Michael Gresalfi
ORNL

During September, 1997, the DOE National Program for Metals recycle was initiated. The Oak Ridge Operations was selected by the DOE Office of Environmental management to lead this new effort. Mr. Vince Adams, the DOE Oak Ridge Group Leader and Mr. Marvin Bennett, The Metal Recycle team leader, facilitated a discussion on the program vision of this new national program, which is "Develop a DOE culture that considers the recycle and reuse of metal as the first and primary disposition option, and burial as the last option". Four approaches for the recycling of radioactively contaminated metals were defined during this workshop: Unrestricted Release, Restricted Release, Beneficial reuse, and Stockpile Ingots. These four approaches provide for a tiered structured for maximizing the utility of a certain contaminated metal resource. Potential and proven products that can be fabricated from metals, in lieu of burial were also discussed during this workshop.

Some of the program goals and scope of this new national program include: (1) Working with the DOE sites, regulators, industry, and interest groups in support of recycling initiatives; (2) Accelerating the disposition of legacy scrap metal inventories; (3) Supporting the development and implementation of DOE metal release and recycle policies; and , (4) promoting proper planning for D&D in order to recycle the maximum amount of available metals. For more information, please contact Marvin Bennett, DOE Oak Ridge, at (423)576-0853. 

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