EM’s site cleanup program is one of the largest environmental cleanup efforts in
world history and deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) work is a significant
part of the overall effort to remediate the Cold War legacy. While existing and
proven technologies continue to be used to achieve as much cleanup as
practicable, many of the DOE facilities that are still awaiting D&D could
present significant challenges to D&D with currently available technologies:
-
Potential hazards to workers and surrounding areas, including high levels of
radiation, airborne contamination, chemical hazards, and industrial hazards;
- Complex, crowded, and retrofitted equipment arrangements;
- Incomplete history of operations and contamination in old facilities;
Many baseline D&D technologies are labor intensive, time consuming, expensive,
include significant risks to workers and/or the environment, and generate
problematic (in volume or content) secondary wastes. Completing the successful
D&D of the remaining facilities may rely on the ability to provide new
technologies that are significantly better than the available baseline
technologies in terms of cost, speed, safety, or waste reduction.
Argonne National Laboratory, Image from energy.gov