Waste processing demonstrations within the Waste Pretreatment and Processing Program of the Tank Focus Area

US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management has created a new approach for the development of technology for DOE environmental remediation problems. Previously, technology development was conducted on a site-by-site basis and managed by multiple organizations. This new DOE strategy consolidates and focuses all technology development efforts on five priority problems. The remediation of the 1 {times} 10{sup 8} gal of radioactive waste in the underground storage tanks (USTs) at five DOE sites is one of the priority problems. All tank remediation projects will be integrated into the Tank Focus Area (TFA). The TFA mission is to manage an integrated technology development program that results in the safe and efficient remediation of UST waste across the DOE complex. The TFA has divided its efforts into several areas such as safety, characterization, retrieval, pretreatment and processing, immobilization, and site closure. A key predecessor of the Waste Pretreatment and Processing Program (WPPP) of the TFA was the Waste Processing and Disposal Program (WPDP) of the Underground Storage Tank -- Integrated Demonstration. Nearly all of the FY 1995 WPDP projects have been transferred into the WPPP. These WPPP projects can be divided into four systems: cesium removal, comprehensive sludge and supernate, out-of-tank evaporation, and cross-flow filtration. The current status of these WPPP projects is presented. The goal of the projects is to minimize the volume of high-level waste and the radioactivity in low-level waste