Governor Briefing highlights: What to do with waste from I We cannot "fix" the ieaklng tank. The tank is already unfit for use and cannot be reused. Our only option is to retrieve the waste.' This wili take several years and an estimated SSOM to transfer the waste to a DST (assuming there is any DST space available, which underscores the importance of building new DSTs). There may be options to temporarily stop the waste from moving through the soil hot wax, soil freezing), but none of these options have yet been evaluated at Hanford. The State is hesitant to support the designation of tank waste (in T--111 and other tanks) as rr transuranic, or TRU waste. This issue is a matter of precedent, and we are concerned about W. ?999' weakening our regulatory position with respect to how tank waste must be treated. If the west is accepted as TRU by WIPP and EPA, and a dangerous waste permitchange is made to accept it, then Ecolo - (V91 we Id be more comfortable moving forward with a TRU designation. . Cersl, lei) Accelerating cleanup schedules 0 Ecology believes we need to transition the Hanford site into action rather than continuing to study problems as they arise. We need the Secretary's help to transition USDOE and the site contractors from a cultu_re of "studying and watching" waste to actively mitigating problems and moving forward with final solutions. -. Currently, QSDOE is unable to respond with emergency actions within 30 days in the event of a Wm w'\A9~ serious leak, USDOE also has no routine way to identify leaks in the SSTs in a timely fashion or fly 'to respond to such leaks when identified. . fllewsidv My '0 Tank retrieval is a very slow' process. The SSTs are currently reviewed on a 12 tanks per year basis. with 149 SSTs at Hanford, it takes about 12 years to cycle through all of them. USDOE . .- and their contractor WRPS probably have no capability to increase this schedule due to staffing. - The first discovery of a tank leak since "interim stabilization" was completed around 2005 calls into question the "integrity of other SSTs. it is important that USDOE be able to ve_r_i_fy,t_h_e integrity of all the tanks to determine which SSTs (and DSTs) are most likely to fail next or would cause the greatest impacts and revise the retrieve! sequence to! include these tanks. I A .. I Wm {Need Qfidafli "km 5 ogy elieves one critical thing that to done is to construct new DST5. Space 'val ntinues to be the critical limiting factor. /7 rrentiy, T--111 could easily take five years to retrieve, and there would be no space in the DSTs mpg' pump the waste to. And that's just for one tank. What do we do if other tanks are discovered leaking?" .. . . . page 0 lthough new DSTS are needed, It Will be expensive and could takeseveral years. For starters, if . coiogy believes eight new DSTs are needed for keep retrievals going and to support the \/Hen' fa, ransfer of low-activity waste to the WTP for early treatment. This is estimated to cost approximately - $1.23 and take 5-7 years. a" 4 aussmisaa 3\ as we Waste Treatment Plant issues 9 Good progress is being made by_ Secretary Chu's technical teams to resolve issues concerning mixing of waste in tanks, erosion/corrosion of treatment systems, criticality, and flammable gas. The State appreciates the Secretary personal involvement in resolving these issues. 0- However, further delays at the WTP are likely without a commitment by USDOE to provide adequate and sustained funding to meeting the requirements of the Consent Decree and have the WTP operational by 2019. The residents of the Northwest cannot afford further delays. Addressing a leak in T--1.11 or any other tank cannot come at the expense of the WTP schedule. Soil and groundwater monitoring . 0 Although USDOE routinely monitors groundwater under the tanks farms, the reliability of the methods used needs improvement. There are many different methods of soil and groundwater monitoring, but many have been assumed to be too expensive. Ecoiogy staff have been encouraging USDOE to hold a vendor conference or assemble an expert panel to look at newer technologies for leak detection. -