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APPENDIX H PROPOSED FACILITY CONSTRUCTION AND UPGRADES AT PANTEX PLANT

H.1 INTRODUCTION

This appendix presents detailed descriptions of the proposed facility construction and upgrades at Pantex Plant as discussed in the Proposed Action and No Action Alternatives for this EIS. Along with each project description is an assessment of the environmental impacts associated with that project. Section H.2 identifies the relationship of projects associated with the Proposed Action and the Alternatives, and sections H.3 through H.8 discuss the individual projects.

H.1.1 Purpose

The proposed facility construction and upgrades are evaluated in this EIS because of the integral nature of these projects' specific missions to the overall Pantex Plant mission. This EIS serves as the NEPA documentation for these projects. In addition, the EIS evaluates the cumulative impacts of these projects and the main mission of Pantex Plant. The purpose of this appendix is to provide the decision maker and the public with project-specific information in one report even though the impact analysis also appears under individual environmental resources and issue areas in the main body of this EIS.

H.1.2 Detailed Project Descriptions

The proposed facility construction and upgrade projects would be located in or near Zones 11 and 12 in the southeast quadrant of Pantex Plant (see Figure 3.1.1-1). Facilities designed to meet current explosives safety, seismic, and tornado criteria are needed to replace deteriorating facilities. The proposed facility upgrades are intended to modernize Pantex Plant, streamline efficiency of continued operations, maximize worker safety, reduce the footprint, and meet all regulatory requirements.

The proposed facilities discussed in this appendix include:

• A new Hazardous Waste Treatment and Processing Facility (HWTPF) between Zones 11 and 12 that would accommodate treatment and processing of hazardous waste, low-level waste, and low-level mixed waste. It would routinely treat and process only those wastes currently identified in the plant's Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit application, as amended.
• Modifications of existing facilities to provide a Pit Reuse Facility in Zone 12. This facility would allow modification of certain pits obtained from nuclear weapons dismantlement in order to enhance their safety and allow their future reuse. Pantex Building 12-104 would be modified to accommodate this project.
• Construction of a new Gas Analysis Laboratory near Zone 11. The facility would provide new analytical laboratory space with the requisite environmental controls for sophisticated apparatus.
• Construction of a new Materials Compatibility Assurance Facility near Zone 11. The facility would be used for the environmental aging and compatibility testing of non-nuclear weapon components.
• Construction of a new Nondestructive Evaluation Facility in Zone 12. The facility would house operations such as radiography, ultrasound, digital imaging, penetrant testing, laser sampling, radiometry, and computer tomography of non-nuclear weapon materials.
• Construction of a new Metrology and Health Physics Calibration and Acceptance Facility in Zone 12. The facility would provide the capability and capacity to perform health physics calibration and product acceptance control in support of the disassembly and assembly programs. The Health Physics Laboratory of this facility would provide necessary calibration and maintenance support for radiological instrumentation and monitors. The Product Acceptance Control Laboratory will provide the capability for calibration and support of product acceptance testing and equipment.

No decisions have been made regarding use of the replaced facilities after implementation of the Proposed Action. The decision to reuse, modify, or demolish the replaced facilities will be addressed in future NEPA documentation.

H.1.3 Affected Environment

Detailed discussions of each environmental resource in the overall affected environment at Pantex Plant are presented in chapter 4 of volume I of this EIS. The affected environment for Pantex Plant is the same as would be discussed for each of the proposed projects if they were discussed individually. In the interest of brevity, those discussions will not be repeated in this appendix.

H.1.4 Analysis of Environmental Impacts

While the discussion of the affected environment might be the same for the overall Pantex Plant and the individual projects, the impacts of the projects have been evaluated individually. Each project description is followed by a brief discussion of the environmental impacts associated with that project. The impacts are compiled from the resource-specific impact sections in chapter 4 of volume I of this EIS.