U.S. Department of Energy, Savannah River Operations Office, Contracts Management Division, P.O. Box A, Aiken, South Carolina 29802

W -- LEASE OF DRY STORAGE CONTAINERS POC Carol Elliott, Telephone (803) 725-2191 E-MAIL: Click here to contact Carol Elliott via e-mail, carol.elliott@srs.gov. The U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Operations Office (DOE-SR) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina, is considering issuing a Request for Proposal to acquire Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) Canister Storage Services at the SRS. DOE-SR is evaluating a number of possibilities to address the requirement for storage of its DWPF high-level waste (HLW) canisters. Currently, a Glass Waste Storage Building (GWSB) is used to store these canisters in a subsurface structure. It has a capacity of 2,150 canisters. Current capacity in the facility could be exhausted by 2005. Two of the options being considered include construction of an additional GWSB, and use of above ground storage containers to be located at SRS. The above ground approach being considered under this Notice of Intent involves the use of depleted uranium oxide (DUO) as a radiation shield in the dry storage containers. The United States Government has rights in several patents, which utilize DUO as a component in radiation shielding material. Qualified parties will be authorized to use any of these approaches on behalf of DOE for the purpose of positively utilizing the DUO and providing dry storage containers to the DOE. Interested parties may also propose alternate technologies provided the alternate approach meets the requirements for storing DWPF HLW canisters and maximizes the use of Savannah River DUO. Under this approach the Government shall provide approximately 23,000 metric tons of DUO in the form of uranium trioxide (~19,500 MTU) for the construction of retrievable dry storage units. The DUO will be provided at reduced or no cost to the selected vendor. The vendor will take title to the DUO at its SRS location and be responsible for the costs of relocation of the DUO to the vendor's facility either on an as-needed basis or up to the limits allowed by the vendor's license for nuclear materials. Some of the DUO may require repackaging prior to transport. The DUO is stored in approximately 35,865 fifty-five gallon drums weighing approximately 1500 pounds each. The drums are located in seven (7) facilities on site. The density of the trioxide is 7.29 g/cm3 and greater than 90% of the particles are less than 10 um in diameter. The isotopic activity percent is .01 U-234, .18 U-235, .01 U-236 and 99.8 U-238. Some of the services and requirements sought include: (A) General -- 1) Vendor will own the dry storage units and lease them to DOE-SR for the storage of high level waste canisters (number of canisters per storage unit is up to the proposer). 2) Vendor will be responsible for removal of the storage units from SRS after canisters are retrieved and the storage units are no longer needed. Vendor will also be responsible for final disposition of the dry storage units and any costs associated with their removal from SRS and their final disposition. 3) The vendor shall be responsible for providing dry storage units, storage pad(s), transfer vehicle or mechanism, and interface facility between DWPF and the GWSBand the dry storage units no later than December 2004. 4) Vendor facilities and dry storage units must meet applicable DOE Orders or NRC license requirements at the vendor's expense. 5) Facilities must meet Federal, State, and local environmental requirements. (B) Technical -- 1) DWPF stainless steel canister dimensions 2ft. diameter x 10 ft. high; 2) Canister full with glass made of HLW weighs 5500 lbs.; 3) Thermal load 750 watts/canister average; 1000 watts/canister max.; 4) Radiation source 6000 R/hr at canister surface; 5) Radiation level 5 mr/hr at 30 cm from outer surface of the dry storage unit when fully loaded; 6) Cooling must be adequate to maintain structural strength of the dry storage unit and limit the maximum glass center line temperature to 400 C. (C) Schedule and Production -- 1) The vendor must provide at least two prototype dry storage units by June 2002 for evaluation. After evaluation of the prototypes, the Government shall have the option to either proceed with the lease of the dry storage units or pursue other storage approaches. 2) If the Government proceeds with lease of the dry storage units, the Government anticipates requiring a sufficient number of storage units to store at least 300 canisters no later than December 2004 and 300 by December 2005. Vendor should also show capability to provide enough storage for 600 canisters by December 2004 in case the Government needs higher storage capacity at that time. 3) After providing storage for 300 canisters by December 2004 and 300 canisters in December 2005, it is anticipated that the vendor will be required to provide enough storage for a 200 to 250 canister production per year starting in 2006. 4) The minimum number of canisters to be stored under this acquisition is estimated at 600. The minimum lease period will be 6 years. The maximum number of canisters to be stored under this acquisition is estimated at 3500 canisters. The maximum lease period anticipated is 17 years. 5) Vendor will be required to specify the cost of an extended lease and must allow for indefinite extension. 6) Vendor must include an option for the Government to purchase vendor interface facilities and equipment at the inception of the agreement and after 17 years of lease, at Government's option. This is not a request for proposals. Interested vendors should provide a statement of capabilities including experience in handling DUO, a copy of their facility's NRC license and an estimate of the quantity of DUO that will be used in their process. Additionally, all interested parties should include a schedule and rough order of magnitude cost estimates for the lease. Information provided under this request is not considered an offer and will only be used to assist the Government in planning the acquisition. Please provide the requested information to: Carol Elliott, Contract Specialist, U.S. Department of Energy, Savannah River Operations Office, P.O. Box A, Aiken, SC, 29802. Questions and comments should be submitted via electronic mail, if possible, to carol.elliott@srs.gov. All responses must be received within 30 days of the date of publication of this announcement. This is a request for Expressions of Interest only. Posted 06/30/99 (W-SN349130). (0181)

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