Tank Waste Information Network System (TWINS)

Department of Energy (DOE) High-Level Waste (HLW) is stored in underground tanks at Hanford (Washington), Savannah River (Georgia), Idaho Falls, (Idaho), and West Valley (New York). These tanks are (1) temporary, (2) unsafe, (3) leaking, (4) filled with an undetermined amount and type of radio-nuclides, and (5) are in need of immediate attention. Tank waste characterization activities reveal the waste composition, temperature, level or depth in the tank, and other information required to solve safety issues associated with the tanks and to model tank waste. Scientists and engineers require timely information from multiple HLW databases across the DOE complex. To address this requirement, the Pacific Northwest Laboratory developed the Tank Waste Information Network System (TWINS). The system architecture developed for TWINS is not only related to the DOE HLW problem, but can apply to other information systems, either local, national, or international in scope