Corrosion Evaluation of INTEC Waste Storage Tank WM-182

Irradiated nuclear fuel has been stored and reprocessed at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory since 1953 using facilities located at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC). This reprocessing produced radioactive liquid waste which was stored in the Tank Farm. The INTEC Tank Farm consists of eleven vaulted 300,000-gallon underground tanks including Tank WM-182. Tank WM-182 was put into service in 1955, has been filled four times, and has contained aluminum and zirconium fuel reprocessing wastes as well as sodium bearing waste. A program to monitor corrosion in the waste tanks was initiated in 1953 when the first of the eleven Tank Farm tanks was placed in service. Austenitic stainless steel coupons representative of the materials of construction of the tanks are used to monitor internal tank corrosion. This report documents the final inspection of the WM-182 corrosion coupons. Physical examination of the welded corrosion test coupons exposed to the tank bottom conditions of Tank WM-182 revealed very light uniform corrosion. Examination of the external surfaces of the extruded pipe samples showed very light uniform corrosion with slight indications of preferential attack parallel to extrusion marks and start of end grain attack of the cut edges. These indications were only evident when examined under stereo microscope at magnifications of 20X and above. There were no definite indications of localized corrosion, such as cracking, pitting, preferential weld attack, or weld heat affected zone attack on either the welded or extruded coupons. Visual examination of the coupon support cables, where they were not encased in plastic, failed to reveal any indication of liquid-liquid interface attack of any crevice corrosion. Based on the WM-182 coupon evaluations, which have occurred throughout the life of the tank, the metal loss from the tank wall due to uniform corrosion is not expected to exceed 5.5 x 10-1 mil (0.00 055 inch). For purposes of waste storage, this is a negligible amount of metal loss. Localized corrosion such as cracking, pitting, preferential weld attack, or weld heat affected zone attack is not expected to be a materials problem in the tank