Utilizing Strong Tight Intermodal Waste Packaging to Meet Accelerated Cleanup Goals at The Savannah River Site

In support of the accelerated cleanup challenge, personnel at the Savannah River Site have been working diligently to identify and acquire cost-effective waste containers that can be used to package a voluminous amount of low level radioactive waste that needs to be disposed. In so doing, personnel have transformed their paradigm in packaging low level radioactive waste in traditional 45-cubic-foot and 90-cubic-foot containers and utilizing refurbished intermodal containers instead. The transition has increased efficiencies in the processing, packaging, transportation, storage, and disposal of low level radioactive waste, while providing decreased procurement costs. Since large items do not have to be size-reduced to fit into the large containers, additional cost savings are being realized by minimizing void space, labor, time, equipment, and risks if size reduction techniques were performed. Cost savings for fiscal year 2003 exceeded one million dollars. Additional savings are estimated to be between 3 million dollars and 4 million dollars through fiscal year 2006