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CONVERTING SENSITIVE WASTE INTO CLEANER ENERGY

Debra Schriner Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company (LMITCO)

(208) 526-5440 $>! p - 22 1,

Robert Skinner Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company (LMITC

(208) 526-3516

Keywords: cuber facility, sensitive unclassified information , OPSEC, CFSGF

Introduction The destruction of sensitive unclassified infomation (SUI) has always been expensive due to the need for special controls to ensure its protection fiom disclosure to unauthorized persons. The sensitive documents were shredded, buried at the landfill, or sent to a recycling company. The Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), operated by Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company (LMITCO), has created an innovative method to dispose of its sensitive unclassified paper waste which has security, economic, and environmental benefits.

A new cubing facility at the INEEL converts office and industrial waste into compact cubes which are then combined with coal and burned as a source of heat and process steam to run the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) facility. The process-engineered fuel, consisting of 25% cubes and 75% coal, burns cleaner than coal with lower emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The alternative fuel also reduces fuel costs, eliminates paying a recycling company, reduces the expense of landfill disposal, increases the life of the landfill, and provides energy to operate a large facility.

The Operations Security (OPSEC) team capitalized on this waste to energy technology by recommending that the large quantities of sensitive information (documents) generated at the INEEL be disposed of in this manner. In addition to the economic and environmental benefits, this disposal method minimizes the vulnerabilities of SUI from disclosure to unauthorized personnel. The “cuber” technology has potential application in government and industry for protection of SUI.

DISCLAIMER

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or use- fulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any spe- cific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufac- turer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recom- mendation. or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or rencct those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

DISCLAIMER

Portions of this document may be illegible electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document.

Waste-To-Cu bes Process In September 1996, the INEEL installed equipment which enabled LMITCO to convert material, which was previously sent to the landfill, into process- engineered fuel. This fuel was made fiom white paper and routine trash generated at the 890-square-mile site facility, offices, and research facilities. A grant fiom the DOE Pollution Program funded this effort and made procurement and setup of the equipment possible.

The equipment has been used extensively in the agricultural industry to cube hay into compact cubes to reduce shipping and storage costs. This same equipment is now used to cube trash, which is ultimately used to displace a portion of the coal feed in the Coal Fired Steam Generating Facility (CFSGF). This facility generates process and heating steam for use at the ICPP.

Waste from offices and buildings at the INEEL and from in-town facilities is collected by dumpmaster trucks and taken to the Cold Waste Handling Facility at the ICPP for segregation and processing. The trucks are emptied at a staging/processing facility, where the hands-on portion of the work begins. The waste is moved onto moving conveyor belts and spread out for segregation. Many items can be cubed, including paper, wood, cardboard, food items, Styrofoam, plastics, paper towels, and just about anything else that can be burned. Any item that can be used as fuel is placed on a conveyor belt for transfer into the shredder. Non-burnable items, such as cans, metals, binders with metal rings, and medical wastes, are placed on another conveyor belt for shredding and transfer to the Central Facilities Area (CFA) landfill for burial. The INEEL landfill is considered an industrial landfill and the types of material that can be buried are very limited. The waste that goes to the shredder for cubing is shredded and sent to one of two metering boxes. When enough material is contained within the two metering boxes, the cubing system is started and the shredded waste is converted into cubes. The cubes are placed into a trailer for transfer to the CFSGF.

The CFA landfill also has a wood chipper which converts waste wood into wood chips. The wood chipper is fed with old wood and bailed cardboard which makes a product that is ideally suited as a feedstock for the waste cubing system. The woodchips, cardboard and trash are mixed and then fed into the waste cubing

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system. The addition of wood and cardboard to the collected waste increases the BTU content of the final cubed product.

Process engineered fuels (cubes) can displace up to 30% of the coal fed into the CFSGF without any impact to the facility’s operating permit.

Many commercial waste facility operators and waste generators have inquired about the INEEL cubindincineration process. The INEEL has hosted demonstrations for interested visitors from several countries and from many facilities within the United States. Since the cuber can process over 200 tons of waste a day, it has many applications throughout the waste management industry.

Enhancement of Sensitive Information Protection

could adversely affect national security, governmental or company interests, and competitiveness. Unclassified national security interests are those matters which relate to the national defense or foreign relations of the U.S. Government. Government interests are those related, but not limited, to the wide range of government or government-derived economic, human, financial, industrial, agricultural, technological, and law-enforcement infomation, as well as the privacy or confidentiality of personal or commercial proprietary information provided the U.S. Government by its citizens. 1 Company interests and competitiveness issues include information pertaining to a company’s business plans and finances.

A , SUI is information in which disclosure, loss, misuse, alteration, or destruction

The LMITCO OPSEC Program maintains an aggressive OPSEC assessment schedule. The purpose of an OPSEC assessment is to identify and mitigate potential losses of SUI. It was discovered during the course of these assessments that a satisfactory method did not exist for disposal of large quantities of SUI. The solution was unique to the problem. The LMITCO OPSEC Office learned that the Cold Waste Handling Facility at the ICPP was installing a new cubing machine that could shred, mix, and extrude large amounts of combustible material into hard cubes.

OPSEC assessments are conducted using a five-step process to ensure LMITCO properly protects their sensitive assets. This process is as follows:

1. identification of critical information 3

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2. analysis of threat 3. analysis of vulnerabilities 4. assessment of risks 5. application of appropriate countermeasures

A continuing problem discovered during the OPSEC assessments was the amount of SUI being disposed of in trash cans and recycle bins. It was also being left out on desks, file cabinets, and bookcases because no one wanted to take time to dispose of it properly. Improper disposal of SUI, such as discarding proprietary information into a trash can or recycle bin, could result in the loss of new innovative technology, company profits, and possibly jobs. The benefits of implementation of the Cuber system are:

A I A convenient and cost-effective method to dispose of SUI Employee productivity is not diminished by shredding large quantities of SUI The low implementation cost of using the cuber

The “Waste-to-Energy Cubing System” at the INEEL minimizes the possibility of inadvertent disclosure of SUI. Examples of the different categories of SUI include applied technology information, export controlled information, privacy act information, proprietary information, protected Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) information, naval nuclear propulsion information (NNPI), and safeguards information.

The destruction of sensitive unclassified documents has always been expensive because of the need for special controls to ensure its protection from disclosure to unauthorized persons. The reduction in paper trash being sent to the landfill reduces the costs for operating the landfill. Sensitive information which is not disposed of properly could compromise the competitive position of the INEEL. The SUI is now being turned into energy which heats a facility, and at the same time, contributes to a cleaner environment through the reduction of emissions at the plant and reduction in the amount of material being placed in the landfill.

The LMITCO OPSEC Office developed procedures for the gathering of sensitive information and subsequent transportation to the Cuber. Security collection methods were implemented at all INEEL facilities, including the DOE Operations Office. Discarded paper was transported to the Cuber system with the same

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protection as that used by the U.S. Mail. Special handling procedures were implemented for Cuber personnel to receive sensitive information. This hrther reduces the potential of compromise by ensuring that all paper trash from sensitive areas is disposed of without a need for separation. Individuals no longer have to separate paper trash fkom other trash because it can all go to the Cuber.

Conclusion The waste-to-cubes method of destroying sensitive information has not only solved the problem of disposing of sensitive paper trash, but also contributes to environmental awareness and cost reduction. The use of up to 30% of the paper cubes in the CFSGP results in a cleaner burn with less polluting emissions and reduces the amount of money spent for coal. The reduction in the amount of paper trash being sent to the landfill also reduces the costs of operating the

J . landfill.

References (1) Department of Energy, Office of Safeguards and Security, “Operations

Security Procedural Guide” July 1996

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CONVERTING SENSITIVE WASTE INTO CLEANER ENERGY

Debra Schriner and Robert Skinner

Keywords

cuber facility sensitive unclassified information ( SUI )

CFSGF ( Coal Fired Steam Generation Facility ) A , OPSEC ( Operations Security )

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