The role of NDE in nuclear waste clean-up

With the end of the cold war, the need for large production capability of nuclear weapons has diminished; but concerns have arisen about the condition of the waste and the waste storage tanks from weapon production. The major concern is the potential for the waste to somehow contaminate the water, soil, and air around a plant. To completely solve the problem associated with the nuclear waste, the waste must be ultimately retrieved from the tanks, treated, separated into low-level and high-level waste streams, and then put into a final disposal form that will encapsulate the waste so that it will not penetrate the environment. Going through the process of safely retrieving, characterizing, treating, and disposing of the waste requires a large amount of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) sensor technology. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief description of the types of NDE technologies needed to provide a safe and adequate solution to the nuclear-waste storage and disposal issue