ABSTRACT
The Savannah River Site (SRS) has been operating a nuclear fuel cycle since the 1950s to produce nuclear materials in support of the national defense effort. About 83 million gallons of high-level waste produced since operations began has been consolidated by evaporation into 33 million gallons at the waste tank farm. The Department of Energy authorized the construction of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF), the function of which is to immobilize the waste as a durable borosilicate glass contained in stainless steel canisters prior to the placement of the canisters in a federal repository. The DWPF is now mechanically complete and is undergoing commissioning and run-in activities. A brief description of the DWPF process is provided.
DWPF startup testing, using simulated non-radioactive feeds, is scheduled to begin in November 1992 with radioactive operation scheduled to begin in May 1994. A materials evaluation program has been developed to investigate erosion/corrosion of remotely operated DWPF equipment. This materials evaluation is being performed during startup testing and will be completed in late 1993. A novel inspection device has been developed for viewing the interior of the glass melter while at operating temperature. The condition of "as-built" equipment has been evaluated using several non-destructive techniques and will be reevaluated after startup testing completion to validate materials selection, to establish wear/corrosion rates, and to predict equipment service lives.
