Waste oil disposal at the Department of Energy facilities at Oak Ridge, Tennessee

The disposal of waste oil generated at the USDOE facilities in Oak Ridge has become a significant problem in recent years. The presence of radioactivity and other contaminants in some oils prohibits the use of commercial disposal and oil reclamation firms, and thus, often necessitates on-site disposal. Recent and proposed federal regulations have and will continue to control all waste oil disposal operations, including those of the Department of Energy. In order to ensure adequate and acceptable disposal of waste oils, a special committee of UCC-ND personnel located in Oak Ridge was established in December 1978 and asked to make appropriate recommendations for both near-term and long-range operations. Included in this paper is a brief description of the efforts of the committee, the associated efforts of development and engineering personnel, and conclusions and recommendations pertaining to UCC-ND waste oil disposal.