Washington River Protection Solutions Analytical Needs and Offsite Laboratory Work Glen Clark Principal Scientist, WRPS 2016 Annual ASP Workshop Covington, KY September 19-22, 2016 TOC-PRES-16-3353-VA

Hanford Site Map The Hanford Site, which covers roughly 586 square miles in southeastern Washington state, was home for the facilities which produced the majority of the nuclear materials for the nation’s defense program. As a result, nearly 56 million gallons of highly radioactive and mixed waste generated during 40 years of production are stored in 177 underground storage tanks in the Central Plateau (purple) area. 149 of these are older single-shell tanks and 28 are the newer double-shell tanks. The Office of River Protection (DOE ORP) directs tank farms and Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) activities in the Central Plateau region whereas the Richland Office (DOE RL) administers clean up activity along the River Corridor (green).

Mount Mount Adams Rainier REDOX & 222-S Lab T-Plant U-Plant B-Plant PUREX A view toward the west of the majority of the Central Plateau with the Cascade Mountains in the distance. The Waste Treatment Plant is in the foreground and the 222-S laboratory complex is located next to the REDOX facility which is one of five canyons located on the Hanford Site. The REDOX, U-Plant, T-Plant, B-Plant, and PUREX canyons are where the original objective was plutonium removal from the uranium fuel rods after the rods had been subjected to the nuclear chain reaction in the Hanford reactors.  Officially, each of these five facilities was called a “plutonium processing facility” or a “chemical separations plant” because chemicals were required to separate the plutonium from the rest of the irradiated fuel rod. A great deal of the waste in the underground storage tanks came from the separations performed in these facilities. All of these chemical separations plants look similar to one another.  They are hundreds of feet in length, with most of them standing about 80 feet high and 70 feet wide.  If you were to go inside the main work area of one of these facilities, it’s kind of like going into a long warehouse.  There’s lots of open space with high walls.  It’s similar to being on the floor of a canyon, where you could look up and see the mountains on either side of you.  Because of the similarity to how a canyon looks, the workers who built these chemical separations plants started to call them processing “canyons”.  They remain highly contaminated after years of removing plutonium from irradiated fuel rods.  Ultimately, all five will be decontaminated and demolished. Waste Treatment Plant

Hanford Radioactive Waste Tanks Most radioactive waste tanks range between half a million to more than one million gallons of capacity.

Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Command Facility Analytical Laboratory Pretreatment Plant Low Activity Waste Vitrification Facility High Level Waste Vitrification Facility This is a February, 2013 photo of the five primary facilities which comprise the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant. Waste enters the Pretreatment Plant , is divided into High Level and Low Activity waste streams that are sent to their respective vitrification facilities. The waste is then mixed with glass forming frit, heated in a glass melter and poured into stainless steel containers to form three ton glass logs. Overall the project is about 65% complete. (see comment)

DOE ORP Mission Statement The Office of River Protection’s mission is to safeguard the nuclear waste stored in Hanford’s 177 underground tanks, and to manage the waste safely and responsibly until it can be treated in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant for final disposition.

DOE ORP Prime Contractors Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI) Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) Wastren Advantage, Inc. (WAI) Bechtel National, Inc. is responsible for the construction and commissioning of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant. WAI Laboratory provides analytical services at the 222-S Laboratory for routine tank farms operations. Washington River Protection Solutions manages all tank farms operations.

Start process analyses at the Analytical Laboratory ORP Goal for WTP by 2022 Begin operations of the Low Activity Waste (LAW) vitrification facility as soon as 2022 Start process analyses at the Analytical Laboratory Begin operations of the support facilities LAW vitrification operations expected to produce tens of thousands of low to no radioactive water samples annually to be analyzed by offsite subcontract laboratories The low to no radioactive water samples will be collected as a result of the WTPs off-gassing system.

222-S Analytical Laboratory Complex 11A Hot Cell Annex Here is an aerial view of the 222-S Analytical Complex in the Hanford Site 200 West Area. At the left is the 11A Hot Cell Annex where tank samples are received for analysis. Tank, environmental, and industrial hygiene samples are analyzed in the 222-S Laboratory. The REDOX canyon building has been deactivated. REDOX Canyon

222-S Analytical Laboratory The entrance to the laboratory is pictured here.

222-S Laboratory Analyses Waste tank retrieval -Radiochemistry, organics, inorganics, wet chemistry Tank waste phase characterization, process chemistry, and solubility studies Tank and pipe corrosion studies Separation, stabilization and/or treatment of selected waste streams Forensics solids analysis Vadose zone characterization Miscellaneous environmental and waste characterization Industrial Hygiene (IH) and environmental vapor analyses Washington River Protection Solutions’ analytical needs as the tank operations contractor cover a wide spectrum of services not offered by any one laboratory.

222-S Laboratory Contractors WRPS - Analytical method development - Process tests - Special project analyses/investigations - Organic vapor analyses - Facility operations and maintenance

222-S Laboratory Contractors (Cont’d) WAI - Provides routine inorganic, organic, and radioanalytical analyses

222-S Analytical Accreditations WRPS American Industrial Hygiene Association Laboratory Accreditation Program WAI Washington State Department of Ecology Washington River Protection Solutions is AIHA accredited. IH analyses are for Volatiles, Furans, Semi-volatiles, and Aldehydes. Wastren Hanford Laboratory is Washington State Department of Ecology (WSDOE) and AIHA accredited and participates in the MAPEP program. IH analyses are for Beryllium, Ammonia, and Mercury.

Tank Farms Organic Vapor Chemicals of Potential Concern (COPC) Comprise a different target compound list than that of EPA TO-15/17 Some of the compounds are formed due to nitration and radiolytic degradation of organics Standards are not available for many COPCs so their concentrations can only be estimated as tentatively identified compounds (TICs) by GC/MS methods of analysis

Types of Vapor Samples Routine IH personal and area Environmental tank stack emissions IH tank headspace characterization Pilot studies for area and personal canister sampling in the tank farms PPE regulator cartridge testing

Thermal Desorption Unit (TDU) Tubes Used to capture VOCs and semi VOCs Lightweight for personal monitoring May sample large volumes of air Must not exceed breakthrough volume Analyzed by GC/MS per modified EPA TO-17

Evacuated Canisters Used to sample whole air May allow for repeat analysis Can capture some analytes that TDU tubes cannot (e.g. perm gases, C2 hydrocarbons) Can take an instantaneous grab sample Analyzed by GC/MS per modified EPA TO-15

GC/MS Canister Autosampler Room 4S

Tank Headspace Samples Analytes collected on TDU tubes, sorbent tubes, and in canisters Sample head is lowered down into tank headspace at varying depths TDU tubes, canisters, Hg and NH3 sorbent tubes are analyzed at 222-S Laboratory Some sorbent tubes are analyzed at offsite laboratories for various analytes depending on the radioactivity level TDU tubes used to collect VOCs, SVOCs, and furans. Canisters used to collect VOCs. Offsite analyses include nitrosamines, amines, acetonitrile, 1,3-butadiene, aldehydes, and pyridine.

Sample Head

Assembling Sample Head

Off-Site Commercial Laboratories Nine laboratories total: 6 IH and 3 environmental laboratories for analyses not performed at 222-S Laboratory Eight of these laboratories are audited by the DOE’s Consolidated Audit Program (DOECAP) Washington River Protection Solutions utilizes eight DOECAP audited laboratories for industrial hygiene or environmental sample analyses, and one non-DOECAP audited laboratory for specialty industrial hygiene vapor analysis.

Types of Samples Analyzed by Offsite Laboratories Miscellaneous IH vapor and bulk samples that are not cost effective to analyze at 222S Laboratory Asbestos fiber counting and characterization Low and non-radioactive regulatory environmental liquid and vapors Miscellaneous RCRA liquid and solid waste Overflow samples from 222-S Laboratory These are the types of samples currently being submitted to our offsite subcontract laboratories.

Reasons for FY15 and FY16 Sample Load Increases Increasing concerns over vapor exposures in the tank farms Start-up operations at the evaporator in the tank farms to reduce the volume of highly radioactive tank waste Transfer of Effluent Treatment Facility to WRPS for operation. Analysis of waste water samples are required to determine acceptability for discharge to a state approved land disposal site.

Qualified DOECAP Laboratory Auditors WRPS maintains three DOECAP laboratory auditors, two of whom are lead auditors ORP maintains one DOECAP laboratory auditor Washington River Protection Solutions provides three DOECAP laboratory auditors and the DOE Office of River Protection provides one laboratory auditor.

DOECAP Laboratory Points of Contact Jeff Cheadle, DOE ORP Glen Clark, WRPS Here are the DOE Office of River Protection DOECAP Laboratory Points of Contact.

Non-Radiological TSDF Audits WRPS utilizes one off-site, non-radiological TSDF vendor for tank farms, 222-S laboratory and contracted WTP hazardous wastes WRPS has conducted its own audit of this vendor The vendor sends waste to several different facilities Some of these facilities are audited by DOECAP Washington River Protection Solutions utilizes one off-site, non-radiological TSDF vendor for tank farm, 222-S laboratory and contracted Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant hazardous wastes. WRPS has conducted its own audit of this vendor. The vendor sends waste to several different facilities, some of which are audited by DOECAP.

All four facilities are audited by DOECAP Radiological TSDF WRPS utilizes one off-site radiological TSDF vendor with four different facilities All four facilities are audited by DOECAP WRPS participates annually in the DOECAP audit of the local facility in Washington state Washington River Protection Solutions utilizes one off-site radiological TSDF vendor with four different facilities. All of these facilities are audited by DOECAP. WRPS participates in the DOECAP audit of the local facility in Washington state.

Qualified DOECAP TSDF Auditors WRPS maintains three DOECAP TSDF auditors Washington River Protection Solutions provides three DOECAP TSDF auditors.

DOECAP TSDF Point of Contact Jeff Cheadle, DOE ORP Here is the DOE Office of River Protection DOECAP TSDF Point of Contact.