Original Date: 11/03/1996
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

The Oak Ridge facilities generate a diversity of waste materials including sanitary, spent nuclear fuel, low-level, mixed, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and transuranic/transuranic mixed aqueous solutions. These materials must be tracked and managed in accordance with federal and local regulatory requirements. In addition, all transportation and handling of the materials must be recorded, including repackaging, shipment, and disposal. The Waste Information Tracking System (WITS), developed to handle the large quantity of data, currently operates at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, the East Tennessee Technology Park, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

The computerized WITS works as a model-driven, production-quantity application and tracks all types of waste materials. The system coordinates data on project information; requests for disposal; sampling and analysis; waste characterization; transportation; shipments; repackaging; and reporting. The WITS provides consistency for business practices across waste management and restoration functions; eliminates redundancy of tracking systems; and produces quality data. Implementation of the WITS has also led to more consistent and accurate reports to regulatory authorities.

As a highly-adaptable, user-friendly system, the WITS can perform in various hardware and software environments, and provide reporting functions and query options through Microsoft Access. In operation at the three facilities for five years, Oak Ridge estimates a savings of $2 million in waste tracking costs.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.