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9 Summary and Responses to Questions in Statement of Task
Pages 79-88

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From page 79...
... salts contain uranium, transuranium elements, and fission product radioactivity, as well as fluorides of lithium, beryllium, and zirconium, and should not remain indefinitely in the drain tank cell where they have been kept for more than 25 years. Major reasons for this conclusion include the continuing migration of fluorine and uranium from the bulk salt, its location below the natural water table, and the potential critical configuration upon the intrusion of water.
From page 80...
... It should be emphasized that the MSRE fuel salt, probably in a highly reducing chemical condition, remains a major problem, which will only worsen with time. Even if uranium removal is accomplished, the residual salt will still contain activity from 0.7 kg of plutonium and from fission products.
From page 81...
... Although Peretz (1996c) contains a baseline hazard section that identifies present hazards, evaluations are not yet sufficiently complete to allow for thorough knowledge of the extent of hazards associated with various alternative processes.
From page 82...
... Of possible relevance to a remediation strategy is whether inhomogeneities in uranium concentration exceed the variations in distribution that were observed in surrogate salt samples. Core and/or radial samples could also provide this information, but gaseous radioactive contamination is a significant hazard associated with sampling the salt.
From page 83...
... . Omitting hydrogen from the hydrofluorination step would reduce the hazards associated with the explosive reactivity of hydrogen gas.2 The Panel's Preferred Alternative Because one does not know at this time what options will be available for final disposition of the actinides, fission and decay products, and the salt, the panel considers that interim storage of separated uranium and of the residual salts is the only realistic option available at this time.
From page 84...
... The overall technical alternatives seem to have been identified, but the actual details and steps are not clear enough for final evaluation. in some cases, alternatives exist within a technology: for instance, if fluorination in the drain tanks is not feasible by using
From page 85...
... The Consequences of Failure to Complete According to Plan Additional assessment is needed to address an important hazard, the hazard offailure, to explore whether the selected remediation method precludes a desirable backup option in the event that unexpected or undesirable behavior is encountered. For instance, could the failure of one technological alternative preclude using another?
From page 86...
... The decision maker can then optimize the choice of strategies based on probable success, initial costs, and possible ultimate costs. The decision maker can then choose between strategies of lowest base cost but higher potential total cost versus strategies with higher base costs but lower potential overall costs.
From page 87...
... PANEL PERSPECTIVE These findings and recommendations are offered to enable the parties involved (DOE, contractors, and regulatory agencies) to clean up the MSRE fluoride salts safely and expeditiously, with due regard for the hazardous materials (such as reactive F2 and UFO gases and Missile 233U)
From page 88...
... The aim of acquiring more information with additional scoping studies is to affect the choice of technical alternatives and enable project personnel to gain increased confidence in the success of the chosen technical approach. As new information becomes available on the fuel and flush salts and on the status of the rest of the MSRE system, additional reviews of the major issues may be warranted.


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