Technical evaluation summary of the in situ vitrification melt expulsion at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory on April 21, 1996, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

On April 21, 1996, at 6:12 PM, about 20 tons of molten glass were expelled from a 216-ton body of molten (1600 C) radioactively contaminated soil (containing 2.4 Ci {sup 137}Cs) at an ORNL site. This was caused by pressurized steam venting rapidly through, rather than around, the molten body. During the previous 17 days, an old seepage pit was undergoing in situ vitrification to convert porous, leachable soil into an impermeable waste form. Analyses revealed that 0.13 {mu}Ci of {sup 137}Cs could have been released and would have delivered a hypothetical, unmeasurable dose of 0.02 {mu}rem to the nearest private residence outside the Oak Ridge Reservation. The expelled glass particles, having a uniform specific activity of 1.2E-08 Ci/g, contained no smearable or transferrable activity. Thus, the overall environmental impact was insignificant. Fire damage was completely limited to the off-gas hood. Techniques were identified to minimize the probability of future melt expulsions