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Caption:
Description: Savanah River Site (SRS) Type II tank.

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Description: Savanah River Site (SRS) Type I tank.

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Description: Savanah River Site (SRS) Type IV tank.

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Caption: Grout Formula Developed
Description: A cement formulation is being developed by AEA Technology, TFA, and the Idaho site users for grouting the various low-level radioactive waste streams that arise from dissolution and separation of calcined high-level waste and high-activity liquid wastes stored at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant. This photo shows a full-scale test of the grout formulation with simulated waste. The holes in the grouted simulant in the 55-gallon drum are where cores were taken to examine the quality of the grout formulation. Photo provided by AEA Technology.

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Caption: Tool Removes Wall Cores
Description: The coring tool removes cores from the tank walls for analysis. The system shown in this photo was used in Tank W-3 at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. The tool has been redesigned, cold tested, and will be used in Tank W-4. Photo courtesy of Solutions to Environmental Problems.

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Caption: Water Mouse inside tank
Description: This photo shows that water mouse being used inside Savannah River Site Tank 17 to direct sludge toward the center of the tank.

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Caption: Installing Extendible Nozzle
Description: Removing waste from the underground radioactive waste tanks is challenging because of the large surface area that must be cleaned. To effectively remove the waste from tank walls and floor, the Borehole Miner needs to be able to vary the angle of the water jet and the distance between the jet and an interior tank surface. This is accomplished via the extendible nozzle. The nozzle, attached to the segmented links that permit it to change length and angle, is being installed.

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Caption: Ion Exchange Columns on the Cesium Removal System
Description: This view shows the ion exchange columns with the unit shielding installed (blue casing) and the pipes coming through the shielding. Unit shielding cuts down on the total shielding requirements, and makes hands-on maintenance of equipment outside the columns much easier.

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Caption: Scientist with Scarifier
Description: The bell-shaped lightweight scarifier, developed by TFA and its partners, uses water jets to dislodge hard, concrete-like saltcake in radioactive waste storage tanks. This end effector has been integrated with the Light-Duty Utility Arm and other depolyment systems.

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Caption: Waste Sampler for INEEL
Description: This sampler was designed to aspirate gas, liquid, and soft solids into an evacuated sampling chamber. This chamber can then be released by a solenoid valve into a cask for transfer to the Radioanalytical Laboratory at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, near Idaho Falls, Idaho.

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Caption: 241-AX Tank Farm
Description: Tank 241-AX-104, in the 241-AX Tank Farm, is the Hanford Tanks Initiative's demonstration tank for deployment of certain technologies. These technologies will estimate the radionuclide and hazardous chemical inventory of the residual tank waste (minimum 7,000 gallons) and the waste that may have leaked to the soil after sluicing in 1977 and 1978. Deploying the cone penetrometer sensor packages and discrete soil samplers to assess the soil will be a challenge because of the multitude of structural elements in the tank farm.

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Caption: Aerial View of West Valley Demonstration Projec
Description: Located about 30 miles south of Buffalo, New York, the West Valley Demonstration Project was a built as a commercial facility for reprocessing commercial spent fuel to recover uranium and plutonium. It was operated by Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. In 1982, the Department of Energy assumed control of the site for treatment, storage and disposal of the site's high-level radioactive waste.

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Caption: Aerial View of Y-12 Plant
Description: The Y-12 facility used electromagnetic separation to separate uranium isotopes according to their atomic weight. The facility was built in 1943. Separation was done using a cyclotron as a mass spectrometer to separate the desired uranium-235 isotope from the bulk of the uranium-238 making up naturally occurring uranium. The electromagnetic process was discontinued after World War II. Photo provided by U.S. Department of Energy.

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Caption: Air Supply Tank and Control System
Description: The air supply tank and control system was placed 60 feet above the pump to duplicate Tank 19 conditions at Savannah River Site.

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Caption: Apparatus for controlled mixing and temperature testing
Description: This is a closeup view of the apparatus fabricated and tested on the bench before installation in the hot cells. This apparatus will be used for controlled mixing and temperature testing of Oak Ridge Reservation and Hanford site sludges.

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Caption: Assembled Probe
Description: The Raman cone penetrometer probe, fully assembled and ready to be screwed into the cone penetrometer pipe. The bottom screws into the nose cone of the penetrometer. The fiber optic connectors attach to 250 feet of optical fiber cable.

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Caption: Auger Sampling at Hanford Tank, Riser R-3A
Description: This photograph shows the auger sleeve which houses the auger sampling tool resting on the surface of the waste in Hanford Site Tank 241-AX-104 under Riser R-3A. The analysis of the retrieved auger samples will validate and/or revise the best basis inventory of key risk-based radionuclides and hazardous chemicals remaining as residual waste in the tank in support of the Retrieval Performance Assessment (November 1997).

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Caption: Auger Sampling at Hanford Tank, Riser R-9G
Description: This photograph shows the auger sleeve which houses the auger sampling tool resting on the surface of the waste in Hanford Site Tank 241-AX-104 under Riser R-9G. The analysis of the retrieved auger samples will validate and/or revise the best basis inventory of key risk-based radionuclides and hazardous chemicals remaining as residual waste in the tank in support of the Retrieval Performance Assessment (November 1997)

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Caption: Back of solid pour octagon tank
Description: This photo provides another view octagonal tanks with solid pour walls being built. . Photo courtesy of Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory.

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Caption: Bench-scale Electrochemical Testing Equipment Used on Radioactive Tank Waste
Description: This photograph shows the electrochemical testing equipment at the Savannah River Technology Center (South Carolina). This equipment is part of the Tanks Focus Area's work on recovering and recycling caustic. This technology holds promise for remediating tank waste at both the Hanford and Savannah River Sites

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Caption: Bench-scale Electrochemical Testing Equipment Used on Simulated Tank Waste
Description: This photograph shows the bench-scale electrochemical testing equipment used for caustic recycle and recovery testing on surrogate tank waste at the Savannah River Technology Center (South Carolina).

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Caption: Bio-Rad Fourier Transform Near Infrared Spectrometer
Description: This photo shows the spectrometer, which is outside the hot cell. The spectrometer determines the concentration of water in waste samples by measuring the optical absorption caused by water.

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Caption: Calcine Solids Storage Facility
Description: The seven Calcine Solids Storage Facilities contain about 1,000,000 gallons of granular waste, called calcine, with approximately 50,000,000 curies of radionuclides. This waste, as of 1997, filled five of the seven storage facilities, with the sixth facility partially full. The radioactivity in calcine is primarily due to cesium-137 and strontium-90. Calcination, which began in 1963, converts high-level liquid waste and sodium bearing waste into a granular solid, similar to dry sand. Photo provided by U.S. Department of Energy.

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Caption: Camera
Description: This photo shows the Topographical Mapping System laser/camera module.

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Caption: Canisters at Melter
Description: High-level waste is being vitrified at the Defense Waste Processing Facility located at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Tank waste and dry materials used to form glass are mixed at high temperatures and are placed in a high temperature melter. This mixture is then poured into log-shaped, steel containers shown here. Once inside the canisters, the material cools and hardens. Filled, each canister weighs approximately 3,700 pounds. Photo Credit: Savanna River Site Photography

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Caption: Canisters in Interim Storage
Description: Vitrification of the first phase of West valley high-level waste was completed in June 1998, with the production of 210 glass-filled canisters. The canisters are stored on site, awaiting shipment to a federal geologic repository.

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Caption: Cells Unit Filter
Description: Before transuranics and strontium can be removed from the waste, the waste must be free of solid particles. Thus, the waste is processed through a crossflow filter, an example shown here. This equipment can remove particles bigger than 0.5 microns.

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Caption: Cesium Removal System in Hot Cell
Description: The Cesium Removal System is being tested in a hot cell.

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Caption: Coagulation After Combined Leaching/Washing Procedure
Description: Solids formation during waste treatment can result in significant impacts to tank infrastructure and processing equipment, as well as the durability of the final waste form. Solids formation can occur in a variety of forms, including particulates, floating gelatins, gel deposits, crystals, and coatings. On the sample shown in this photo, coagulation formed following a combined leaching/washing procedure in the laboratory.

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Caption: Coating and Crystallization after Leaching Procedure
Description: Sludge pretreatment will involve some combination of washing and leaching with caustics or acids. This is necessary to prevent gelation and uncontrolled solids formation in tanks, transfer lines and process equipment that could result in costly delays or repairs. In this photo, coating and chrystallization can be seen in the test tube after a leaching procedure has been conducted on a process solution.

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Caption: Cold Demo at 717-F
Description:

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Caption: Components of Raman Probe
Description: This photo shows a perspective of the size of the fiber optic Raman probe.

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Caption: Cone Penetrometer Raman Probe Assembly
Description: This photo shows the cone penetrometer probe interface, which is directly connected to the cone penetrometer truck pipe, the sapphire window assembly, and the fiber optic Raman probe.

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Caption: Confined Sluicing End Effector (right side view)
Description: The Confined Sluicing End Effector is a robotic tool used to cut sludge, scarify contaminated concrete, or rinse surfaces clean and feed the wastes into the jet pump conveyence system. The end effector accomplishes this using low to medium variable pressure water jets.

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Caption: Connections from Sludge Mobilization Charge Vessels to BVEST W-21
Description: The Pulse-Jet System can be connected to the tanks using existing tank infratructure, thus saving the site millions of dollars. Photo Credit: Gary Riner (U.S. Department of Energy) and Jack Stellern (Lockheed Martin Hanford Corporation)

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Caption: Containment Glovebox
Description: The containment glovebox on the Light-Duty Utility Arm. The top of the arm can be seen at the top of the glovebox. Hanford Characterization Program operators received extensive training on system operating procedures. Nuclear power operators are shown here training on the installation of end effector tools.

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Caption: Control Console with Sample Video Monitor
Description: Control Console with Sample Video Monitor

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Caption: Control Console with System Computers
Description: Control Console with System Computers

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Caption: Controlled Low Strength Material added
Description: On May 16, 1997, the staff at the Savannah River Site began added Controlled Low Strength Material to Tank 20.

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Caption: Corrosion Probe Gasket
Description: Design improvements to the corrosion probe, including the new electrode seal design shown above, will be used in the new multifunction corrosion probe being developed for the Hanford Site. The Savanha River Combined Chemistry and Corrosion probe will also have use for this design. The electrode seals electrically insulate the electrode from the probe body and seal out the tank waste from contact with the interior glass insulators of the pin connector passthroughs. (photo courtesy of Hiline Engineering)

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Caption: Corrosion Probe Installation
Description: Here, an electrochemical noise corrosion probe is being installed into tank 241-AN-102 at the Hanford Site in 1998. It takes two cranes to lift the corrosion probe into position over the tank riser. Riggers stand by to manually guide the probe as it is lowered through the four-inch riser. Once in place, the probe is not removed unless the riser is needed for another purpose.

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Caption: Crane Used to Place Penetrometer
Description: The penetrometer is skid-mounted, meaning that it must be placed in the tank farm with a crane system. A truck-mounted system is not used because of the numerous obstructions in the tank farm (e.g., aboveground piping and buildings). With these obstructions, using a large truck-mounted system to take measurements at numerous tank farm locations would not be practical. Photo credit: Hanford Photography (98030363-7CN)

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Caption: CSEE Used in Tank W-3
Description: The Confined Sluicing End Effector was used on the Modified Light-Duty Utility Arm to remove waste from Tank W-3 at the Oak Ridge Reservation. The white object in the foreground is the elbow joint for the Houdini arm.

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Caption: Data Analysis Controls
Description: Electrochemical noise produced on the electrode arrays is transmitted from the probe (at left), through the data cable, into the safety barrier box on the right, then down the gray cable into the electrical pass-through. From here, the data travels to a remote instrument building containing the data acquisition system. The green wire provides grounding for the unit. The whole process, from noise detection to data acquisition, takes a fraction of a second.

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Caption: Defense Waste Processing Facility
Description: At the Savannah River Site, high-level waste is being turned into glass logs at the Defense Waste Processing Facility. The plant began vitrifying waste in 1996. At this plant, the waste is vitrified and then poured into stainless steel canisters. The filled canisters are being stored at the site, but eventually will be transported to a geologic repository. Photo Credit: Savannah River Site Photography

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Caption: Demonstrating the Cutting Jets
Description: The Confined Sluicing End Effector uses rotating high pressure cutting jets to dislodge and break apart the tank waste. Photo courtesy of Solutions to Environmental Problems.

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Caption: Deploying Houdini
Description: The Houdini Vehicle, which is used inside of tanks to remove radioactive waste and to position other tools, can fold up to fit through a 2-foot-diameter tank riser and then open to form a 4-foot by 5-foot work platform inside the tank. The Houdini Vehicle was developed and funded by the Robotics Crosscutting Program. Photo courtesy of Solutions to Environmental Problems.

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Caption: Disposable Crawler
Description: Before a tank can be closed, final in-tank cleaning must be performed. Final cleaning involves removing small quantities of residual waste on the tank floor; because the residual waste is a thin layer spread across the tank floor, a method is needed to "sweep" the waste into piles that could be easily removed. The Savannah River Site has developed a disposable crawler using off-the-shelf motorized treads from Inuktun® to sweep up the residual waste. The red top-mounted sluicer will use a water jet approach to move the remaining waste into convenient areas for retrieval. This low-cost system will use less water than a tank-mounted top sluicer and can be disposed of with the other in-tank equipment, avoiding expensive decontamination activities.

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Caption: Dry Grout Addition to Tank 20
Description: This is a picture, taken April 26, 1997, showing the inside of Tank 20 when dry, sludge entraining, self-mixing, reducing grout is being added. Dry grout was used to solidify the incidental waste found at the bottom of the tank. Wet grout layers were poured on top of the dry grout. The dark patches are pools of sludge riding on top of an initial grout pour. The hose seen in the photo, part of the Grout Delivery System, minimizes the distance through which the grout must fall to reach the bottom of the tank (If the grout had to undergo freefall for the entire 30-foot height of the tank in order to reach the bottom, the constituents of the grout would tend to separate).

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Caption: DWPF: Completed
Description: The Defense Waste Processing Facility is being used to convert high-level tank waste (sludge, saltcake, and supernates) into glass waste forms for safe storage.

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Caption: DWPF: Under Construction
Description: This photo, taken June 4, 1984, shows the excavation and the basemat construction work being done on the Defense Waste Processing Facility, located at the Savannah River Site, near Aiken, South Carolina. The facility is designed to vitrify (and has vitrified) the Savannah River Site's high-level liquid waste into a stable form suitable for storage, transportation, and repository disposal. Photo Credit: U.S. Department of Energy

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Caption: Electrochemical Noise Corrosion Probe
Description: Corrosion Probes are being installed in tanks at the Hanford Site to provide continuous data about the types of corrosion occuring. The 52-foot long probes are lowered to within 3 feet of the tank bottom to measure electrochemical noise, an indicator of corrosion. This probe, the prototype, was installed in tank 241-AZ-101 at the Hanford Site in 1996.

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Caption: Electrode Array
Description: The corrosion probe's electrode array, an example of which is shown here, simultaneously collects data from eight levels in the tank at a rate of one measurement per second per array. Because certain types of tank corrosion, such as pitting and stress corrosion cracking, are capable of quickly damaging a tank, rapid detection will allow tank life to be extended, promising significant cost-savings for operating the Department of Energy's high-level waste tanks.

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Caption: Empty DWPF Canisters
Description: These canisters will be filled with vitrified high-level waste at the Defense Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Vitrification is the chemical bonding of hazardous, radioactive, or mixed waste in a durable glass that is cost-effective, and can isolate contaminants from the environment for exceptionally long periods of time. Photo Credit: Savannah River Site Photography

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Caption: Extended Reach End Effector: close up
Description: The Extended Reach End Effector can be used to obtain 50-milliliter surface samples from the tank walls and floor using a set of sealing waste scoops. This end effector can be used on the Light-Duty Utility Arm. Photo Credit: Hanford Site Photography (97070267-9CN)

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Caption: Extended Reach End Effector: Cold Demo
Description: The Extended Reach End Effector when deployed on the Light-Duty Utility Arm increases the arm's reach from 13.5 to 20.25 feet. This end effector allows the arm to obtain 50-millimeter surface samples from the tank walls and floor. The device is pneumatically actuated and has a unique detachable sampler with a clamping force of 50 to 300 pounds. As with all Light-Duty Utility Arm end effectors, the extended reach device is designed to meet the requirements for safety in operation, radiation, corrosion, and flammable gas specified for deployments in Hanford tanks. Photo Credit: Hanford Site Photography (94060906-118CN)

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Caption: Extended Reach End Effector: long view
Description: The Extended Reach End Effector expands the Light-Duty Utility Arm's reach from 13.5 feet to 20.25 feet. This allows samples to be taken from hard-to-reach places inside the tanks (for example, tank liner ribs, air-lift circulators) and to sample a larger area on the tank floor. Photo Credit: Hanford Site Photography (97070267-6CN)

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Caption: Extendible Nozzle
Description: The extendible nozzle, a part of the Borehole Miner, is shown here oriented at 90 degrees to the tank riser where it was installed. Within the tank, the nozzle is oriented by using remotely operated hydraulic actuators and launch mechanism.

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Caption: Extendible Nozzle at Work
Description: The borehole miner uses an extendible nozzle to place the high-pressure, moderate-flow-rate water jet stream close to the desired location inside the tank to dislodge heel and sludge. The borehole miner will be used to dislodge sludge from tanks at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. By retrieving tank waste, the U.S. Department of Energy moves another step closer to closing the tanks, thereby reducing risks and costs. Photo courtesy of Solutions To Environmental Problems, Inc.

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Caption: Extendible Nozzle Installed in Tank Riser
Description: The extendible nozzle is installed in a tank riser at the Oak Ridge Reservation cold test facility. Piping runs to route slurry between tanks and white valve box covers are visible.

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Caption: Exterior of Double-Shell Tank
Description: This photo shows steel-reinforced concrete being applied (the final construction phase) to the 6 double-shell tanks in the AW Tank Farm near the Plutonium-Uranium Extraction Plant. These tanks were later covered with 7 feet of soil. Photo provided by Hanford Photography (7813231-26cn).

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Caption: F-Area Tank, Top View
Description: Twenty-two underground storage tanks are located in the F Area Tank Farm at the Savannah River Site, near Aiken, South Carolina. These underground tanks are not easy to access to characterize and retrieve waste. Photo provided by U.S. Department of Energy.

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Caption: Feed Tank Skid and Collection Tank
Description: This is a view of the Evaporator skid, the feed tank skid, and the collection tank (far right) as part of the Out of Tank Evaporator Demo (OTED). This picture was taken during construction, and the first block of shielding is seen at the bottom of the picture. Full shielding was later installed.

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Caption: First pours into tank
Description: In April 1997, seven pours of sludge entraining reducing grout were done at different locations inside Tank 20 at the Savannah River Site. This created a "wagon wheel" pattern of residual sludge inside the tank. This photo shows the first few yards of grout coming in the east riser.

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Caption: Five Plate Unit
Description: In December 1998, a pulsed air mixer array was deployed in Oak Ridge Reservation Tank W- where it successfully mixed the waste prior to sampling activities. The mixer separates waste by particle weight, allowing the smaller particles to remain on the surface in preparation for waste transfer. The Pulsed Air Mixer at Oak Ridge Reservation has 14 mixing plates (the photo shows the center module of the system) and is part of the site's Waste Conditioning System.

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Caption: Fluidic Sampler
Description: The Fluidic Sampler is a U-shaped tube used for sampling tank waste above the risers. The sampler system consists of three main components: a charge vessel, the fluidic Reverse Flow Diverter (RFD) pump, and the fluidic sampling tee. The pump is used to lift the waste sample to the tee, and the tee draws the sample into the sampling bottle. This sampling system was installed in Savannah River Site Tank 48. A similar sampling device is under development for the Hanford Site.

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Caption: Flygt Mixer
Description: The Flygt mixer is a pumping device similar to an outboard motor. It develops long-range currents in the tank and is used to suspend solids in waste solutions during retrieval operations. The Flygt mixer is smaller and less expensive than conventional pumps and comes in 20 horsepower or 50 horsepower models (50 hp shown here).

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Caption: Flygt Mixer in Test Tank at Savannah River Site
Description: Savannah River Site users are actively integrating the Flygt Mixer into their plans for waste mobilization and retrieval of the sludge heel in Tank 19. Flygt mixers are also being considered for replacement of slurry pumps at the site.

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Caption: Flygt Mixer Propeller
Description: The TFA and its partners are testing large 50-horspower Flygt mixers in preparation for ultimate use in radioactive tank waste retrieval and as an alternative to long-shaft mixers. Photo courtest of Flygt

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Caption: Flygt Mixer Tests
Description: The TFA and its partners are testing Flygt mixers. The purpose of this testing is to determine applicability of Flygt mixers to Savannah Rivers Site Tank 19 heel removal and evaluate mixers for enhanced salt dissolution and sludge mobilization.

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Caption: Gel Formation and Crystallization after Leaching Procedure
Description: The Tanks Focus Area is working to identify potential problems due to chemical interactions during sludge washing/leaching that could result in process difficulties or safety concerns. In conducting their experiments, solids formation took a variety of forms. In this photo, gel deposits and crystals formed after the leaching procedure was conducted.

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Caption: Glass Pour
Description: The high surface tension of the molten glass and its tendency to wet the surface of the spout cause the glass to flow though the spout as a thin ribbon, which gathers at the knife edge to create a free-falling stream. The Defense Waste Processing Facility at Savannah River Site has experienced some difficulties caused by dripping from the spout, and glass flowing along undesired paths. Using a non-radioactive full-scale pour spout, this picture shows the molten glass flowing over the inside of the spout and separating from the wall of the spout, creating a “knife edge.”

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Caption: Glass Pour
Description: Our nation must dispose of its nuclear waste, a byproduct of various nuclear programs including atomic weapons production. This waste poses risks to the environment and the populace. Thus, the Tanks Focus Area and its partners developed a suite of technologies to remove radionuclides from a bulk of the waste and turn it into glass.

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Caption: Gripper End Effector holding NIR probe
Description: A gripper tool on the end of the Light-Duty Utility Arm enables the arm to grasp small objects such as this near infrared probe. Photo provided by Hanford Photography (96070276-1CN)

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Caption: Grout Mixing
Description: The Tanks Focus Area is conducting tests of MultiPoint Injection (MPI)™ technology for immbolizing waste in place at the Savannah River Site and Oak Ridge Reservation. MPI™ uses a grout, or cement, formula combined with tank waste. Tests are being conducted with simulated waste, shown here in a vertical tank configuration for Oak Ridge Reservation, to determine the mixing achieved and the strength of the grout once it cures.

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Caption: Grout Sample
Description: The small amount of waste left behind after retrieval efforts is called residual waste. In many cases, removing this residual waste is extremely costly and provides little benefit from a health and environmental standpoint. The Tanks Focus Area is working with partners at the Oak Ridge Reservation and Savannah River Site to determine the effectiveness of using MultiPoint Injection (MPI)™ for grouting the waste in place. In this photo, a similuated grout-waste mixture has cured and a sample drilled out to determine how well the mixing process performed in a vertical tank configuration.

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Caption: Gunite Tanks Radioactive Tank Cleaning System
Description: Gunite Tanks Radioactive Tank Cleaning System - Platform View. 1. Modified Light Duty Utility Arm (MLDUA) 2. MLDUA Tank Riser Interface and Containment 3. Houdini Tether Management and Deployment System 4. Hose Management Arm System 5. MLDUA Hydraulic Power Unit and Control Cabinet 6. Flow Control Equipment 7. Balance of Plant Control and Instrument Exposure 8. Tank Instrument Enclosure 9. Fishing Trailer 10. Houdini Power Distribution and Control Unit 11. Decon Spray Pump 12. Jet Pump Supply 13. Cutting Jet Supply 14. Process Water Supply System 15. Platform Electrical

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Caption: H Area Tanks
Description: The H Area at the Savannah River Site contains high-level waste tanks. Photo Credit: Savannah River Site Photography

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Caption: Hanford Cone Penetrometer at Hanford Site
Description: The Cone Penetrometer Platform is a non-mobile deployment unit constructed by Applied Research Associates, Inc. A 35-ton probe push capability is provided and the probes can be inserted directly into soil, or with more accurate positioning, into 4-inch and 12-inch tank risers.

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Caption: Hanford Covers 1% of Washington State
Description: The Hanford Site is made up of 570-square miles of Federal government-owned property in southeastern Washington State. The Tanks Focus Area is focused on approximately 55 million gallons of caustic waste located in tanks at the Hanford Site.

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Caption: Hanford Site in Southeastern Washington State
Description: Created in 1943 as part of the Manhatton Project, the Hanford Site's mission was to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons.

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Caption: Hanford Site Map
Description: Hanford Site Map.

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Caption: H-Area
Description: One of the two areas at the Savannah River Site, near Aiken, South Carolina, that contain underground radioactive waste tanks. This photo shows the canyon facility (center) were spent nuclear fuel was reprocessed, generating waste that was stored in the tanks. The tritium facility is also shown (lower right corner) where tritium, a short-lived radionuclide used in atomic weapons, was produced. Photo provided by U.S. Department of Energy.

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Caption: High Resolution Video System
Description: Using the High Resolution Video System, Light-Duty Utility Arm operators can inspect the tank interior and move equipment inside of the tank. The video system consists of two miniature cameras set about 3 inches apart and provides the operator with depth perception, similar to human vision.

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Caption: Hot cell sludge testing equipment
Description: This photo shows an apparatus for conducting experiments in the hot cell at Oak Ridge Reservation. The tilt table on the right can contain a vessel of waste that can be rocked for mixing and heated to the operating temperatures expected at the Hanford site. Thermocouples are shown and are used for test measurement and control. Equipment is fabricated and tested on the bench before installation in the hot cells.

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Caption: Houdini Being Deployed
Description: The Houdini Vehicle, which is used inside of tanks to remove radioactive waste and to position other tools, can fold up to fit through a 2-foot-diameter tank riser and then open to form a 4-foot by 5-foot work platform inside the tank. The Houdini Vehicle was developed and funded by the Robotics Crosscutting Program. Photo courtesy of Solutions to Environmental Problems.

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Caption: Houdini II Arriving at Oak Ridge Reservation
Description: In September 1998, the Houdini II remotely operated vehicle arrived at the Oak Ridge Reservation. Houdini II will be used to support radioactive waste retrieval from the Gunite and Associated Tanks at the site. The planned deployment of Houdini in FY99 will be supported by the Robotics Crosscutting Program, Accelerated Site Technology Deployment, and Office of Environmental Restoration (EM-40). The vehicle is shown here still on the shipping crate.

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Caption: Houdini Vehicle Handing off the Confined Sluicing End Effector to the Modified Light-Duty Utility Arm
Description: The Confined Sluicing End Effector is a robotic tool used to cut sludge, scarify contaminated concrete, or rinse surfaces clean and feed the wastes into the jet pump conveyence system. The end effector accomplishes this using low to medium variable pressure water jets.

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Caption: Idaho Site
Description: The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory includes 570,000 acres of undisturbed sagebrush vegetation. Photo credit: U.S. Department of Energy (421003002)

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Caption: In-Cell System Components with ICP/MS Equipment
Description: In-Cell System Components with ICP/MS Equipment

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Caption: In-tank waste probes
Description: In some tanks, the depth of the waste can be quite small (less than an inch to several inches), but spread across the diameter of the tanks, this waste quickly adds up. The in-tank waste probes shown here, which are deployed using the Light-Duty Utility Arm, measure the depth of waste on the tank floor.

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Caption: Interior of Double-Shell Tank
Description: This photograph shows the double-shell tanks under construction. The double-shell tanks are approximately 75 feet in diameter and over 4 stories (40 feet) tall. The 28 double-shell tanks were built at the Hanford Site between 1968 and 1986.

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Caption: Knife Edge
Description: This photo shows the portion of the melter pour spout that contains the knife edge (right end of the picture in the cut away). The configuration of the knife edge can be changed to test design concepts.

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Caption: Landing Spot Created for Houdini
Description: Because the sludge in Tank W-3 at the Oak Ridge Reservation was too deep to deploy the Houdini system, the Confined Sluicing End Effector deployed on the Modified Light-Duty Utility Arm was used to excavate a "landing spot" for the system.

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Caption: Laser Ablation/Mass Spectrometer in Hot Cell at Hanford Site September 1996
Description: In September 1996, the laser ablation/mass spectrometer system was installed in a hot cell at the Hanford Site.

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Caption: Light-Duty Utility Arm Deployed in Tank 106-T
Description: Light Duty Utility Arm: One of the training sessions for the operators. A short time later this technology was deployed in Hanford Site Tank 106-T.

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Caption: Light-Duty Utility Arm End Effectors
Description: Light-Duty Utility Arm: End Effectors; Steroscopic Camera and Sleeve.

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Caption: Light-Duty Utility Arm Mast
Description: The Canadian and U.S. flags are flown on top of the mast housing at this demonstration and testing to represent the international development effort that created this deployment tool.

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Caption: Light-Weight Scarifier: Cold Demo
Description: The Light-Weight Scarifier mounted on the Light-Duty Utility Arm uses rotating high-pressure water jets to cut up in-tank waste and retrieve the waste through a pneumatic line. Photo Credit: Hanford Site Photography (97080401-25CN)

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Caption: Magnetometer
Description: The magnetometer can be used to measure waste thickness on the bottom of a tank. This allows for improved accuracy when empty tank dimensions are not available and can be used anywhere in the tank for shallow heels.

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Caption: Magnetometer System
Description: The magnetometer system can be used to measure the thickness of the waste at the bottom of a tank.

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Caption: Manipulator Arm on Houdini Vehicle
Description: The Houdini is a hydraulically powered, tracked vehicle that is remotely controlled through a tether by an operator using overview and on-board cameras. The Houdini can be equipped with a Schilling Titan III manipulator arm, which can pick up debris and position the Confined Sluicing End Effector and other tools within the tank. The Houdini Vehicle was developed and funded by the Robotics Crosscutting Program. Photo courtesy of Solutions to Environmental Solutions.

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Caption: Mass Spectrometer
Description: Front view of the LA/MS system primary fume hood, which contains the mass spectrometer "front end" (left), the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) torch (center), and a particle size spectrometer which monitors the effectiveness of the ablation process (right). The tube passing from the penetration in the right wall to the ICP inlet carries the ablated sample material to the ICP/MS for analysis.

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Caption: Mast Mount Plate and Swivel Base
Description:

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Caption: Med-Scale Test Tank
Description: The TFA and its partners performed three phases of testing on the Flygt mixers to determine their applicability for radioactive tank waste retrieval. The medium scale test was done in an 18-ft. tank at Pacific Northwest national Laboratory.

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Caption: Melton Valley Storage Tanks
Description: The Melton Valley Storage Tanks (W-24 through W-31), highlighted by the red border, are waste storage tanks located at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. The waste from the gunite tanks, Bethel Valley Evaporator Service Tanks, and the Old Hydrofracture Tanks will be consolidated into these tanks during FY98 to FY00 for treatment. In the background of this photo is the Capacity Increase Project under constructio. This project will provide additional storage capacity for concentrated liquid low-level waste. Photo courtesy of Solutions to Environmental Problems.

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Caption: Mixer Array
Description: One of the challenges encountered in retrieving tank waste is the thick sludge that rests on the bottom of a number of the U.S. Department of Energy's radioactive waste storage tanks. One answer to this problem could be the pulsed-air mixer technology. This photo shows the pulsed air mixing array in a 1/12-scale tank. The mixer was designed such that pulses of compressed air could be delivered either between the plates or to the underside of the lower plate to mix the waste, making it easier for retrieval.

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Caption: Mixer Testing
Description: The Russian Pulsating Mixer Pump system was demonstrated in a three-quarter scale test tank at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the summer of 1997 to evaluate its application for mixing and mobilizing sludge in DOE's radioactive waste tanks. On the left is the low pressure jet pump, in the middle is a transfer pump, and on the right is the mixer pump. The TFA and its partners are developing a full-scale system for use in mobilizing sludge waste in gunite tanks at Oak Ridge Reservation.

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Caption: Mixing Plates
Description: The mixing plates, shown on pulsed air system installed in the 1/4-scale tank, are a critical component of the technology. The mixing system was designed such that pulses of compressed air could be delivered either between the plates or to the underside of the lower plate to mix the waste, making the waste easier to retrieve.

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Caption: Modified Light-Duty Utility Arm Inside Tanks Technology Cold Test Facility
Description: The design for this arm was based on the Light-Duty Utility Arm that was successfully deployed in a Hanford Site (Washington) tank and was built by SPAR Aerospace Limited, Canada. The Modified Light-Duty Utility Arm will be used to deploy end effectors inside tanks at the Oak Ridge Reservation (Tennessee).

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Caption: Mounted Borehole Miner Transfer Station
Description: The Borehole Miner is mounted on a model of the Old Hydrofracture Tanks during cold testing. The miner can operate at flow rates of 150 gal/min. At pressures up to 3,000 psi to dislodge sludge and fracture hard wastes. The nozzle spray can operate at stand-off-distances of 50 feet; the segmented arm extends up to 10 feet from the mast making the effective distance as far as 60 feet.

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Caption: Near Infrared Spectroscopy Probe in Hot Cell
Description: The near infrared spectroscopy probe can be used in a hot cell to measure the amount of water in a tank waste sample. In January 1996, the probe was installed in a hot cell at the Hanford Site, Washington.

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Caption: New Waste Calcining Facility
Description: The New Waste Calcining Facility can solidify radioactive liquid waste generated during spent fuel reprocessing operations at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. In June 1997, calcining work was started at this facility to calcine all of the remaining high-level liquid waste stored in tanks by June 1998 to meet the Settlement Agreement with the state of Idaho. Photo provided by U.S. Department of Energy.

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Caption: New Waste Calcining Facility: Construction
Description: This photo, taken October 1978, shows the New Waste Calcining Facility being built. The facility was built to solidify high-level liquid waste generated during spent fuel reprocessing operations at the Idaho site. The fluidized bed system is the heart of the facility. The process sprays radioactive liquid waste into the calcining vessels where the waste droplets contact hot particles in the fludized bed and solidify onto them. The end products are small grains that are continuously withdrawn and transported through pipes to stainless steel bins, housed in the Calcine Solids Storage Facilities. Photo provided by U.S. Department of Energy.

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Caption: Optical Components
Description: The optical components that make up the Raman probe include the probe body and the lid. The probe has two channels, one for laser excitation and one for signal collection. The laser channel uses a unique background that is generated in the 250 feet of fiber optic cable, leaving only the laser light to impinge on the sample.

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Caption: Out-of-Tank Evaporator Skid
Description: This photo of the Out-of-Tank Evaporator skid shows the reboiler at the bottom, the riser with the mist eliminator, and the condenser module on top.

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Caption: Out-of-Tank Evaporator Skid, reboiler, riser and condenser
Description: This view of the OTED evaporator skid shows in detail the reboiler at bottom, the riser with the mist eliminator, and the condenser module on top. This produced 90 gallons per hour of clean distillate which was treated and released, freeing up 5500 gallons of space in the MVSTs.

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Caption: Overview of Tank Site
Description: The AEA Pulse-Jet System, which mobilizes tank waste, was installed at the Bethel Valley Evaporator Service Tanks at the Oak Ridge Reservation. This photo shows the site after the equipment was installed. Photo Credit: Gary Riner (U.S. Department of Energy) and Jack Stellern (Lockheed Martin Hanford Corporation)

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Caption: Overview of Test Unit
Description: Florida International University built a bench-scale glass pour spout to test glass flow, sustained operation, ability to vary the temperature of the pour spout region, and visualization of the key regions of concern.

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Caption: Par Pond
Description: In the early 1950's, the Savannah River Site was established near Aiken, South Carolina, and Augusta, Georgia. The site is located near several bodies of water including the Savannah River and the Par Pond.

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Caption: Pilot-scale Electrochemical Testing Reactor
Description: This photograph shows the electrochemical reactor used for caustic recycle and recovery at the pilot-scale electrochemical testing facility at the Savannah River Technology Center (South Carolina). The technology is being evaluated to destroy hazardous species from tank waste such as nitrates, nitrites, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act metals, and some radionuclides. Also, this equipment can destroy organic compounds that impede radionuclide removal processes. This technology can help dispose of low-level waste. For example, the volume of low-level waste at the Savannah River Site could be reduced by 40% to 80% by removing the caustic from the tank waste.

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Caption: Placing Pitbull™ Pump
Description: The Pitbull pump was tested at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to determine its operating characteristics with heavy sludges and with sand and gravel. The test was conducted at the twelfth scale tank in 336 Building at the Hanford Site, where a discharge height of 60 feet, typical of Savannah River Site Tank 19, was set up.

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Caption: Platform View of System
Description: Waste characterization and risk assessment evaluations performed at the Oak Ridge Reservation, in Tennessee, indicate that at least 90% of the waste remaining in the gunite tanks needs to be removed to meet the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (see definition). The tank cleaning system, shown here, is one solution to removing this waste and meeting the regulatory requirement. Photo courtesy of Solutions to Environmental Problems.

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Caption: Pour Spout Tests
Description: In the process of pouring molten radioactive waste into canisters, small deposits of glass accumulate on the melter's pour spout. These deposits must be periodically removed to maintain melter operability. This removal poses risk to workers and impedes the vitrification process. The TFA and its partners are working to improve the melter pour spout design. This photo shows a front view of the glass stream flowing over the knife edge in the melter at Clemson University.

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Caption: Preparing Tank 20
Description: This photograph, taken July 16, 1996, shows a view toward the bottom of Tank 20, as it is being prepared for addition of a specialized sludge entraining, reducing grout, a step towards tank closure. The small squares protruding out of the tank bottom are steel plates that are only 1/4" to 3/4" in height, visually showing that there is virtually no waste in this tank. These steel plates were welded as reinforcement to the tank bottom during the time of construction. The "squiggly line" in the photo is a reel tape residing in the tank bottom. Stainless steel reel tapes were used to determine the amount of waste in tanks; about 50 reel tapes were found in the bottom of Tank 20.

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Caption: Probe Components
Description: The Raman probe consists of the penetrometer interface housing, the sapphire window assembly, and the fiber optic Raman probe itself.

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Caption: Pulsed Air mixing action creates bubbles in tank waste
Description: The PulsAir™ System produces large bubbles on the floor of a radioactive waste storage tank. As the bubbles rise, they separate the waste components by particle weight, making the lightweight particles near the surface available for safe transfer through a pipeline.

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Caption: Pulsejet Test Rig
Description:

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Caption: Pump
Description: The pump is a cylindrical tank with a flapper valve on the bottom. The air system draws a vacuum on the tank, drawing water and sludge in. When the tank is full a sensor causes the tank to be pressurized, forcing its contents up the discharge leg. A check valve there prevents back-flow.

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Caption: Raman Probe
Description: This photo shows a perspective of the size of the fiber optic Raman probe.

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Caption: Remote Tank Inspection End Effector
Description: The Remote Tank Inspection End Effector combines tank video and lighting with a nondestructive examination technique that can detect and size cracks and corrosion pitting in any conductive material in real time. This end effector can be deployed on the Light-Duty Utility Arm to perform detailed inspection and analysis of waste storage tank interiors. The technique used by the Remote Tank Inspection End Effector is called Alternating Current Field Measurement. In a February 1997 demonstration, the pits and cracks on a simulated tank wall were successfully located and sized at stand-off distances ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 inches Photo provided by Hanford Photography (97020122-25CN)

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Caption: Resin Transfer and Drying Skid
Description: This is the resin transfer and drying skid of the Cesium Removal System. The loaded sorbent is pneumatically conveyed to the vessel on the right, then the sorbent is dried and packaged into 30-gallon drums for transfer either to Savannah River Site or directly to the Nevada Test Site.

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Caption: Reverse Flow Diverter (RFD) Pump
Description: The Reverse Flow Diverter (RFD) Pump operates like a three way valve. It consists of two opposing nozzles and a charge vessel, and operates in a cyclic manner, delivering "dollops" of liquid into the delivery vessel.

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Caption: Russian Mixer Pump Test Results
Description: The Russian Pulsating Mixer Pump expels radioactive tank waste through an array of nozzles at the bottom of the device. Atmospheric air is delivered through a motorized rotary valve in alternating vacuum (~60 kPa) and pressure (~400 kPa) pulses that mobilize and mix the waste and scour the tank floor. This composite photo shows the results of operating the mixer pump in a one-quarter scale test tank at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in July 1997.

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Caption: Salt Sampler
Description: The salt sampler uses a lightweight, segmented mast equipped with a sample cylinder. The mast design allows the sampler to be assembled, then lowered to the proper depth inside the tank.

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Caption: Salt Sampler
Description: In some tanks at the Savannah River Site, cracks have developed in the primary liner and waste has leaked into the annulus. The salt sampler is being used to gather samples of the residual saltcake left in the annulus after bulk sludge and saltcake retrieval. These samples will be analyzed to determine retrieval performance objectives, effective retrieval methods, and to define the available access for retrieval systems in the annulus and surrounding ductwork.

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Caption: Salt Sampler Cylinder
Description: The salt sampler is equipped with a sampling cylinder, which is designed to scrape and vacuum or cut core samples from the salt surface.

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Caption: Saltstone Vaults: Under Construction
Description: This photo, taken in March 1988, shows a saltstone vault under construction in the Z-Area of the Savannah River Site. Immobilized low-level waste will be stored in these vaults. The processing operations buildings are located in the center rear of the photograph with material silos to the left of them. Photo provided by U.S. Department of Energy.

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Caption: Sampler in Hanford Tank, Riser R-9G
Description: Auger sampler deployed under Riser R-9G in Hanford Site Tank 241-AX-104 is mounted in auger receiving rack in 222-S Laboratory hot cell. With sleeve removed, dark brown and dry powdery sludge is collected in the sample tray with small amounts of sludge still adhering to flutes #12 and #13. A total of 80.8 grams of solids was collected and recorded for sample 97-AUG-003.

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Caption: Scarifier Testing
Description: The lightweight scarifier uses 50,000 psi water jets to dislodge hard, concrete-like saltcake in radioactive waste storage tanks. This technology minimizes water usage and can be applied to waste retrieval in leaking tanks.

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Caption: Shielded Sampling Station
Description: The sampling station is located over the tank riser. The top of the fluidic sampler, which attaches to the sample bottle, is contained within the sampling station. This feature allows for remote sampling capability, providing better contamination control and exposing operators to less risk than baseline "dip" sampling methods.

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Caption: Site in Semiarid Environment
Description: The Hanford Site is located in a semiarid region of Washington State.

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Caption: Site Map
Description: Oak Ridge Reservation Site Map.

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Caption: Site Map
Description: Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory Site Map.

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Caption: Site Map
Description: Savannah River Site Map.

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Caption: Sludge After Test
Description: This photo shows the sludge remaining in a mock tank after a pulsed air mobilization test.

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Caption: Sludge and supernate monitoring
Description: The sludge and supernate collected from the Melton Valley Storage Tanks at the Oak Ridge Reservation are monitored before storage in the shielded storage wells at the Site. The radiation level of the waste is less than most of the waste at the Hanford Site, allowing the technicians to handle the material with fewer restrictions. The sludge was then transferred into the hot cells for further testing and process development.

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Caption: Sludge Mobilization Equipment
Description: The AEA Pulse-Jet System was successfully installed on the first Bethel Valley Evaporator Service Tank at the Oak Ridge Reservation, Tennessee. The system consists of a set of vessels connected to existing nozzles that extend down into the sludge at the bottom of the tanks. The vessels can be evacuated to pull in tank contents that are then pressurized and jetted back into the tank for mixing. Photo Credit:Gary Riner (U.S. Department of Energy) and Jack Stellern (Lockheed Martin Hanford Corporation)

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Caption: Sludge sampling at Oak Ridge Reservation
Description: Technicians from the maintenance, health physics, and development organizations at the Oak ridge Reservation collect samples of sludge and waste from the Melton Valley Storage Tanks (MVSTs) to do sludge and supernate studies. With studies at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Hanford sludges and supernate, these MVST studies will be applied to the problems with sludge processing at Hanford.

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Caption: Sludge waste in Gunite Tank C-1
Description: The gunite tanks at Oak Ridge Reservation have been removed from service because of their age and changes in onsite liquid waste system needs. The 12 tanks contained supernatant and clay-like sludge. From 1981 to 1983, most of the sludge was removed. Since then, efforts have been underway to remove the remaining sludge layer, which varies from less than a foot to several feet thick. Photo Provided By: Solutions to Environmental Problems (STEP).

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Caption: Sluicer and Treads
Description: The sluicer on the disposable crawler can be easily positioned to move residual waste to more convenient areas for retrieval. By removing the residual waste, the site can perform final in-tank cleaning, one of the last steps to closure. In this photo, taken at a retrieval meeting, the sluicer is aimed at a set of off-the-shelf motorized treads from Inuktun®

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Caption: Sluicer: Inexpensive and Effective
Description: Removing the residual waste is one of the last steps in closing the large underground radioactive waste tanks in the DOE complex. Because this waste is a thin layer spread over the tank floor, water-intensive systems have been used. These systems have required expensive decontamination. The Tanks Focus Area hopes to overcome these problems through the disposable crawler and sluicer (pictured here). This system was developed at the Savannah River Site using the-shelf motorized treads from Inuktun®. The sluicer on the disposable crawler can be easily positioned to move residual waste to more convenient areas for retrieval.

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Caption: Sluicing Results for Tank C-106
Description: TFA scientist worked to determine the most effective sluicing pattern for removing radioactive sludge from Tank C-106. Here, a scientist measures the sluicing results on simulated, nonradioactive waste.

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Caption: Sluicing Test for Tank C-106
Description: A sluicing system will be used to remove the bulk of the sludge and waste from Hanford Tank C-106. Working with its partners, the TFA carefully studied the mining strategy, developing a highly effective sluicing pattern to remove the bulk of the waste. Tank C-106 contains sludge, supernate, and hard heel, and produces high levels of heat due to the strontium in the waste.

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Caption: Small Test Tank
Description: The TFA and its partners performed three phases of testing on the Flygt mixers to determine their applicability for radioactive tank waste retrieval. The small-scale test was done in a 1.5-ft tank at Flygt.

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Caption: Solid-Liquid Separation System Arrives at Oak Ridge Reservation
Description: On December 30, 1998, the Solid/Liquid Separation cross-flow filtration (CFF) system arrived at the Oak Ridge Reservation. The system is used to minimize the carryover of undissolved transuranic contaminants to the new Melton Valley Capacity Increase Tanks and to minimize fouling of supernate pretreatment processes.

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Caption: Solid-Liquid Separation System Chemical Feed Tanks
Description: Solid particles can damage waste pretreatment equipment, leading to costly and time-consuming delays, as well as potential difficulties in the final waste form. In this photo, taken during construction of the Solids-Liquids Separation System, the chemical feed tanks are visible just behind the steel wall beams on the right.

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Caption: Solid-Liquid Separation System Filter Modules
Description: At the left-center of this photo, taken during construction of the Solid-Liquids Separation System, two filter modules can be seen one on top of another. Filtration methods are used to separate solids from the liquid waste. Solids have the potential to damage pretreatment equipment and incur additional costs for repairs and delays.

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Caption: Solid-Liquid Separation System Lowered Onto a Pad Adjacent to the Melton Valley Storage Tanks at Oak Ridge Reservation
Description:

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Caption: Strong grout addition
Description: When the top of the tank sidewalls was reached with Controlled Low Strength Material, a high-strength intrusion prevention pour was added to fill the dome space. This photo shows the strong grout being added in Tank 20 to fill the tank's dome space. In the lower right corner of the photo, the tremmie is visible.

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Caption: Success
Description: This photo shows buckets of sand and gravel that were successfully pumped by the system. If gravel chokes the pump, clean water can be added to the cylinder from above to flush the system clear.

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Caption: Swivel Bearing Base
Description:

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Caption: Tall Column Ion Exchange
Description: Cesium removal by ion exchange is one of the alternative processes being evaluated for disposition of Savannah River Site salt solutions. The Tanks Focus Area is conducting tests to address particle stability and scale issues associated with tall column ion exchange. In this photo, the bottom section of a 20-ft-tall, 3-in-diameter test column is shown just prior to loading with crystalline silicotitanate.

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Caption: Tank 104-AX: Cutaway
Description: The Hanford Tanks Initiative, sponsored by the Tanks Focus Area and the Hanford Tank Waste Remediation System, is working to demonstrate characterization technologies by characterizing residual waste in Tank 104-AX (a single-shell tank) to assess compliance with retrieval performance criteria. This cutaway diagram shows the in-tank hardware, access ports, and other equipment in this 75-foot-diameter single-shell tank.

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Caption: Tank 16 Annulus
Description: To clean the salt from the confined space between the primary liner and secondary pan, work is beind done with the users at the Savannah River Site to determine the retrieval performance objectives, effective retrieval methods, and to define the available access for retrieval systems. The goal is to adapt an industrially available spray or crawler system to dislodge - through dissolution or mechanical methods - and remove the saltcake from the annulus.

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Caption: Tank 19 Interior
Description: This photo shows the heel and sludge inside Tank 19 at the Savannah River Site, near Aiken, South Carolina. This tank does not have secondary containment or cooling coils.

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Caption: Tank 20 closure monument
Description: This monument was erected after the closure of Tank 20 at the Savannah River Site. This is the first high-level waste tank to be closed in the U.S. Department of Energy complex.

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Caption: Tank 241-AX-104 with Airlift Circulator
Description: Hanford Site Tank 241-AX-104 contains residual waste and in-tank equipment, such as the airlift circulator at the right.

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Caption: Tank 41 Interior
Description: This photo shows the cooling coils and waste inside Tank 41 at the Savannah River Site, near Aiken, South Carolina. This photo was taken in March 1987.

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Caption: Tank base being built
Description: This photograph, taken in the 1950s, shows the base of an octagonal tank being built at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. Photo courtesy of Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory.

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Caption: Tank Cleaning System for Gunite Tanks
Description: Waste characterization and risk assessment evaluations performed at the Oak Ridge Reservation, in Tennessee, indicate that at least 90% of the waste remaining in the gunite tanks needs to be removed to meet the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (see definition). A system was developed that includes the Confined Sluicing End Effector deployed on the Modified Light-Duty Utility Arm and the Houdini remotely operated vehicle. This system, shown here in the cold testing phase, is designed to remove waste from the gunite tanks. Photo courtesy of Solutions to Environmental Problems.

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Caption: Tank Cleaning System for Gunite Tanks
Description: Waste characterization and risk assessment evaluations performed at the Oak Ridge Reservation, in Tennessee, indicate that at least 90% of the waste remaining in the gunite tanks needs to be removed to meet the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (see definition). A system was developed that includes the Confined Sluicing End Effector deployed on the Modified Light-Duty Utility Arm and the Houdini remotely operated vehicle. This system, shown here in the cold testing phase, is designed to remove waste from the gunite tanks. Photo courtesy of Solutions to Environmental Problems.

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Caption: Tank Construction
Description: Single- and double-shell tanks were built at the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State to hold nuclear waste from the production of atomic weapons.

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Caption: Tank Construction
Description: This photo shows a waste tank being constructed in 1943 in the South Tank Farm at the Oak Ridge Reservation, near Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

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Caption: Tank Construction
Description: Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory Waste Tank Construction.

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Caption: Tank Construction Gridwork
Description: Two underground storage tanks were built to hold the alkaline waste generated by reprocessing acivities. Each tank is about 26 feet high, 70 feet in diameter, and made of a single shell of carbon steel. Each has a holding capacity of about 740 gallons. Only one tank (8D-2) was used for waste storage; the other (8D-1) was built as a spare and remains unused.

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Caption: Tank Interior
Description: This photograph shows a tank under construction at Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. The person in the tank is shown for reference. One of the challenges at Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory is removing the waste from the tanks' cooling coils that line the walls and floor.

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Caption: Tank interior after dry grout added
Description: This photo shows the inside of Tank 20 at the Savannah River Site after the dry grout was added. The darker patch to the left of the photo is a damp area of immobile grout/sludge mix. The purpose of the dry grout mixture was to absorb any stray water on top of the original grout pour.

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Caption: Tank Under Construction: Type III
Description: This photo, taken in September 1980, shows a Type III waste tank being built at the Savannah River Site, near Aiken, South Carolina. Twenty-seven of these 1,300,000-million-gallon-capacity tanks were built. They have a primary steel liner that covers the top of the tank and a secondary carbon steel pan. The tanks are 85 feet in diameter and 33 feet tall. Photo provided by U.S. Department of Energy.

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Caption: Tank walls being built
Description: This photo, taken in the 1950s, shows an octagonal tank with solid pour walls being built. Photo courtesy of Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory.

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Caption: Tank Waste: Looking Inside
Description: Tank waste at the Hanford Site contains a number of different physical forms: rocklike saltcake; sludge, and liquid supernate. The saltcase can be seen in this photo as the white crusty substance around and behind the tank riser.

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Caption: Tanks Under Construction: Aerial Photo
Description: This photo, taken in September 1978, shows double-shell tanks being built at the Savannah River Site, near Aiken, South Carolina. The tanks rest on a 3.5-foot-thick concrete slab and are surrounded by a 30-inch-thick reinforced concrete wall. Photo provided by U.S. Department of Energy.

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Caption: TARZAN Locomotor
Description: Grippers on each end of the TARZAN system allow it to move both horizontally and vertically by attaching to internal tank structures, hence the term "TARZAN". The system can span horizontally to 10 feet, and the dextrous arm - used to apply various end effectors - can reach 75 inches with a payload of 100 pounds. Due to the mobility of the TARZAN system, which can provide almost 100 percent coverage, the number of deployments can be minimized. (graphics courtesy of RedZone Robotics)

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Caption: TARZAN Remotely Controlled Mobile Tool Delivery System
Description: "TARZAN" is a remotely controlled tool delivery system that has the capability to perform tank cleaning and inspection of high-level waste tanks. It is lowered through tank risers and has a dextrous arm that can use a variety of end effectors to sluice, clean, inspect and survey tank contents. TARZAN is being developed by RedZone Robotics for use in tanks at the West Valley Site through an industrial procurement from the Federal Energy Technology Center. (graphics courtesy of RedZone Robotics)

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Caption: Test Pours
Description: This picture, taken in the summer 1997, shows a test being run in above-ground, 30-foot-diameter swimming pool which was used for some experimental test pours to gain a better understanding of grout mix behavior. On the left side of the photo you can see a spray of dry grout falling down into the bottom of the pool.

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Caption: Test Tanks
Description: These two tanks were constructed to simulate the Old Hydrofracture Facility tanks at the Oak Ridge Reservation. The Borehole Miner was deployed in the left tank to dislodge sludge during the cold tests conducted at the Oak Ridge Reservation. The dislodged slurry was pumped into the right tank.

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Caption: Top of CLSM in tank
Description: This photo shows the top of the Controlled Low Strength Material added in the tank, with the bright spot being the reflection of the flash off the tank roof.

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Caption: Topographical Mapping System
Description: The Topographical Mapping System creates maps of waste topography and tank structures to 1) determine surface features and deviations and 2) model the tank environment. The system can also be used to determine residual tank waste volume. This system was demonstrated in-tank at Oak Ridge Reservation, summer 1997. This system is faster and more accurate than other methods. Photo Credit: Hanford Site Photography (94060906-118CN)

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Caption: Topographical Mapping System Controller
Description: The control system for the Topographical Mapping System is shown at the left. At the right of the photo is system support that is put over the top of a tank riser to deploy the topographical system. The system creates maps of waste topography and tank structures to 1) determine surface features and deviations and 2) model the tank environment. The system can also be used to deternine residual tank waste volume.

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Caption: Touch Down
Description: The Hanford Cone Penetrometer Platform is lowered into position inside the tank farm. A positioning system is used to ensure that the platform is set correctly. Photo credit: Hanford Photography (98030363-2CN)

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Caption: Transfer Station
Description: The flags in the background mark the location of the transfer station to pump waste retrieved from the Old Hydrofracture Facility Tanks to the Melton Valley Storage Tanks.

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Caption: Type I Tank
Description: One dozen Type I radioactive waste storage tanks, which are over 40 years old, are located at the Savannah River Site. These tanks each have a capacity of 750,000 gallons.

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Caption: Type II Tank
Description: Four Type II radioactive waste storage tanks, which were built from 1955 to 1966, are located at the Savannah River Site. These tanks each have a capacity of 1,030,000 gallons.

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Caption: Type III Tank
Description: Twenty-seven Type III radioactive waste storage tanks, which were built from 1967 to 1982, are located at the Savannah River Site. These tanks each have a capacity of 1,300,000 gallons.

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Caption: Type IV Tank
Description: Eight Type IV radioactive waste storage tanks, which were built from 1958 to 1961, are located at the Savannah River Site. These tanks each have a capacity of 1,300,000 gallons.

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Caption: Vitrification Cells
Description: In the vitrification process at West Valley, the waste is mobilized, mixed to a homogeonous slurry, and pumped from the HLW tank to the vitrification facility, specifically, the vitrification cell. The cell is a reinforced concrete, shielded canyon-type structure that houses all of the major radioactive vitrification process equipment. The cell acts as a confinement barrier for the vitrification process.

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Caption: Vitrified Waste
Description: When radioactive tank waste is turned into glass (vitrification), it looks hard, shiny, and rocklike. This glass traps radioactive and chemical materials, keeping them from easily escaping into the environment.

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Caption: Water monitor operation
Description: This photo shows the water monitor operation inside of Tank 17.

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Caption: Work Area in 222-S Laboratory.
Description: The hot cell with manipulators (right foreground), the fume hood containing the mass spectrometer (beyond hot cell), the mass spectrometer electronics (at rear behind the manipulator operator), and the system operator console (against left wall).