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Essay Subject: Analyzes the SNFP at the Hanford site.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Analyzes the SNFP at the Hanford site. Discusses purpose of this Department of Energy's project. Its goal to remediate the deteriorating spent nuclear fuel stored underwater. Background of the problem that led to the SNPF. Cites purpose and objectives of the SNFP. Analyzes its performance. 1 Chart. Paper Introduction: ANALYZING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL PROJECT AT THE HANFORD SITE Introduction This research analyzes the Spent Nuclear Fuel Project (SNFP) at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site at Richland, Washington. The purpose of the long-term project is to remediate the deteriorating spent nuclear fuel stored underwater in the K-Basins at the Hanford Site (United States Department of Energy 1). This research provides background information on the problem that led to the SNFP, provides detailed information on the SNFP, and analyzes the performance of the SNFP. Background on the Problem The designation “Hanford Site” refers to the parts of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Facility where spent nuclear f Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Thedesignation "Hanford Site" also is the name given by the Department ofEnergy to the Department's contractor organization that acts as the projectmanager for the remediation activities of the SNFP. The projectmissed many of the scheduled completion times for specified objectives. The purposeof the long-term project is to remediate the deteriorating spent nuclearfuel stored underwater in the K-Basins at the Hanford Site (United StatesDepartment of Energy 1). The K-Basins are two storage areasconstructed as basins to contain the 177 storage tanks containing spentnuclear fuels (United States Department of Energy 3). This research provides background information onthe problem that led to the SNFP, provides detailed information on theSNFP, and analyzes the performance of the SNFP. Approximately 54million gallons (2 6, cubic meters) of high-level waste containingroughly 2 million curies of radioactivity are stored in 177 tanks atHanford (Jones 243). The Hanford K-Basins. This problem led to thecreation of the SNFP. Many sub-contractors appear to have under estimated the costs that they would incuron the project. Washington, D.C.: United States General Accounting Office, 8 October 1998.United States Department of Energy. The Spent Nuclear Fuels Project The spent nuclear fuels stored at the Hanford Site became an issuewhen many of the 177 storage tanks began leaking. The production of 7 , nuclear weapons over more than fifty years inthe United States created huge volumes of long-lived radioactive waste,decommissioning problems, and environmental concerns involving contaminatedland and water. These objectives are a part of a sub-projectdesignated as the Hanford Groundwater/Vadoze Zone Integration Project. Works CitedFioravanti, M., and Makhijani, A. "Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Commerce, House of Representatives, Nuclear Waste - Schedule, Cost, and Management Issues at DOE's Hanford Tank Waste Project", GAO/T-RCED- 99-21. Another problem with the project management at the Hanford Site hasbeen the continually shifting political control at the United StatesDepartment of Energy. Under suchconditions, effective project management becomes almost impossible. The Hanford facility, built in the early-194 s in south centralWashington State, was a center of plutonium production for the UnitedStates nuclear weapons program. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Energy, February 1996. Background on the Problem The designation "Hanford Site" refers to the parts of the Departmentof Energy's Hanford Facility where spent nuclear fuels are stored. The contractor,Hanford Site, is located in Richland, Washington and the Department ofEnergy owns the contractor. The formulation of the objectives of the SNFP at the Hanford Siteresulted from a tri-party agreement between the United States Department ofEnergy, the State of Washington, and the United States EnvironmentalProtection Agency. As an example, after the Tri-Party Agreementnegotiated during the Clinton Administration committed the federalgovernment to funding specific objectives on an agree timeline, the newBush Administration deleted billions of dollars from SNFP funding andattempted to unilaterally re-establish project goals (United StatesDepartment of Energy 9 ). The scale and complexity of the nuclearwastes at the Hanford Facility made the Hanford Site the most difficultremediation problem facing the United States government. The Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for managing36 million cubic meters of radioactive and hazardous wastes in a wide arrayof forms and storage configurations. The Hanford Site project manager engagesprivate sector organizations as sub-contractors in the management of theSNFP (United States Department of Energy 2). The Tri-Party Agreement is a legally binding documentthat includes an action plan. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Energy, June 1996.United States Department of Energy. Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel from the K-Basins at the Hanford Site DOE/EIS 245-IP. TheGantt chart on the following page illustrates the project objectives andtimelines for the attainment of the objectives. One of the major problems with the project management at the SNFPappears to be a faulty development of the scope for the project and the sub-projects of the SNFP. analyzing the performance of the spent nuclear fuel project at the hanford site Introduction This research analyzes the Spent Nuclear Fuel Project (SNFP) at theDepartment of Energy's Hanford Site at Richland, Washington. A third problem involved many of the sub-contractors. The action plan of the Tri-Party Agreementis the source of the objectives of the SNFP. The SNFP objectives apply toremediation efforts in both the River Corridor and the Central Plateauareas of the Hanford Site. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Energy, August 2 2.United States Department of Energy. This situation did not include all sub-contractors.The situation involved a sufficient number of sub-contractors, however, tocause concern that the SNFP will ever be completed in a way that meets theproject's purpose. The operations at the Hanford Facility generated massive quantities ofhigh-level liquid waste containing fission products (such as technetium-99,cesium-137, and strontium-9 ) and residuals of plutonium, uranium, andother heavy radioactive elements. Negotiation and legal action by the State ofWashington led to a partial restoration of funds for the SNFP. The scope documents appear to be too general innature, a[pic]characteristic that allowed the Department of Energy to prepare a projectplan that appeared to satisfy the purpose of the SNFP, but which in realityprovided neither the funding nor the specificity required to permit sub-contractors to develop adequate project management plans for their sub-contracts. Weapons production and relatedactivities contaminated 79 million cubic meters of soil and almost twobillion cubic meters of groundwater (Fioravanti and Makhijani 28). Performance Management Plan for the Accelerate Cleanup of the Hanford Site, DOE/RL-2 2-47, Revision D. Analyzing the Performance of the SNFP Although the project management organization for the SNFP followedaccepted project management procedures in developing the project managementplan and schedule for the SNFP at the Hanford Site, performance on theproject has been mired in problems almost from its inception. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Energy, October 1995.United States Department of Energy. To protect their financial positions, they curtailedprojected operations which led to failures to meet project objectives atthe scheduled times. L., United States General Accounting Office. Spent Nuclear Fuel Project. Takoma Park, Maryland: Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, October 1997.Jones, G. Thesefacilities chemically separated plutonium from uranium and from fissionproducts at the Hanford Facility from 1943 through 1963 (Fioravanti andMakhijani 24). The purpose of the SNFP is to protect the ColumbiaRiver by safely moving more than 2,1 metric tons of deteriorating spentnuclear fuel from the aging K Basins to safe, dry, interim storage in thecenter of Hanford the Hanford Site. The United States government constructednine plutonium production reactors and five reprocessing plants. Containing the Cold War Mess. 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