Implementing a Low-Activity Waste Direct Feed Capability in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project - 15594

The current design of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) requires that all waste be processed through the Pretreatment (PT) Facility. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a strategic, phased approach to completing the WTP Project, beginning with feeding some liquid waste from the tank farms to the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility, bypassing the PT Facility. To accomplish this, the DOE Office of River Protection (ORP) will construct a new capability outside WTP to remove cesium and solids from the liquid portion of the tank waste before transferring that waste to the LAW Facility. This new capability, referred to as the Low-Activity Waste Pretreatment System, is outside WTP and not included in the project's scope. The primary driver for the Direct-Feed LAW (DFLAW) approach is to enable commissioning of the LAW Facility for low-activity waste processing before the PT and High-Level Waste Facilities are complete and operational. As such, the functions intended to be provided to the LAW Facility by the PT Facility and the common functionality with the High-Level Waste Facility must be refined and modified. The DFLAW approach will provide necessary systems and facilities to replace these enabling PT Facility functions until the PT Facility is completed and commissioned. In February 2014, ORP requested the WTP contractor to develop separate contract modification proposals for completing: (1) the LAW Facility, Balance of Facilities, and Analytical Laboratory work scope in the current contract through hot commissioning in a manner to accommodate a phased start of the WTP mission; and (2) initial planning and design for incorporating a permanent capability to accommodate DFLAW in the WTP. (authors)