Hanford National Laboratory

An overview is given of plutonium process chemistry used at the U. S. Department of Energy Hanford, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Rocky Flats, and Savannah River sites, with particular emphasis on solution chemistry involved in recovery, purification, and waste treatment operations. By extrapolating from the present system of processes, this paper also attempts to chart the future direction of plutonium process development and operation. Areas where a better understanding of basic plutonium chemistry will contribute to development of improved processing are indicated. 

Hanford. 1999. Hanford site environmental report for calendar year 1998. Sec. 2.5 Waste management. PNNL-12088, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA. http //www.hanford.gov/docs/annualrp98/sec2,5. December 12, 2000. 

Fayer, M. J., Gee, G.W., and Jones, T.L., UNSAT-H Version 1.0 Unsaturated Flow Code Documentation and Application for the Hanford Site, PNL-5899, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 1986. 

Studies are being conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to investigate the use of clinoptilolite as an in situ permeable barrier to strontium (Sr °) migration in groundwater at the site referred to as the 100-N area of the Hanford Site. This technology uses clinoptilolite to absorb radioactive Sr ° from groundwater. 

Fruchter, J.S., J.E. Amonette, C.R. Cole, Y.A. Corby, M.D. Humphrey, J.D. Istok, F.A. Spane, J.E. Szecsody, S.S. Teel, V.R. Vermeul, M.D. Williams, and S.B. Yabusaki. 1996. In Situ Redox Manipulation Field Injection Test Report - Hanford 100-H Area, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL-11372, UC-602. 

Hunter, J. R. in Proceedings of the First Hanford Workshop on Separation Science and Technology, Richland, WA, July 23-25, 1991, Report PNL-SA-21775, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, U.S.A., May, 1993, pp. I.5-I.10. 

N. Schroeder, S. Radinski, J. Ball, K. Ashley, S. Cobb, B. Cutrell, J. Adams, C. Johnson, and G. Whitner, Technetium partitioning for the Hanford tank waste remediation system anion exchange studies for partitioning technetium from synthetic DSSF and DSS simulants and actual Hanford wastes (101-SY and 103-SY) using Reillex -HPQ resin. Annual Report, LA-UR-95-4440 (Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1995). 

Fmchter J. S., Amonette J. E., Cole C. R., Gorby Y. A., Humphrey M. D., Istok J. D., Olsen K. B., Spane E. A., Szecsody J. E., Teel S. S., Vermeul V. R., Williams M. D., and Yabusaki S. B. (1996) In situ redox manipulation field injection test report—Hanford 100 H area. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. 

Kelley M., Mafifit L., McClellan Y., Siegel M. D., and Williams C. V. (2002) Hanford 100-N area remediation options evaluation summary report. Sandia National Laboratories. 

Seaborg and associates [LI] had found that tetravalent plutonium [Pu(IV)] could be coprecipitated from aqueous solution in good yield with insoluble bismuth phosphate BiP04, made by adding bismuth nitrate and sodium phosphate to an aqueous solution of plutonium nitrate. The bismuth phosphate process was developed at the Metallurgical Laboratory, demonstrated at the X-10 pilot plant at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1944, and put into operation for large-scale recovery of plutonium from irradiated fuel at Hanford in early 1945. 

Lambert SL, Kim DS (1994) Tank Waste Remediation System High-Level Waste Feed Processability Assessment Report. Westinghouse Hanford Company, C-SP-1143, UC-811 Lexa D (1997) Development of a substituted-fluorapatite waste form for the disposition of radioactive and toxic fluoride salt materials. Argoime National Laboratory Report ANL-NT-52, 21 p Lindberg ML, Ingram B (1964) Rare-earth silicate apatite from the Adirondack Mountains, New York. U S Geol Surv Prof Paper 501-B 64-65... 

Biomarkers of exposure to plutonium include the presence of plutonium in urine, which is identified by measuring alpha activity. From the levels of radioactivity in the urine, body burdens of plutonium may be estimated by the use of models. Body burdens of plutonium in several populations, including workers at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Rocky Flats facility, and the Hanford facility, have been estimated from urinalysis data. However, whole body burdens determined from selected tissues obtained at autopsy have generally been lower than those estimated from urinalysis data (Voelz et al. 1979). The presence of radioactivity from plutonium in urine is specific to plutonium exposure. Plutonium may be found in the urine after any exposure duration (e.g., acute, intermediate, chronic). Although it can be assumed that exposure to greater levels of plutonium would result in the presence of greater levels of radioactivity in the urine, no information was located to directly quantify this relationship. 

G.L. Voelz (Los Alamos National Laboratory) is investigating the correlation between low-level plutonium and/or external radiation exposure and lung cancer incidence or other diseases among current and former workers at Rocky Flats, Los Alamos, Mound, Savannah River, Oak Ridge, and Hanford. 

Soils may become contaminated from fallout associated with nuclear weapons tests, such as those conducted at the Trinity Site in southern New Mexico, the Pacific Proving Ground at the Enewetak Atoll, and the Nevada Test Site or with accidental, non-nuclear detonation of nuclear weapons, such as occurred at Palomares, Spain. Research facilities, such as the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, may release treated radioactive wastes under controlled conditions. Production facilities, such as the Hanford and Savannah River Plants and experimental reactor stations, for example, the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho, also released treated plutonium-bearing radioactive wastes under controlled conditions to soils (Hanson 1975). 

Williams, M. D. Yabusaki, S. B. In Situ Redox Manipulation Field Injection Test Report - Hanford 100-H Area, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 1996. 

Dirkes, R. L. Hanf, R. W. Hanford Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 1996 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland, WA, 1997 PNNL-11472. 

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