THE IMPACT OF SHRINKING HANFORD BOUNDARIES ON PERMITS FOR TOXIC AIR POLLUTANT EMISSIONS FROM THE HANFORD 200 WEST AREA

Abstract

This presentation (CE-580. Graduate Seminar) presents a brief description of an approach to use a simpler dispersion modeling method (SCREEN3) in conjunction with joint frequency tables for Hanford wind conditions to evaluate the impacts of shrinking the Hanford boundaries on the current permits for facilities in the 200 West Area. To fulfill requirements for the graduate student project (CE-702. Master's Special Problems), this evaluation will be completed and published over the next two years. Air toxic emissions play an important role in environmental quality and require a state approved permit. One example relates to containers or waste that are designated as Transuranic Waste (TRU), which are required to have venting devices due to hydrogen generation. The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) determined that the filters used did not meet the definition of a ''pressure relief device'' and that a permit application would have to be submitted by the Central Waste Complex (CWC) for criteria pollutant and toxic air pollutant (TAP) emissions in accordance with Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 173-400 and 173-460. The permit application submitted in 2000 to Ecology used Industrial Source Code III (ISCIII) dispersion modeling to demonstrate that it was not possible for CWC to release amore » sufficient quantity of fugitive Toxic Air Pollutant emissions that could exceed the Acceptable Source Impact Levels (ASILs) at the Hanford Site Boundary. The modeled emission rates were based on the diurnal breathing in and out through the vented drums (approximately 20% of the drums), using published vapor pressure, molecular weight, and specific gravity data for all 600+ compounds, with a conservative estimate of one exchange volume per day (208 liters per drum). Two permit applications were submitted also to Ecology for the Waste Receiving and Processing Facility and the T Plant Complex. Both permit applications were based on the Central Waste Complex approach, and relied on similar tracking requirements as at CWC. All three applications used ISCIII modeling, where unit release factors (lb/yr converted to g/s) were determined for estimating the highest 24-hr or annual average concentrations (in {micro}g/m{sup 3}), where the nearest public receptor was roughly 20 miles away. Plans to clean up and release portions of the Hanford Site over the next several decades would allow public access closer to these facilities in the 200 West Area. Before release of these areas, effectively shrinking the boundaries, the three permits would have to be re-evaluated to determine if toxic air pollutant emissions would remain below the ASILs if the restricted boundaries are moved closer than the current locations.« less