PROGRAM AREA OVERVIEW --
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
With the end
of the Cold War, the Department of Energy (DOE) is focusing on understanding
and eliminating the enormous environmental problems created by the
Department's historical mission of nuclear weapons production. The DOE's Office of Environmental Management (EM) seeks to
eliminate these threats to human health and the environment, as well as to
prevent pollution from on-going activities.
The goals for waste management and environmental remediation include
meeting regulatory compliance agreements, reducing the cost and risk
associated with waste treatment and disposal, and expediently deploying
technologies to accomplish these activities.
While radioactive contaminants are the prime concern, hazardous metals
and organics, as defined by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA),
are also important.
EM
responsibilities include the remediation of radioactive and toxic wastes to
their original background levels and the deactivation and decommissioning
(D&D) of thousands of contaminated facilities.
With regard to site remediation, DOE is responsible to locate and
remediate plumes to prevent contamination of groundwater as well as the
potential off-site migration of the contaminated plume.
New or improved technologies are sought to address issues related to
materials for reactive barriers and for in situ monitoring systems to
facilitate the use of reactive barriers.
DOE is also responsible for reducing the volume of contaminated
concrete and associated waste streams; therefore, new or improved technologies
are needed to separate contaminates from concrete.
DOE also sponsors research to reduce risks to workers from potential
exposures associated with decontamination and decommissioning activities,
therefore, new or improved technologies are sought for remote cutting or
sizing technologies and for multi-purpose remote platforms.
The
following two topics solicit grant applications for reactive barriers and
monitoring systems for groundwater remediation and decontamination and
decommissioning of facilities. Background
information on the research needs associated with these topics can be found on
the World Wide Web (http://www.em.doe.gov),
by clicking on a State and under the Office of Science and Technology (http://apps.em.doe.gov/ost).
Several DOE sites have plumes in the subsurface that
are contaminated with metals, organics, and/or radionuclides.
The plumes identified at DOE sites include a trichloroethylene-technetium
plume at Paducah, a carbon tetrachloride plume at Hanford, a mercury plume at
Oak Ridge, a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) plume at Oak Ridge, a uranium
plume at Fernald, and a chromium plume at Lawrence Livermore.
Details on these and other plumes can be found on the web at www.em.doe.gov.
The current approach to remediating these plumes, once they are
located, involves pump-and-treat operations, a process that manages, but may
not eliminate, the risks associated with the plumes.
A further concern is that the life-cycle costs for pump-and-treat
operations may be significant and may impede final site closure.
Another approach, which could be used along with pump-and-treat
operations, involves the construction of barriers that react with the
contaminant to prevent plume spread. The
reactions are intended to convert the plume into a non-mobile form or to
convert the contaminants into non-toxic materials.
Both strategies may be required in order to eliminate both the risks
associated with the contaminants as well as the potential for off-site
contamination. In addition, reactive barriers may offer better life-cycle
costs, better protection for the environment, and the elimination of some of
the risks associated with contaminated plumes.
However, before any approach can be attempted, the nature of the
contamination must be characterized, often in difficult-to-access locations.
Additional information on these needs can be found at the following
websites: http://apps.em.doe.gov/ost/progstcg.html
and http://www.cmst.org.
Grant applications are sought only in the following
subtopics:
a. Materials for
Reactive Barriers—Reactive barriers usually consist of deep beds of reactive
material (e. g., zero-valent iron, ion-exchange materials) placed in the path
of the plume. A barrier could
also be formed by incorporating reactive compounds in the soil in the path of
the plume, including the soil surrounding the source of contamination.
Because long-term plume control is desired, the barrier must contain
sufficient material for treating all the contaminant in the plume or else the
barrier material must be economically replaceable.
Grant applications are sought to develop new barrier materials with
either reactive or absorptive capabilities.
Contaminants of interest include halogenated hydrocarbons such as
trichloroethylene, carbon tetrachloride, and PCBs; inorganic contaminants such
as lead, chromium, mercury, and other RCRA metals; and radioactive isotopes
such as those of uranium, technetium, strontium, and cesium.
Grant applications should clearly identify the contaminants to be
addressed and the soil and subsurface conditions for the reactive barrier.
Of particular interest are barrier materials capable of removing or
stabilizing more than one contaminant. Barrier
materials (1) must be capable of effective operation for long periods of time;
(2) must be sufficiently selective so as not to be quickly consumed (if
reactive materials) or loaded (if absorptive) by non-contaminant plume
materials (target contaminants usually represent only a tiny fraction of plume
material, and bulk ions, such as calcium and magnesium, which are almost
always present in groundwater, must not load any reactive material or displace
absorbed contaminant); and (3) must not degrade in use by, for example,
biodegradation of organic barrier materials or poisoning of reactive
materials. Finally, it is desirable that any spent barrier be easily disposed
of in place or elsewhere. This requires that the spent barrier material be sufficiently
stable to last indefinitely, be able to convert the pollutant into a stable
form (as by mineralization), or be able to be regenerated.
b. In
Situ Monitoring Systems to Facilitate the Use of Reactive Barriers—Monitoring
systems are
needed to determine the performance and integrity of reactive barriers.
The development and deployment of such systems involves numerous
challenges. Technical challenges
include determining appropriate indicator parameters for the plume of
interest, ensuring the longevity and continued integrity of the monitoring
system itself, identifying appropriate ways of communicating monitoring data
and other information to and from the system, and determining reliable
maintenance strategies and schedules for the systems.
Additional challenges involve replacing conventional monitoring
practices, based on laboratory analysis of manually obtained samples, with
strategies based on such remote monitoring systems, and achieving the
acceptance of new systems and strategies by regulators and stakeholders.
Grant applications are sought to develop in
situ remote monitoring systems for reactive barriers.
Proposed systems should include: (1)
autonomous reporting via secure wireless communications with a central
information processing facility; (2) low power requirements, preferably using
on-site solar panels; (3) no need, or at most minimal need, to recharge
reagents; (4) zero, or at most minimal, production of secondary wastes; and
(5) a capacity for self-testing and autocalibration. Contaminants of interest include any of the halogenated
organic constituents, inorganics such as RCRA metals, and radionuclides.
Grant applications should clearly identify the contaminants to be
addressed and associated detection limits for the monitoring systems.
Systems that are capable of detecting and quantifying multiple
contaminants within a class, either without modification or with minor
adjustments that can be made during system deployment, would be particularly
useful. Communications support for such monitoring systems are
available and, therefore, are not sought in this solicitation.
c.
Characterization Technologies for Difficult Subsurface Settings—Soil and groundwater at
many DOE sites have been contaminated with organic solvents, heavy metals, and
radionuclides as a result of past operational and disposal practices.
Often, this contamination occurs in subsurface settings that are
difficult to efficiently and cost-effectively access for the purpose of
characterizing the location and quantity of contamination.
Specific examples of these subsurface settings include contamination
that is: beneath buildings and
other manmade structures such as underground tanks and buried pipelines; at
depths that reach 45 meters or more; in difficult-to penetrate sediments such
as beds of gravel or layers of caliche; and in highly heterogeneous geologic
settings such as sediment facies containing complex interbeds and other
structures for which fluid flow predictions are difficult.
Grant applications are sought to reduce the cost or expand the
capabilities characterizing and monitoring contaminants in difficult-to-access
subsurface settings. Proposed
approaches should include: (1)
capability of providing real-time data, (2) detection limits down to required
remediation levels, (3) capability of downloading data into computer systems
for analysis and retrieval; and (4) ruggedness.
1.
CLU-IN: Hazardous Waste
Clean-Up Information, Environmental Protection Agency, Technology Innovation Office, http://www.clu-in.org
2.
DOE Hanford Site, http://www.hanford.gov/
3.
Environmental Technology, U.S. DOE Oak Ridge Operations Environmental
Management Program
http://www.oakridge.doe.gov/em/td/default.htm)
4.
Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable
http://www.frtr.gov
5.
Office of Science and Technology (EM-50)
U.S. DOE Office of Environmental Management, http://apps.em.doe.gov/ost/
6.
Savannah River Site
http://www.srs.gov/general/srs-home.html
7.
U.S. DOE Environmental Management Science Program, http://emsp.em.doe.gov
8.
U.S. DOE Idaho Operations Office
9.
U.S. DOE
Office of Environmental Management
http://www.em.doe.gov/
The DOE is responsible for the deactivation and
decommissioning of numerous buildings and facilities that have handled toxic
and radioactive materials since the 1940s.
These facilities were used for chemical separations, component and
weapons fabrication, fuel/target fabrication, reactor operations, enrichment
operations, and mining, milling, and refining.
Deactivation refers to ceasing facility operations and placing the
facility in a safe and stable condition to prevent unacceptable exposure of
people or the environment to radioactive and other hazardous materials until
the facility can be decommissioned. Decommissioning
is the process of decontaminating or removing contaminated material and
equipment to achieve the end state for the facility.
Desired end states include complete removal and remediation of the
facility, facility entombment, and release of the facility for either
unrestricted or restricted use.
This topic focuses on three issues of concern to
D&D operations: removing
contaminants from concrete, using robotic technologies to reduce exposure to
workers, and controlling airborne radiological contamination.
Among contaminated materials, concrete is pervasive within these
buildings and facilities, and particular attention must be paid to recycling
the concrete and disposing of concrete debris.
Improved robotic technologies would allow for remote operation, lower
the risks to health and safety, and reduce life-cycle costs.
Better control of airborne contaminants would further reduce health and
safety risks to D&D workers and the environment during dismantlement or
disassembly operations. Grant
applications are sought only in the following subtopics:
a. Separation
Technologies for the Removal of Contaminants from Concrete—The concrete
in buildings and structures of DOE facilities is found in floors, walls,
concrete covered beams and posts, etc. The
concrete might be found cast in place or in concrete blocks, and its surfaces
may contain paint or other coatings. Since
concrete is a porous material, contamination could have penetrated a short
distance below the surface; if the concrete were cracked, the penetration
might be much greater. Grant
applications are sought for new or improved methods for removing solvents,
toxic metals, and/or radionuclides from concrete, including contaminants that
may have penetrated short distances from the surface.
Approaches of interest include electrokinetic methods, supercritical
fluid extractions, and advanced leaching technologies.
One or more of the following forms of contaminated concrete should be
addressed: (1) concrete in
floors, walls, and other structures in existing buildings; (2) scabble
particles (residue left after physical methods remove the outer inch or so of
the concrete surface, where most contamination is concentrated); (3) concrete
rubble remaining after building demolition. Phase
I should include tests on concrete with simulated contamination from stable
isotopes of cesium and strontium, solvent, or toxic metals.
Grant applications should explain how the contaminated concrete will be
prepared and indicate what outcome (or range of outcomes) will be used to
determine whether the proposed concept is working.
b. Robotic Technologies
for Automated Deactivation and Decommissioning—D&D activities
require workers to routinely enter areas contaminated with radioactive and
other hazardous materials and work with powerful heavy equipment that is
capable of breaching protective clothing.
To reduce the potential risk to workers, there is a need for new or
improved robotics and intelligent machines to perform these D&D functions
remotely. Such improvements would
be expected to reduce life-cycle costs and to lower health and safety risks to
workers. Grant applications are
sought to develop (1) a more efficient and universal remote cutting device
and/or (2) a multi-purpose remote platform.
Regarding (1) above, most cutting devices are material-specific, or
function only on a limited number of materials.
A universal cutter would function on a multitude of materials, shapes,
and sizes and be adaptable for use on multiple robotic arms.
The remote cutter must be capable of remote maintenance and produce a
minimum amount of residual waste from the cutting process. Regarding (2) above, the multi-purpose remote platform must
be equipped with an interchangeable apparatus capable of performing a variety
of tasks including size reduction, radiation characterization,
decontamination, and materials handling.
The platform must be capable of operation in compact and congested
areas, and tetherless operation is preferred.
1.
Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure,
U.S. DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM), June 1998.
(Report No. DOE/EM-0362) (Available at: http://www.em.doe.gov/closure/)
2.
Characterization, Monitoring, and Sensor Technology Crosscutting
Program, U.S.
DOE, EM Office of Science and Technology, http://www.cmst.org
3.
Deactivation and Decommissioning Focus Area
U.S. DOE
National Energy Technology Laboratory, http://www.netl.doe.gov/dd)
4.
Deactivation and Decommissioning Information System
(DDIS)
C OH-MB-215: Control of Loose Surface Contamination
C
RL-DD04:
TRU Waste Fixatives for PFP C
RL-DD062:
A Method to Capture Airborne Alpha Contamination (e.g., plutonium) from
a Work Area at 233-S University
of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center 5.
DOE Hanford Site, http://www.hanford.gov/ 6.
Environmental Technology, U.S. DOE Oak Ridge Operations Environmental
Management Program http://www.oakridge.doe.gov/em/td/default.htm)
7.
Office of Science and Technology [EM-50] 8.
Research Opportunities for Deactivating and
Decommissioning Department of Energy Facilities,
National Academy of Sciences/ National Research Council, 2001.
(Full text available on the Web at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10184.html)
9.
Savannah River Site http://www.srs.gov/general/srs-home.html 10.
Site Technology Coordinating Groups [Links] 11.
U.S. DOE Idaho Operations Office 12.
U.S. DOE Office of Environmental Management
http://www1.undeerc.org/scripts/ddis/
(Under “Select a Site Need ID” choose “AL-00-01-04-DD.”
Scroll down to “Similar Needs” to view three needs listed above.)
U.S. DOE Office of Environmental Management, http://apps.em.doe.gov/ost/
U.S. DOE, EM Office of Science and Technology
http://apps.em.doe.gov/ost/progstcg.html