Retrofit and operation of low-level radwaste solidification system

The West Valley Demonstration Project has selected cement as the solidification medium for the disposal of liquid and wet solid low-level radioactive waste (LLW) as well as for Transuranic Waste (TRU). To accomplish this objective, a Cement Solidification System (CSS) was designed around a High-Shear Cement Mixing System that was developed for radwaste and constructed as a nonradioactive demonstration unit in 1980. The High-Shear Mixing System was developed to overcome the chemical and physical impediments to proper mixing and curing inherent in the waste liquor. The components of this system were dismantled, upgraded to allow for remote operation and increased capacity in radioactive service, and installed in an existing building at West Valley. Because the original system had operated as a nonradioactive demonstration unit, it had the capacity to fill 208-litre drums but did not have the capability to remotely and automatically handle the full containers of solidified waste. West Valley is also using standard 208-litre drums for disposal, and procured a drum handling system to convey, cap, smear, and decontaminate drums. A second major procurement was for a bulk cement storage and transfer system to provide cement to the mixing system