[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 236 (Friday, December 6, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64731-64737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-31071]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Research and Office of Environmental Management;
Energy Research Financial Assistance Program Notice 97-03;
Environmental Management Science Program
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice inviting grant applications.
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SUMMARY: The Offices of Energy Research (ER) and Environmental
Management (EM), U.S. Department of Energy, hereby announce their
interest in receiving grant applications for performance of innovative,
fundamental research to support the management and disposal of DOE
radioactive, hazardous chemical, and mixed wastes; the stabilization of
nuclear materials and spent nuclear fuel; remediation of contaminated
sites; and the decontamination and decommissioning of facilities.
The DOE Environmental Management program currently has ongoing
applied research and engineering efforts under its Technology
Development program. These efforts must be supplemented with basic
research to address long-term technical issues crucial to the EM
mission. Basic research can also provide EM with near-term fundamental
data that may be critical to the advancement of technologies that are
under development but not yet at full scale nor implemented. Proposed
basic research under this notice should contribute to environmental
management activities that would decrease risk for the public and
workers, provide opportunities for major cost reductions, reduce time
required to achieve EM's mission goals, and, in general, should address
problems that are considered intractable without new knowledge. This
program is designed to inspire ``breakthroughs'' in areas critical to
the EM mission through basic research and will be managed in
partnership with ER. ER's well-established procedures, as set forth in
the Energy Research Merit Review System, as published in the Federal
Register, March 11, 1991, (56 FR 10244), will be used for merit review
of applications submitted in response to this notice. This information
is also available on the World Wide Web at http://www.er.doe.gov/
production/grants/merit.html.
Subsequent to the formal scientific merit review, applications that
are judged to be scientifically meritorious will be evaluated by DOE
for relevance to the objectives of the Environmental Management Science
Program. Additional information can be obtained at http://
www.em.doe.gov/science.
DATES: Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a brief
preapplication. All preapplications, referencing Program Notice 97-03,
should be received by DOE by 4:30 P.M. E.S.T., January 15,1997. A
response encouraging or discouraging a formal application generally
will be communicated to the applicant within three weeks of receipt.
The deadline for receipt of formal applications is 4:30 P.M., E.D.T.,
April 16,1997, in order to be accepted for merit review and to permit
timely consideration for award in Fiscal Year 1997.
ADDRESSES: All preapplications, referencing Program Notice 97-03,
should be sent to Dr. Roland F. Hirsch, ER-73, Mail Stop F-240, Office
of Health and Environmental Research, U.S. Department of Energy, 19901
Germantown Road, Germantown, Maryland 20874-1290, telephone: (301) 903-
5349. Preapplications will be accepted if submitted by United States
Postal Service, including Express Mail, commercial mail delivery
service, or hand delivery, but will not be accepted by fax, electronic
mail, or other means.
After receiving notification from DOE concerning successful
preapplications, applicants may prepare formal applications using the
instructions in the Office of Energy Research Application Guide and in
the Supplementary Information in this notice. Applications must be sent
to: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Research, Grants and
Contracts Division, ER-64, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, Maryland
20874-1290, Attn: Program Notice 97-03. The above address for formal
applications must also be used when submitting formal applications by
U.S. Postal Service Express Mail, any commercial mail delivery service,
or when hand carried by the applicant. Please note that notification of
a successful preapplication is not an indication that an award will be
made in response to the formal application.
Awards
Multiple-year funding of grant awards is anticipated, contingent
upon the availability of funds. Award sizes are expected to be on the
order of $100,000-$300,000 per year for total project costs for a
typical three year grant. Applications for collaborative projects
involving several research groups or more than one institution may
receive larger awards if merited. Investigators considering submitting
collaborative projects are encouraged to prepare a single application
incorporating the entire research program and a combined
[[Page 64732]]
budget as well as separate budgets for each collaborating institution.
DOE reserves the right to fund in whole or part any or none of the
applications received in response to this Notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Roland F. Hirsch, ER-73, Mail Stop
F-240, Office of Health and Environmental Research, Office of Energy
Research, U.S. Department of Energy, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown,
Maryland 20874-1290, telephone: (301) 903-5349, fax: (301) 903-0567,
electronic mail: roland.hirsch@oer.doe.gov, or Dr. Carol J. Henry,
Office of Science and Technology, Office of Environmental Management,
1000 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, telephone: (202)
586-7150, electronic mail: carol.henry@em.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Environmental Management, in
partnership with the Office of Energy Research, sponsors the
Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP) to fulfill DOE's
continuing commitment to the cleanup of DOE's environmental legacy. The
program was initiated in Fiscal Year 1996.
Purpose
The need to build a stronger scientific basis for the Environmental
Management effort has been established in a number of recent studies
and reports. Among the important observations and recommendations made
by the Galvin Commission (``Alternative Futures for the Department of
Energy National Laboratories,'' February 1995) are the following:
There is a particular need for long term, basic research in
disciplines related to environmental cleanup * * *. Adopting a
science-based approach that includes supporting development of
technologies and expertise * * * could lead to both reduced cleanup
costs and smaller environmental impacts at existing sites and to the
development of a scientific foundation for advances in environmental
technologies.
The objectives of the Environmental Management Science Program are
to:
Provide scientific knowledge that will revolutionize
technologies and clean-up approaches to significantly reduce future
costs, schedules, and risks; and
``Bridge the gap'' between broad fundamental research that
has wide-ranging applicability such as that performed in DOE's Office
of Energy Research and needs-driven applied technology development that
is conducted in EM's Office of Science and Technology; and
Focus the Nation's science infrastructure on critical DOE
environmental management problems.
Representative Research Areas
Basic research is solicited in all areas of science with the
potential for addressing one or more of the areas of concern to the
Department's Environmental Management program. The scientific
disciplines relevant to the program include, but are not limited to,
biology (including cellular and molecular biology, ecology,
bioremediation, genetics, biochemistry, and structural biology; plant
sciences are listed as a separate category below), chemistry (including
analytical chemistry, catalysis, heavy element chemistry, inorganic
chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, and separations
chemistry), computational sciences (including research and development
of mathematical/ numerical, informatics, and communication procedures
and software technology, for example for deterministic simulations and
optimization), engineering sciences (including control systems and
optimization, diagnostics, transport processes, thermophysical
properties and bioengineering), geosciences (including geophysical
imaging, physicochemical dynamics and chemical transport in fluid-rock
systems, and hydrogeology), health sciences, materials science
(including condensed matter physics, metallurgy, ceramics, waste
minimization, welding and joining, degradation mechanisms, and remote
sensing and monitoring), physics (including atomic, molecular, optical,
and fluid physics) and plant science (including mechanisms of mineral
uptake, intercellular transport, and concentration and sequestration).
Projects in bioremediation that fall within the scope of Notices
issued by the Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research (NABIR)
Program of the Office of Energy Research (such as Notice 97-04) should
be submitted to that program rather than to the Environmental
Management Science Program. Projects outside the scope of NABIR but
within the scope of this Notice may be submitted to the EMSP.
Applicants to the EMSP are strongly encouraged to collaborate with
researchers in other institutions, such as universities, industry, non-
profit organizations, the DOE National Laboratories, and/or other
Federal Laboratories, where appropriate, and to incorporate cost
sharing and/or consortia wherever feasible. Applicants are encouraged
to provide training opportunities, including student involvement, in
applications submitted to the program.
Major Environmental Management Challenges
The following is an overview of the major technical challenges
facing the Environmental Management program that are the focus of this
announcement. More detailed descriptions of the specific technical
needs and areas of emphasis associated with these problem areas can be
found in the background section of this Notice.
The Department is the guardian of over 300 large storage tanks
containing over 100 million gallons of highly radioactive wastes, which
include organic and inorganic chemical compounds, in solid, colloidal,
slurry, and liquid phases. The environment within the tanks is highly
radioactive and chemically harsh. A few of the tanks have leaked to the
environment while others are corroding. The contents of these tanks
need to be characterized, removed from the tanks, treated, and
converted to safe forms for disposal.
The Department is the custodian of several thousand metric tons of
spent nuclear reactor fuels, resulting primarily from weapons
fabrication activities during the Cold War, but also including fuel
from research and naval reactors. The long-term containment performance
of the fuel under storage and disposal conditions is uncertain. Such
uncertainties affect the ability to license disposal methods.
The Office of Environmental Management is the custodian of large
quantities of fissile materials which were left in the manufacturing
and processing facilities after the United States halted its nuclear
weapons production activities. These materials include plutonium
solutions, plutonium metals and oxides, plutonium residues and
compounds, highly enriched uranium, and nuclides of other actinides.
Additional scientific information is required to choose processes for
converting these materials to stable forms.
The Department currently has on its sites over one hundred sixty
thousand cubic meters of waste containing both radioactive and
hazardous materials. This mixed waste contains a wide variety of
materials, as varied as protective clothing, machining products and
wastes, packaging materials, and process liquids. Fundamental
scientific data are needed to improve processes associated with
treatment systems, such as characterization, pre-treatment, and
monitoring.
[[Page 64733]]
The Department is committed to the safe disposal of all radioactive
wastes, including high-level wastes, mixed wastes, and fissile
materials. Safe disposal of these materials requires that the wide
range of potential waste streams be converted into insoluble materials
for long term storage. Some radioactive material-containing forms have
been successfully developed and are being produced; however, at
present, research challenges still exist in developing suitable forms
for each material to be stored.
The Department is currently conducting cleanup activities at many
of its sites, and is preparing plans for additional remediation work.
There is much scientific uncertainty about the levels of risk to human
health at the end stages of the DOE clean-up effort.
The aforementioned areas of emphasis do not preclude, and DOE
strongly encourages, any innovative or creative ideas contributing to
solving EM challenges mentioned throughout this Notice.
Application Evaluation and Selection
Scientific Merit. The program will support the most
scientifically meritorious and relevant work, regardless of the
institution. Formal applications will be subjected to scientific merit
review (peer review) and will be evaluated against the following
evaluation criteria listed in descending order of importance as
codified at 10 CFR 605.10(d).
1. Scientific and/or Technical Merit of the Project
2. Appropriateness of the Proposed Method or Approach
3. Competency of Applicant's Personnel and Adequacy of Proposed
Resources
4. Reasonableness and Appropriateness of the Proposed Budget.
External peer reviewers are selected with regard to both their
scientific expertise and the absence of conflict-of-interest issues.
Non-federal reviewers may be used, and submission of an application
constitutes agreement that this is acceptable to the investigator(s)
and the submitting institution.
Relevance to Mission. Subsequent to the formal scientific
merit review, applications which are judged to be scientifically
meritorious will be evaluated by DOE for relevance to the objectives of
the Environmental Management Science Program. These objectives were
established in the Conference Report for the Fiscal Year 1996 Energy
and Water Development Appropriations Act, and are published in the
Congressional Record--House, October 26, 1995, page H10956.
DOE shall also consider, as part of the evaluation, program policy
factors such as an appropriate balance among the program areas,
including research already in progress. Research funded in the
Environmental Management Science Program in Fiscal Year 1996 can be
reviewed at http://www.doe.gov/em52/science-grants.html.
Application Format
Applicants are expected to use the following format in addition to
following instructions in the Office of Energy Research Application
Guide. Applications must be written in English, with all budgets in
U.S. dollars.
ER standard face page (DOE F 4650.2 (10-91))
Application classification sheet (see below for list of
categories)
Table of Contents
Project Abstract (no more than one page)
Budgets for each year and a summary budget page for the
entire project period (using DOE F 4620.1)
Budget Explanation
Budgets and Budget explanation for each collaborative
subproject, if any
Project Narrative (recommended length is no more than 20
pages; multi-investigator collaborative projects may use more pages if
necessary up to a total of 40 pages)
Goals
Significance of Project to the EMSP
Background
Research Plan
Preliminary Studies (if applicable)
Research Design and Methodologies
Literature Cited
Collaborative Arrangements (if applicable)
Biographical Sketches (limit 2 pages per senior
investigator)
Description of Facilities and Resources
Current and Pending Support for each senior investigator
While the original application and seven required copies must be
submitted, applicants are encouraged to also provide a 3.5-inch
diskette containing the application in electronic format. The label on
the diskette must clearly identify the institution, principal
investigator, title of application, and the computer system and program
used to prepare the document.
Application Categories
In order to properly classify each preapplication and application
for evaluation and review, the documents must indicate the applicant's
preferred scientific research field and environmental category,
selected from the following lists. More than one environmental category
may be indicated if desired.
Field of Scientific Research
1. Biology, not including plant science
Chemical Sciences (2-6):
2. Analytical Chemistry and Instrumentation
3. Catalysis
4. Heavy Element Chemistry
5. Separations Chemistry
6. Other Topics in Chemistry
7. Computer and Mathematical Sciences
8. Engineering Sciences
Geosciences (9-11):
9. Geophysics
10. Geochemistry
11. Hydrogeology: Flow Modeling and Subsurface Science
12. Health Sciences
13. Materials Science
14. Physics
15. Plant Science
16. Other
Environmental Category:
A. Decontamination/Decommissioning
B. Health/Ecology/Risk
C. High-level Radioactive Waste
D. Waste Disposal Forms
E. Fissile materials
F. Spent Nuclear Fuel
G. Subsurface Characterization
H. Subsurface Contaminant Treatment
I. Waste Characterization & Separations
J. Waste Treatment & Destruction
K. Other
Program Schedule
Preapplications must be received by DOE on or before January 15,
1997, and full applications on or before April 16, 1997, at the times
and addresses noted above. It is anticipated that awards will be made
no later than September 30, 1997.
Program Funding
Up to a total of $20,000,000 of Fiscal Year 1997 Federal funds is
expected to be available for new Environmental Management Science
Program awards resulting from both this Notice and a parallel
announcement to government laboratories and Federally Funded Research
and Development Centers, including the DOE national laboratories. All
projects will be evaluated using the same criteria, regardless of the
submitting institution. The program will be competitive and offered to
investigators in universities or other institutions of higher
education, other
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non-profit or for-profit organizations, non-Federal agencies or
entities, or unaffiliated individuals. Apart from this notice, the
program also will be offered to DOE national laboratories and other
Federal laboratories.
Preapplications
A brief preapplication may be submitted. The original and five
copies must be received by January 15, 1997, to be considered. The
preapplication should identify on the cover sheet the institution,
name, address, telephone, fax and electronic mail address for the
principal investigator, title of the project, and the field of
scientific research and category(ies) of environmental application to
which the project is responding (using the list above). The
preapplication should consist of up to three pages of narrative
describing the research objectives and the plan for accomplishing them,
and should also include a paragraph describing the research background
of the principal investigator and key collaborators if any. A 3.5 inch
diskette containing the preapplication in any common word processing
format may also be submitted in addition to the required printed
copies.
Preapplications will be evaluated relative to the scope and
research needs of the DOE's Environmental Management Science Program by
qualified DOE program managers from both ER and EM. Preapplications are
strongly encouraged but not required prior to submission of a full
application.
Information
Information about the development, submission of applications,
eligibility, limitations, evaluation, the selection process, and other
policies and procedures may be found in 10 CFR Part 605, and in the
Application Guide for the Office of Energy Research Financial
Assistance Program. The Application Guide is available from the U.S.
Department of Energy, Office of Energy Research, ER-73, 19901
Germantown Road, Germantown, Maryland 20874-1290. Telephone requests
may be made by calling (301) 903-5349. Electronic access to ER's
Financial Assistance Application Guide and forms is possible via the
World Wide Web at http://www.er.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html.
Background
The United States involvement in nuclear weapons development for
the last 50 years has resulted in the development of a vast research,
production, and testing network known as the nuclear weapons complex.
The Department has begun the environmental remediation of the complex
encompassing radiological and nonradiological hazards, vast volumes of
contaminated water and soil, and over 7,000 contaminated structures.
The Department must characterize, treat, and dispose of hazardous and
radioactive wastes that have been accumulating for more than 50 years
at 120 sites in 36 states and territories. By 1995, the Department had
spent about $23 billion in identifying and characterizing its waste,
managing it, and assessing the remediation necessary for its sites and
facilities. Over the next ten years at current budget projections,
another $60 billion will be spent. The DOE cleanup of the Cold War
legacy is the largest cleanup program in the Federal Government, even
larger than that of the Department of Defense legacy. The Office of
Environmental Management (EM) is responsible for waste management and
cleanup of DOE sites. The EM operations have been historically
compliance-based and driven to meet established goals in the shortest
time possible using either existing technologies or those that could be
developed and demonstrated within a few years. Environmental Management
is also responsible for conducting the program for waste minimization
and pollution prevention for the Department.
The variety and volume of the Department's current activities make
this effort a challenge itself. In some cases, fundamental science
questions will have to be addressed before a technology or process can
be engineered. There is a need to involve more basic science
researchers in the challenges of the Department's remediation effort.
The Office of Energy Research (ER) addresses fundamental, frequently
long-term, research issues related to the many missions of the
Department. The Environmental Management Science Program will use ER's
experience in managing fundamental research to address the needs of
technology breakthroughs in EM's programs.
This research agenda has been developed for Fiscal Year 1997, along
with a development process for a long term program within EM, with the
objective of providing continuity in scientific knowledge that will
revolutionize technologies and clean-up approaches for solving DOE's
most complex environmental problems. The following are descriptions of
the technical challenges in addressing many of these issues, in areas
which are of particular interest for this notice.
High-level Radioactive Waste Tanks. The Department is the guardian
of over 300 large storage tanks containing over 100 million gallons of
highly radioactive wastes, which include organic and inorganic chemical
compounds, in solid, colloidal, slurry, and liquid phases. The
environment within the tanks is highly radioactive and chemically
harsh. A few of the tanks have leaked to the environment while others
are corroding.
Specific areas of emphasis in technology needs and research
challenges related to high-level waste tank problems include, but are
not limited to:
The characterization and safe removal of the contents of
these tanks, with the contents converted into forms suitable for long-
term storage. Particular challenges include the need for improved
characterization and separation methods of these wastes, including
pretreatment, and methods to reduce the total volume of waste requiring
long-term storage, which will reduce the large disposal costs
associated with these wastes. Problems exist in the plugging of
transport lines, mobilizing waste sludge, leak detection, process
control, and conversion to final waste forms.
The separation of complex chemical and radioactive waste
to minimize the final volume of high level waste remaining after
processing. The removal of liquid from sludges is a difficult
challenge. There is not yet sufficient understanding of the factors
that control the selectivity and efficacy of chemical and physical
interactions, including structure-function relationships, and the
effect of particle shapes and kinetics. In pretreatment unit operations
there is a need to understand waste behavior and effects at waste
processing interfaces, as well as how pretreatment processes affect the
ability to transport waste between unit operations. Difficulties also
exist in separating radioactive species from high ionic strength,
multi-component aqueous solutions of salts dominated by species such as
sodium nitrate, nitrite, carbonate, and phosphate. Separation of
radionuclides and hazardous substances from solid (e.g. calcined) waste
streams is also of interest.
The physical state of the wastes in storage tanks. Some
tanks contain distinct layers of sludge, salt cake and supernatant, and
these layers may also not be homogeneous. There is evidence that much
of the solid waste exists as colloidal particles that may remain
suspended, settle out of solution, or gel and solidify with changes in
conditions. Fine solids or colloidal particulates can
[[Page 64735]]
carry a large fraction of contaminant and can interfere with subsequent
processing. Important unknown factors which inhibit the remediation of
tank wastes include the effects of temperature, pH, particle chemistry
and morphology on agglomeration, sedimentation, viscosity,
partitioning, dissolution, and speciation.
The optimization of waste conversion processes. The
presence of radionuclides results in radiation-induced, high-energy
chemical reactions and in waste heating, which can accelerate chemical
reactions. Some of these reactions may be catalyzed by extreme pH
conditions and an array of active surface sites on the solids suspended
in the waste. These processes lead to considerable variability in the
chemical composition of the waste and therefore to difficulties in
treatment process design. Some wastes or processes include byproducts
which are unacceptable for long-term storage (e.g. organics, nitrates,
nitrites, ferrocyanides, nitrogen oxides, chlorinated hydrocarbons) and
which therefore must be destroyed or eliminated from the system.
Treatment of both acidic and alkaline (up to several molar hydroxide)
aqueous solutions is required.
Spent Nuclear Fuel. The Department is the custodian of several
thousand metric tons of spent nuclear reactor fuels which resulted
primarily from weapons fabrication activities during the Cold War, but
also include fuel from research and naval reactors. The long-term
containment performance of the fuel under storage and disposal
conditions is uncertain. Such uncertainties affect the ability to
license disposal methods.
Specific areas of emphasis in technology needs and research
challenges related to spent nuclear fuel problems include, but are not
limited to:
Mechanisms which may adversely affect the performance of
the fuel package during storage must be identified. Deleterious effects
which are incompletely characterized include: radiolytic effects of the
radiation field on surrounding materials; corrosion, degradation, and
radionuclide release mechanisms and rates for the representative fuel
matrices; mechanisms which may lead to accelerated degradation of
containers; dissolution characteristics of the matrices; and the
effects of microbes on fuel packages. Some fuel storage pools have
water clarity problems during fuel movement which affect safe
operations.
A technical basis is required for other steps in the spent
fuel program, including: mechanisms of pyrophoricity and combustion
parameters for various fuel types; gas generation during processing;
determination of moisture content of fuel and maximum acceptable amount
of moisture; degradation mechanisms and kinetics of spent fuel in a dry
storage environment over a period of several decades; fissile and
radioisotopic content of some spent fuel types; segregation behavior of
elements; control of criticality in the very long term; and synergistic
effects. Methods to remove moisture without damage to the structure of
fuel elements are required.
Some spent fuel types require additional characterization,
such as fission and/or gamma ray nondestructive assay or evaluation,
before disposal activities can be commenced. Current characterization
methods are either extremely expensive or may not yield the necessary
information for performance criteria for safe interim storage,
transportation, and repository deposition. Thermodynamic and kinetic
properties of miscellaneous spent fuel types, such as mixed oxide
fuels, are not known to the level of detail needed to include them in a
general purpose treatment process. Online measurement of fissile
content and nuclear poisons during stabilization must be developed.
Fissile Materials. The Office of Environmental Management is the
custodian of large quantities of fissile materials which were left in
the manufacturing and processing facilities after the United States
halted its nuclear weapons production activities. These materials
include plutonium solutions, plutonium metals and oxides, plutonium
residues and compounds, highly enriched uranium, and nuclides of other
actinides.
Specific areas of emphasis in technology needs and research
challenges related to fissile material problems include, but are not
limited to:
Gaps exist in the information base needed for choosing
among the alternate processes to be used in safe conversion of various
types of fissile materials to optimal forms for safe interim storage,
long term storage, and ultimate disposition. Necessary information
includes accurate determination of thermodynamic redox potentials and
heterogeneous electron transfer kinetics of selected actinides and
actinide complexes; characterization of plutonium compound solubility
in aqueous phosphate and sulfate media; actinide chemical
thermodynamics and kinetics; behavior of mixed oxidation states of
plutonium-containing materials; plutonium diffusion and corrosion
behavior; the application of acid solution separation processes to
neutralized and alkaline residues and wastes; the nature and effect of
actinide interactions with organometallics, surfaces, and organic
residues; and the performance of various analytical methods, including
x-ray tomography, digital radiography, acoustic resonance spectroscopy,
and actinide self-fluorescence.
Mixed hazardous and radioactive low-level waste. The term ``mixed
waste'' refers to waste containing both radioactive and hazardous
materials. There is currently estimated to be about 167,000 cubic
meters of mixed waste in storage awaiting treatment and disposal. There
are over 1,400 different mixed waste streams in inventory, located at
38 separate sites in 19 states. This inventory will be increased with
newly generated mixed waste resulting from DOE's ongoing activities in
environmental restoration, facility decontamination, and transition
processes. Existing treatment and disposal capacities are presently too
limited to allow the treatment and disposal of this inventory of mixed
wastes. Research at a fundamental scientific level could lead to
innovative processes or technologies, or could provide data to permit
the advancement of technologies currently under development.
Specific areas of emphasis in technology needs and research
challenges related to mixed waste problems include, but are not limited
to:
Characterization technologies for non-destructive
evaluation of drum and box contents for the presence of materials
defined by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act as hazardous in
the waste, and for segregating and routing incoming waste streams to
appropriate treatment processes, are lacking. Effluent monitoring must
be improved to optimize treatment operations, and to ensure compliance
with applicable environmental requirements.
Sorting of the large volume of wastes is impractical
without improved nondestructive, noninvasive measurement techniques.
Long-term performance of advanced waste forms still must be
ascertained. To support equipment design and permitting of high-
temperature treatment processes, more information is needed on the
thermodynamics, transport and generation of regulated hazardous
materials and radionuclides in these processes. Real time monitors for
heavy metals, dioxins, and volatile organic compounds are also not
available. Alternatively, nonthermal treatment processes could be used,
but major
[[Page 64736]]
technical issues remain unresolved. Methods for direct removal of
radioactive material are also of interest.
Monitoring for the presence of mercury and other toxic
metals in wastes, and removal of mercury from wastes, are high
priorities but large-scale techniques are not yet available. Relative
to mercury containing wastes, methods are required for the
stabilization of mercury and for the amalgamation of bulk, non-
recyclable mercury to meet Universal Treatment Standards and
leachability testing standards. Improvements are required in techniques
for identifying alpha-emitting radionuclides.
Removal of radioactive components from waste in solid
forms. These wastes include sludges from defense reprocessing
activities, metals and concrete from decontamination and
decommissioning activities, and calcined wastes. Highly radioactive
sludges are typically metal oxides with large amounts of potentially
soluble materials such as sodium or aluminum. A method for direct
removal of the small radioactive fraction of these materials would
greatly reduce disposal costs, but such methods are lacking.
Waste Disposal Forms. Safe disposal of radioactive wastes requires
that a wide range of potential waste streams be converted into
insoluble materials for long term storage. Some radioactive material-
containing forms have been successfully developed and are being
produced; however, the forms must be developed and optimized for each
material to be stored, including high-level wastes, low-level wastes,
mixed wastes, and fissile materials.
Specific examples of technology needs and research challenges
relating to waste forms include, but are not limited to:
Borosilicate glass is a waste form which is currently used
for the storage of some high level waste and is considered a candidate
for disposal of other high and low level wastes. It is unclear whether
all waste types can be dissolved in borosilicate glass. Many common
waste components, such as phosphates, sulfates, and chromates, are
thought to have low solubilities. Some extractant materials, such as
crystalline silicotitanate, may have limited solubilities as well.
A better understanding of waste form leaching performance
is required, including the hydrodynamics of fluids in cracked media,
transport phenomena and phase separation at surfaces, and radiation-
enhanced dissolution at interfaces. Validated chemical and
thermodynamic models are required to predict leaching and gas bubble
formation. The structure and bonding of waste components in waste
forms, as well as the effect of the waste and the radiation field on
stability, solubility, durability, and processing of the host, must be
elucidated.
Waste forms for mixed waste which have higher waste
loading, improved stability and chemical durability than current forms
are required to reduce disposal costs and facilitate waste acceptance.
Evaluation of the long-term performance is required to ensure that
disposal satisfies stakeholder concerns and regulatory requirements.
Vitrification of certain plutonium-contaminated waste
materials may be preferred to cementation due to the lower volume of
the final waste form. Vitrification has not been as highly developed
for actinide residues or wastes as for fission product wastes. For
other actinide wastes, mineral waste forms may be preferred; however,
an enhanced technical basis for alternate waste forms for stabilizing
plutonium is needed before mineral compositions can be used as
intermediate- and long-term storage materials.
Risk, Quantitative Methodologies, Human and Environmental Health
Analyses. There is much scientific uncertainty about the levels of risk
to human health at the end stages of the DOE clean-up effort. Research
challenges in the area of risk, quantitative, and health analyses
include, but are not limited to:
Accurate risk analyses require thorough knowledge of
contaminant characteristics, basic ecological processes and principles,
rates at which contaminants move through ecosystems, and health and
ecological effects. In particular, better knowledge of radionuclide and
toxic chemical transport dynamics and the potential effects of long-
term exposure to low levels of radionuclides, in combination with other
contaminants, is essential.
--There is a need for health and environmental research to support
adoption of performance standards that present quantifiable criteria
for the levels to which high level waste tanks must be cleaned prior to
closure.
Research is required to improve understanding of
threatened and damaged ecosystems and processes to restore the
viability and quality of these ecosystems.
Details of the programs of the Office of Environmental Management
and the technologies currently under development or in use by
Environmental Management Program can be found on the World Wide Web at
http://www.em.doe.gov and at the extensive links contained therein.
These programs and technologies should be used to obtain a better
understanding of the missions and challenges in environmental
management in DOE when considering areas of research to be proposed.
References for Background Information
Note: World Wide Web locations of these documents are provided
where possible. For those without access to the World Wide Web, hard
copies of these references may be obtained by writing Dr. Carol J.
Henry at the address listed in the contacts section.
DOE. 1996. Estimating the Cold War Mortgage: The 1996 Baseline
Environmental Management Report. March 1996. U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Environmental Management, Washington, D.C.
http://www.em.doe.gov/bemr96/index.html
DOE. 1996. Office of Environmental Restoration EM-40.
http://www.em.doe.gov/er/index.html
DOE. 1996. Office of Nuclear Material and Facility Stabilization EM-60.
http://www.em.doe.gov/menu/?nucmat.html
DOE. 1996. Office of Science and Risk Policy EM-52 and Environmental
Management Science Program.
http://www.em.doe.gov/science/
DOE. 1996. Office of Science and Technology EM-50.
http://www.em.doe.gov/menu/?techdev.html
DOE. 1996. Office of Waste Management EM-30.
http://www.em.doe.gov/menu/?wstmgmt.html
DOE. 1996. Spent Nuclear Fuel. DOE-Owned SNF Technology Integration
Plan. U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC. DOE/SNF-PP-002, May
1996.
DOE. 1996. Taking Stock: A Look at the Opportunities and Challenges
Posed by Inventories from the Cold War Era. The U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of Environmental Management, Washington, DC.
http://www.em.doe.gov/takstock/index.html
DOE. 1996. Tank Waste Information Network System.
http://twins.pnl.gov:8001/refmain.html
DOE. 1995. Closing the Circle on the Splitting of the Atom: The
Environmental Legacy of Nuclear Weapons Production in the United States
and What the Department of Energy is Doing About It. The U.S.
[[Page 64737]]
Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Management, Office of
Strategic Planning and Analysis, Washington, D.C.
http://www.em.doe.gov/circle/index.html
DOE. 1995. Environmental Management 1995: Progress and Plans of the
Environmental Management Program. The U.S. Department of Energy, Office
of Environmental Management, Washington, D.C.
http://www.em.doe.gov/em95/
DOE. 1995. Risks and the Risk Debate: Searching for Common Ground ``The
First Step''. The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Environmental
Management, Washington, D.C.
http://raleigh.dis.anl.gov:81/cgi-bin/dispdoc--return.pl?rrd+1
DOE. 1995. Technology Summary Reports, June 1995 (Rainbow Books)
http://www.em.doe.gov/rain/
Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. 1996. Mixed Waste Focus Area
Integrated Technical Baseline Report. Volumes 1 and 2. U.S. Department
of Energy, Idaho Operations Office, Idaho Falls, Idaho. DOE/ID-10524.
http://wastenot.inel.gov/mwfa/doe_id-10524.html
National Commission on Superfund Members. Final Consensus Report of the
National Commission on Superfund. March 1994. Keystone Center and the
Environmental Law Center of Vermont Law School.
National Environmental Technology Strategy. Bridge to a Sustainable
Future. April 1995. National Science and Technology Council,
Washington, D.C.
http://www.gnet.org/gnet/gov/usgov/whitehouse/bridge/bridge.html
National Research Council. 1996. Building an Environmental Management
Science Program: Initial Assessment. National Academy Press,
Washington, DC.
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/envmanage/
National Research Council. 1995. Improving the Environment: An
Evaluation of DOE's Environmental Management Program. National Academy
Press, Washington, D.C.
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/doeemp/
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Hanford Tank Cleanup: A Guide to
Understanding the Technical Issues. R.E. Gephart, R.E. Lundgren.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington. NTIS Order
number: DE96004127. Report Number: PNL-10773. To order, call the NTIS
sales desk at (703) 487-4650.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Tanks Focus Area FY 1996 Site
Needs Assessment. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland,
Washington. PNL-11091.
Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. Alternative Futures for the
Department of Energy National Laboratories. February 1995. Task Force
on alternative Futures for the Department of Energy National
Laboratories, Washington, D.C.
http://www.doe.gov/html/doe/whatsnew/galvin/tf-rpt.html
U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. Complex Cleanup: The
Environmental Legacy of Nuclear Weapons Production, February 1991. U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. NTIS Order number:
PB91143743. To order, call the NTIS sales desk at (703) 487-4650.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1996. Availability of 1997 Grants
for Research.
http://es.inel.gov/ncerqa/rfa97/eparfa97.html
(The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for this program
is 81.049, and the solicitation control number is ERFAP 10 CFR Part
605)
Issued in Washington, DC on December 2, 1996.
John Rodney Clark,
Associate Director for Resource Management, Office of Energy Research.
[FR Doc. 96-31071 Filed 12-5-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
