# Nomination Form

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| **Federal Agency**                | U.S. Department of Energy         |
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| **Nominated Facility**            |                                   |
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| Name:                             | Rocky Flats Environmental         |
|                                   | Technology Site                   |
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| Operations Office                 | Rocky Flats Field Office          |
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| Location:                         | Golden, CO                        |
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| **Nomination Point of Contact**   |                                   |
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| Name:                             | Dave Maxwell                      |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Organization                      | DOE Rocky Flats Field Office      |
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| Address:                          | Rocky Flats Environmental         |
|                                   | Technology Site                   |
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|                                   | Building 460, 10808 Highway 93    |
|                                   | Unit A                            |
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| City:                             | Golden                            |
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| State:                            | CO                                |
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| ZIP:                              | 80403-8200                        |
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| Phone:                            | \(303\) 966-4017                  |
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| Fax:                              | \(303\) 966-4728                  |
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| E-mail:                           | <dave.maxwell@rf.doe.gov>         |
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| **Federal Point of Contact**      | Same as above                     |
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| **Award Category**                | Waste Prevention and Design       |
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| ### Nominated Individual          | N/A                               |
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| **Team/Project/Facility**         | Building 771 Closure Project      |
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| **List of People who directly     | Chris Gilbreath                   |
| participated in the activity**    |                                   |
|                                   | Tom Dieter                        |
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| **Nomination Title**              | A New Chemical Glovebox           |
|                                   | Decontamination Procedure         |
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| **Abstract(100 words or less)**   |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| A critical task for the 771       |                                   |
| Closure Project is the removal of |                                   |
| 100 varied-size highly            |                                   |
| contaminated gloveboxes. Even     |                                   |
| with the most advanced size       |                                   |
| reduction technology available,   |                                   |
| glovebox decommissioning was      |                                   |
| projected to generate over 500    |                                   |
| m^3^ of TRU waste. In an effort   |                                   |
| to reduce both worker exposure    |                                   |
| and waste generation, Project     |                                   |
| personnel developed a chemical    |                                   |
| decontamination procedure. The    |                                   |
| procedure reduces the             |                                   |
| contamination level of gloveboxes |                                   |
| from TRU to surface-contaminated  |                                   |
| LLW. Surface-contaminated LLW can |                                   |
| be disposed in larger containers, |                                   |
| eliminating the need for size     |                                   |
| reduction. TRU waste is           |                                   |
| substantially reduced, avoiding   |                                   |
| over \$22 million in waste        |                                   |
| management and disposition costs. |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

##  

## Introduction 

Building 771, the first plutonium processing facility at Rocky Flats,
began operations in May 1953. Early production operations included
foundry casting operations used to produce pure metal, research and
development, and plutonium recovery. Later operations focused primarily
on plutonium recovery. In 2004 after its decommissioning is completed,
Building 771, once the most dangerous plutonium building in the DOE
complex, will be demolished.

Over the last 40 years, gloveboxes were used in Building 771 as
protective barriers for workers. Now, one of the most critical tasks for
the Building 771 Closure Project is the safe decommissioning and removal
of 100 large, varied-size gloveboxes. Most of them are contaminated to
transuranic (TRU) levels. Because TRU waste containers are relatively
small, it is necessary to size-reduce components to place them into
those containers. Size reduction requires a breach of that protective
barrier, so even with the most advanced size reduction techniques
available, worker exposure and secondary waste generation remained a
concern. Original project plans called for size reduction for TRU waste
disposal for all of these gloveboxes. TRU waste projections were
intimidating\--over 500 cubic meters of TRU waste generation was
projected.

Though the building closure schedule is very aggressive, project
planners did not abandon the search for an effective decontamination
method. A chemical decontamination technique, piloted in another
building closure project at RFETS, showed promise, but developing a
procedure to safely apply caustic and acidic solutions for Building
771's unique population of gloveboxes was an arduous task. The technique
involves spraying a series of proprietary chemical solutions onto the
inner glovebox surfaces then wiping the contamination from the surfaces.
Using caustic and acidic solutions has the potential to generate heat
and chemical fumes - especially within forty year old, acid-etched
gloveboxes. The Project needed to establish numerous procedural controls
to ensure the solutions are applied in moderation with adequate
ventilation, to reduce the potential for a chemical reaction.

In July 2001, the new technology for glovebox chemical decontamination
was initiated in Building 771. Initial gloveboxes were selected based on
the Project's baseline schedule. To date, 13 gloveboxes have been
successfully decontaminated, reducing TRU waste to low-level waste
(LLW). Forty-plus years' worth of contamination was literally erased
from the glovebox surfaces within hours of application and the
decontamination supplies were the only TRU waste remaining. Only ¼ drum
of TRU waste (consisting of the towels, spray bottles, brushes, and
squeegees bagged out of the glovebox) was generated to decontaminate
each glovebox.

## Benefits

The primary benefit of the chemical decontamination process is the
elimination of size reduction due to the downgrading of the gloveboxes
from TRU waste to surface-contaminated LLW. Elimination of size
reduction significantly reduces secondary waste generation. Although
engineered to minimize risk, size reduction activities are complex and
increase material handling, and the operational costs associated with a
size reduction crew. Eliminating size reduction reduced worker exposure
to radiological and industrial hazards. After decontamination, the
gloveboxes can be dispositioned as Surface Contaminated Object I (SCO I)
or Surface Contaminated Object II (SCO II) LLW (without size reduction)
rather than as TRU waste. SCO I and SCO II material can be transferred
to large IP2 cargo containers, streamlining the decommissioning and
disposal process. Additionally, greater amounts of LLW per shipment can
be transported for final disposition than for TRU waste. As a result,
fewer shipments will be required to disposition the Building 771
gloveboxes, thereby reducing the risks to the public.

## Significance

The chemical glovebox decontamination method will result in significant
waste reduction and cost savings. To date, this method has been applied
to 13 gloveboxes. Sixty-five cubic meters of TRU waste and 33 cubic
meters of secondary LLW have been reduced, saving over \$3 million.
Provided the decontamination method is successfully applied to
approximately 100 gloveboxes in the building, 500 cubic meters of TRU
waste and 252 cubic meters of secondary LLW could be prevented. \$22.83
million in cost avoidance could be realized through avoided TRU and LLW
waste management and disposal costs and by avoiding the need for size
reduction.

## Originality

Site employees selected a vendor and conducted demonstrations, which led
to development of the innovative glovebox chemical decontamination
procedure. This particular procedure has only been used at Rocky Flats,
and was initiated specifically to reduce TRU waste and improve worker
safety. Rocky Flats is the first major DOE site to address
decommissioning of this number of significantly contaminated TRU
gloveboxes.

## Potential for Broader Application

Building 771 is the first nuclear facility of its type and magnitude to
ever be decommissioned and will serve as a proving ground for
decommissioning technologies for all other plutonium buildings at RFETS
and the DOE complex. Presently, the technology is also being used to
decontaminate gloveboxes in two other former plutonium manufacturing
buildings\--Building 707 and Building 776. Personnel at Hanford have
also voiced an interest in the technology.

Because of the success achieved in the decontamination of the
gloveboxes, Building 771 Project personnel plan to investigate
application of the decontamination method for other contaminated items
such as tanks and ducts.