1 Characterizing Mercury Waste at DOE’s Sites & Developing Management Strategies Breaking the Mercury Cycle Conference Boston MS May 1-3, 2002 Mike Morris, ORNL Greg Hulet, INEEL

2 The Department of Energy (DOE) World Map of Active DOE Sites Depending on how you count, there are facilities/affiliations: 70+ DOE Sites? 30+ States? Millions of acres

3 Categories of DOE Mercury Wastes  Categories of DOE mercury wastes (Rad & Non-Rad)  Elemental  < 260 ppm mixed wastes (sludges, soils, etc)  >260 ppm mixed wastes (sludges, soils, etc)  Mercury contaminated debris  Mercury in oils (both 260 ppm)  Mercury in water (plant effluents, creeks, rivers)  Mercury in off gas  You name it we have it!!!!!!!!

4 Characterization of DOE Hg Wastes  Radioactive elemental mercury  6-8,000 Kg  Sites: Oak Ridge ~3,000 Kg,remaining quantity LLNL, LANL, ANL-W,  Many sites have small amounts  < 260 ppm mercury non-debris solids (waste)  Don’t have a good handle because treatment same as other RCRA metals

5 Characterization of DOE Hg Wastes Cont’  > 260 ppm mercury non-debris solids (waste)  Very large quantities at various sites  BNL ~1,100 yd 3 plus potential 6,000+ yd 3 additional  Oak Ridge (excluding Y-12) ~4,000 yd 3 with PCBs  INEEL 100s yd 3 of un-excavated along RR tracks  Many sites have some quantity of this category  As sites and facilities are decommissioned this category is expected to grow significantly  Mercury contaminated debris  Again very large quantities at various sites  All sites have some quantity of this category  As sites and facilities are decommissioned this is expected to grow even more significantly

6 Characterization of DOE Hg Wastes Cont’  Mercury in Oils both 260 ppm  <20 drums or ~ 1,000 gallons  Mercury off gas measurement and treatment  identified at many sites but will not be discussed here.

7 The Ultimate Mercury Playground Y-12-National Security Complex in Oak Ridge  50,000 yd 3 of un-excavated radioactively contaminated Hg soils  Hg in the creek at 300-1,000 ppt needing to be cleaned to 200 ppt interim and 51 ppt final. Creek flow: average 5,500 gpm, peak 70,000 gpm  Alpha 4 (~600,000 ft 3 ) Building with ~150,000 lb of non-rad Hg engrained in the equipment. Removed ~ 100,000+ lb from equipment low spots  High grade Hg storage; 4.2 million lb  2.6 million lb DOE  1.6 million lb DoD (DLA)  Many other buildings similar to Alpha 4 still in use

8 Management Strategy for Treatment of Hg Wastes Overall Management Strategy Whenever possible/practical/economical/available: Treatment by the Private Sector Preferably Off site

9 Hg Treatment Strategies  Radioactively Contaminated, Elemental Hg  Treatment: Amalgamation by sulfur or metal  Gather small quantities from the sites and treat as one waste stream under the BS contract at M&EC/PermaFix and dispose at Envirocare  Other treatment option: Envirocare  < 260 ppmHg non debris solid wastes  Treatment: Stabilization  Large streams individually or gather small quantities from the sites and treat as one waste stream under the BS contract at WCS and dispose at Envirocare  Other treatment options: M&EC/PermaFix, Envirocare or ATG

10 Hg Treatment Strategies cont’  > 260 ppmHg non debris solid wastes  Treatment: Obtain variance to RCRA for stabilization or thermal desorbtion or polymer filtration and then amalgamation of recovered radioactive elemental Hg  Large streams individually or gather small quantities from the sites and treat as one waste stream under the BS contract at M&EC/PermaFix and dispose at Envirocare  Other treatment options: Envirocare or WCS  Mercury contaminated debris  Treatment: Retort or Macroencapsulation  Establish BOA/contract for macroencapsulation & disposal at Envirocare

11 Hg Treatment Strategies cont’  Mercury contaminated debris cont’  Get a polymer macro container approved for macroencapsulation  Package on site and ship to disposal site for disposal  Mercury in Oils both 260 ppm  Treatment: Nochar with or without SAMMS  Variance to RCRA may be required for >260 ppm  Due to very small volumes, treat either at the site or at a private sector vendor

12 Conclusions  The DOE complex is very large, diverse and has most conceivable types of mercury problem/wastes  For mercury wastes currently being stored the treatment strategy is Treatment by the Private Sector, Preferably Off-Site  Treatment capabilities do exist for the most part in the private sector to treat these wastes