Savannah River Site Salt Processing Alternatives Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

DOE prepared this Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) on alternatives for separating the high-activity fraction from the low-activity fraction of the high-level radioactive waste salt solutions now stored in underground tanks at the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina. The high-activity fraction of the high-level waste (HLW) salt solution would then be vitrified in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) and stored until it could be disposed of as HLW in a geologic repository. The low-activity fraction would be disposed of as low-level waste (saltstone) in vaults at SRS. A process to separate the high-activity and low-activity waste fractions of the HLW salt solutions is needed to replace the In-Tank Precipitation (ITP) process which, as presently configured, cannot achieve production goals and safety requirements for processing HLW. This SEIS analyzes the impacts of constructing and operating facilities for four alternative processing technologies--Small Tank Precipitation, Ion Exchange, Solvent Extraction, and Direct Disposal in Grout--and the No Action Alternative. DOE has not selected a Preferred Technology Alternative. Preferred sites for locating processing facilities within S and Z Areas at SRS are identified. Because replacing the ITP process constitutes a substantial change to the HLW salt processing operation of the DWPF, as evaluated in a 1994 SEIS (DOE/SEIS-0082-S) to the 1982 DWPF EIS (DOE/EIS-0082), DOE prepared this second SEIS to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of alternatives to the ITP process