Science and Innovation
Environmental Stewardship - Nuclear Facility Decontamination and Decommissioning

SRNL designs and develops strategies for deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) of nuclear facilities, with emphasis upon matching effective and efficient solutions to site-specific conditions. SRNL supports decisions as to the appropriate decommissioning end-states of nuclear facilities (i.e., in-situ decommissioning, demolition, partial demolition/partial grouting) through modeling, performance assessment for regulatory concurrence, and monitoring strategies.

SRNL leads the Cementitious Barriers Partnership (CBP), a collaborative program sponsored by the DOE EM Office of Tank Waste Management to improve understanding and prediction of the long-term structural, hydraulic, and chemical performance of cementitious materials and waste forms used primarily in nuclear waste disposal. The objective of the CBP is to develop a set of computational software tools to reduce the uncertainties of current methodologies for performance assessment.

Associated SRNL competencies and capabilities include:

Facility Decontamination and Stabilization

• Pioneered design, development, and deployment of materials and strategies enabling closure of 4 high-level waste tanks and in-situ decommissioning of 2 reactor complexes at Savannah River Site

• Leader in tailoring grouts to field-specific conditions, such as underwater application, radioactive and hazardous chemical stabilization, enhancement of radionuclide retention, macroencapsulation of debris
• Leader in predicting long-term performance of cementitious barriers and waste forms in nuclear environments
• Extensive experience in waste and debris characterization and treatment for interim storage and final disposal
• Extensive experience in engineering, integrating, testing, and deploying custom robotics, systems, and tools for use in radioactive, hazardous, or inaccessible environments

Reactor Facility Decommissioning

• Extensive experience in characterization for regulatory concurrence and modeling for decisions as to decommissioning end-states (in-situ decommissioning, demolition, partial demolition/partial grouting)
• Pioneered in-situ decommissioning of large nuclear facilities