Management of data quality of high level waste characterization

Over the past 10 years, the Hanford Site has been transitioning from nuclear materials production to Site cleanup operations. High-level waste characterization at the Hanford Site provides data to support present waste processing operations, tank safety programs, and future waste disposal programs. Quality elements in the high-level waste characterization program will be presented by following a sample through the data quality objective, sampling, laboratory analysis and data review process. Transition from production to cleanup has resulted in changes in quality systems and program; the changes, as well as other issues in these quality programs, will be described. Laboratory assessment through quality control and performance evaluation programs will be described, and data assessments in the laboratory and final reporting in the tank characterization reports will be discussed