Pla
ning and Programming
93
Extraction of plutonium from waste or
jutoni um with the soil (excision).
soil is ¢
neoretically possible, and the technology has been explored by
It was suggested by the AEC Task Group,!25 but a
other co untries.
was not available for field use since national policy
practicab je technique
only
precluded development or use of such technology. Thus, the
ofsoil
racticable process was excision—thestripping of successive layers
radiation levels were
ising earth-moving equipment until acceptable
reacsal of radioactive waste is one of the most controversial problems
this nation faces. This was especially true as it applied to the Enewetak
Cleanup Project. The Enewetak people’s position was madeclear in their
earliest meetings with DNAI27 and was restated in their counsel’s
comments on the DEIS: Disposal on the atoll was rejected, and off-atoll
disposal was the only acceptable solution. Several other solutions had been
suggested during the radiological surveys, including use of a small island as
a disposal dump, !28 packaging and shipping to the Nevada TestSite, !29
burial in place, and dumpingin the lagoon.!30 The DEIS considered four
alternatives for disposal:
e Level | - Crater Dumping, by which radioactive materials would be
dumped in Cactus Crater (and in Lacrosse Crater, if required) with
no further action to fix the materials in place. (The craters were
named for the nuclear test shots which had created them.) The
estimated cost for disposal of materials from a Case 3 cleanup using
this method was $320,000.
,
e Level 2 - Ocean Dumping, by which radioactive materials would be
containerized and dumped in the ocean at a deep-water site. The
estimated cost for disposal of materials from a Case 3 cleanup using
this method was $9,989,000.
e Level 3 - CONUSDisposal, by which radioactive materials would be
sealed in containers and shippedto the United States for disposal. The —
estimated cost for disposal of materials for a Case 3 cleanup using this
method was $18,910,000.
© Level 4 - Crater Entombment, by which contaminated soil and debris
would be entombed in Lacrosse Crater (and in Cactus Crater, if
required) by sealing the cracks in the crater, mixing the plutonium-
eeRT ee ens =
contaminated soil with cement to form a slurry, and pumping the
slurry into the crater around the contaminated debris, thereby
encasing all the radioactive materials in a solid mass. The mass would
be covered by an 18-inch thick concrete cap or lid, to provide an
erosion resistant crypt which would seal off the radioactive material.
The estimated cost for disposal of materials from a Case 3 cleanup
using this method was $6,968,000. 131!