Annual Summary of Immobilized Low Activity Tank Waste (ILAW) Performance Assessment

As required by the Department of Energy (DOE) order on radioactive waste management (DOE 1999a) as implemented by the Maintenance Plan for the Hanford Immobilized Low-Activity Tank Waste Performance Assessment (Mann 2000a), an annual summary of the adequacy of the Hanford Immobilized Low-Activity Tank Waste Performance Assessment (ILAW PA) must be submitted to DOE headquarters each year that a performance assessment is not submitted. Considering the results of data collection and analysis, the conclusions of the 1998 version of the ILAW PA (Mann 1998) as conditionally approved (DOE 1999b) remain valid, but new information indicates more conservatism in the results than previously estimated. A white paper (Mann 2000b) is attached as Appendix A to justify this statement. Recent ILAW performance estimates used on the waste form and geochemical data have resulted in increased confidence that the disposal of ILAW will meet performance objectives. The ILAW performance assessment program will continue to interact with science and technology activities, disposal facility design staff, and operations, as well as to continue to collect new waste form and disposal system data to further increase the understanding of the impacts of the disposal of ILAW. The next full performance assessment should be issued in the spring of 2001