The turnaround for chemical analysis of feed preparation samples is 60 - 80 hours. Since the entire batch process takes about 200 hours, it is important to receive sample results in a timely manner so that adjustments to the glass recipe, if needed, can be made. This step has the potential to be a bottleneck. Testing of the vitrification system will not be as extensive as that performed for similar DOE facilities because the testing will emphasize equipment performance verification. Most of the developmental testing was performed during the demonstration phase.
West Valley plans to run performance tests of the individual systems with water and air.
Later, integrated tests are planned using waste simulants. Their justification was that IWRs are necessary to perform an integrated check of the process, system configuration, standard operating procedures, and to verify operator performance. The situation at WVDP is not identical, but the staff believes that several similarities exist. Additionally, a radiation protection review trip is currently scheduled for September 1994.