DOE OSTI2019
Industrial wastewater treatment at the Fernald Preserve, Ohio, Site has been ongoing since a uranium metals refinery was constructed there at the beginning of the Cold War in 1951. Initially, the primary purpose of treatment was to recover uranium for reuse. Later, when cleanup of the site was progressing in the 1990's, wastewater treatment efforts greatly expanded. Large treatment facilities were constructed to handle contaminated surface water, groundwater, remediation wastewater, and leachate from the on-site disposal facility. These new facilities were designed to reduce uranium concentration to meet the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water standard and not generate large quantities of contaminated waste. Anion-exchange resin was chosen as the treatment media. The centerpiece of these facilities was the Advanced Wastewater Treatment facility, which had a treatment capacity of 10,978 liters per minute (lpm) (2900 gallons per minute [gpm]). Forecasts estimated that with the exception of groundwater the site's remediation would be completed in 2006. In 2003, the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management began negotiations with the EPA and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to reduce wastewater treatment capacity at the Fernald Environmental Management Project. These negotiations resulted in the site's treatment capacity being reduced to 6814 lpm (1800 gpm) via the Converted Advanced Wastewater Treatment facility (CAWWT). By 2010, the uranium concentration in the groundwater being pumped had been reduced to the degree that only intermittent treatment for uranium removal was needed. As a result, the CAWWT was considerably oversized. Increased maintenance on the aging CAWWT equipment led the DOE Office of Legacy Management (LM) to commission an assessment of the facility, which was completed in early 2015. The condition assessment identified numerous components at or near the end of their design life. Based on the assessment's findings and the fact that the current facility's treatment capacity was substantially greater than needed, LM began looking at options for an appropriately sized treatment system to handle the site's needs until the groundwater remediation was completed (currently projected for 2039). Options were evaluated in the spring of 2015, and LM presented the recommended changes to regulators and stakeholders. Approvals for a new, smaller system with a 189 lpm (50 gpm) capacity were obtained through a series of meetings in the summer of 2015. After more detailed planning in the fall of 2015, LM initiated the project in 2016. The project comprises the following four phases: (1) Removal and disposal of used media, piping, and tanks to make room for the new system in the existing building (completed in January 2017); (2) design of the new system (completed in April 2017); (3) construction, installation, and startup of the new system (completed in May 2018); and (4) backwash basin refurbishment (yet to be completed). In the late 2030's, when groundwater remediation is projected to be completed at the site, it is anticipated that the only remaining wastewater treatment need will be for small quantities of leachate from the on-site disposal facility. Results of leachate treatment testing in 2003 indicate it may be feasible to utilize a small passive treatment system for this leachate. (authors)
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗