is a methodology which facilitates disposal at the Low Level Waste Repository involvingthe disposal of two or more wastestreams in the same disposal volume, so as to maximise the use of thedisposal volume capacity and minimise the use of inactive grout infill. This methodology is most useful, inthe context of pond furniture, for the management of pond skips and containers for which other wastemanagement approaches are not suitable and for which size reduction is not practicable. Optimiseddisposal would involve such skips or containers being transferred into an appropriate disposal container;and the voidage within the pond skips or containers filled with additional different radiologicallycontaminated wasteforms and cementitious grout. The voidage around the skips or containers within thedisposal container is similarly filled with the waste / grout mixture or different additional wastes, either allfrom the same waste producer or a mixture from different waste producers. The disposal container is thentransferred to the LLWR for final grouting and disposition.It should be noted that this management approach, as it requires waste disposal at the LLWR, should beconsidered as a last resort and would involve significant assessment by LLWR Ltd. The use of thisapproach would only be deemed acceptable where every reasonably practicable effort has been made toemploy alternative conditioning, treatment and disposal routes.This approach would be suitable for all waste types and potentially for ILW / LLW borderline wastes; butwould require significant up-front dialogue with LLWR Ltd.Outcomes Advantages Disadvantages• Waste transferred to LLWR for finaldisposition,• Optimised use of disposal volume.• Secondary wastes dependent onwasteforms included in optimised disposalmodel.A company owned by UK Nuclear Waste Management Ltd• Useful for situationswhere size reductionand othermanagementapproaches are notpracticable.• Optimises use of thedisposal volume atLLWR.• Requires disposal ofwaste at LLWR, usingvaluable disposalcapacity.• Removesopportunities forbeneficial re-use ofmetal.NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED
LLW Repository LtdNational Waste ProgrammeNWP/REP/011Issue 2.1 – Jan 2013Page 39 of 58Technique used at:LLWCase Study F – Optimised Disposal of Pond Skips from Bradwell (Magnox Ltd.) byEnergySolutions and InutecChallengeTo support accelerated decommissioning of the Bradwell site, some 117 pond skips were removed from theBradwell fuel cooling pond, completing during 2009. These pond skips were classified as higher activityLLW, and owing to various physical, radiological and schedule constraints it was deemed that it was notpracticable for these pond skips to be decontaminated by high pressure jetting to enable recycling or forsize reduction. The only option was for disposal of the skips.SolutionA project was initiated by EnergySolutions, in collaborationwith Inutec, Bradwell and LLWR Ltd, in 2011 to enable theoptimised disposal of these pond skips. The pond skips hadbeen loaded into dumpy bags, to facilitate contaminationcontrol, by Bradwell and transferred into half-height ISOcontainers. These were transferred in batches to the Inuteclicensed site at Winfrith licensed site for processing. AtInutec, the HHISO containers were opened, subjected toHealth Physics monitoring and the pond skips infilled withadditional wastes. Processing of the pond skip wasundertaken in stages:• The outer voidage around the dumpy bags was infilledwith cemented waste desiccant, from another wastegenerator.• The dumpy bags were cut open and a contaminationfixative applied.• The skips were infilled with cemented waste desiccant(Figure 10).• Supercompacted waste pucks were then added to theHHISO to fill additional void space (Figure 11).This optimised disposal model facilitated disposal of thesepond skips at LLWR whilst enabling a 50% reduction in thedisposal volume and a 90% reduction in inactive grout infill.Figure10 – Waste processing rig at InutecFigure 11 – ISO container being filledwith pucks of supercompacted waste atInutecA company owned by UK Nuclear Waste Management LtdNOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED
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