Waste Examination Assay Facility operations TRU waste certification

The ORNL Waste Examination Assay Facility (WEAF) was established in a cooperative program with the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in April, 1982 to nondestructively assay (NDA) transuranic (TRU) waste generated at ORNL. The present facility charter encompasses the NDA and nondestructive examination (NDE) of both TRU and low-level wastes (LLW). Presently, the WEAF's NDA/NDE equipment includes a Neutron Assay System (NAS), a Segmented Gamma Scanner (SGS), a drum-sized Real-Time Radiography (RTR) system, and a Neutron Slab Detector (NSD). The first three instruments are computer interfaced. To date approximately 2300 TRU waste drums have been assayed with the NAS and SGS. Approximately 2500 TRU and LLW drums have been examined with the RTR unit. Computer data bases have been developed to collate the large amount of data generated during the assays and examinations. Additional NDA and NDE instruments will be added to the WEAF in the near future; a crate-sized RTR unit and an external gamma and neutron dose rate scanner. The WEAF is being expanded (1600 sq. ft.) to accommodate the new instruments additional office space, and drum storage