INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS NATIONAL HAZMAT PROGRAM - HANDSS-55 TRANSURANIC WASTE REPACKAGING MODULE

The Transuranic waste generated at the Savannah River Site from nuclear weapons research, development, and production is currently estimated to be over 10,000 cubic meters. Over half of this amount is stored in 55-gallon drums. The waste in drums is primarily job control waste and equipment generated as the result of routine maintenance performed on the plutonium processing operations. Over the years that the drums have been accumulating, the regulatory definitions of materials approved for disposal have changed. Consequently, many of the drums now contain items that are not approved for disposal at DOE Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The HANDSS-55 technology is being developed to allow remote sorting of the items in these drums and then repackaging of the compliant items for disposal at WIPP