History of waste tank 13, 1956 through 1974

Tank 13 was placed in service as a receiver of LW from the Building 221-H Purex process in December 1956. Five years later, the supernate was decanted to evaporator feed tank 21. It has since served as a transfer tank for HW supernate being sent to tank 21 and has received sludge removed from other tanks four times. The tank annulus has been inspected with an optical periscope and a lead-shielded camera. No indication of tank leakage had been seen through December 1974. However, subsequent to this report (on April 14, 1977), an arrested leak was discovered, making tank 13 the last of the four type II tanks to leak. Analytical samples of supernate and sludge have been taken. Tank 13 has had no cooling coil failures. Primary tank wall thicknesses, sludge level determinations, and temperature profiles have been obtained. Tank 13 has been included in various tests. Equipment modifications and various equipment repairs were made. 11 figures, 2 tables