This report was .prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of t h e United States Gov... more This report was .prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of t h e United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, express or implied, or assumes a n y legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclased, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade marbe, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute. or imply its endorsemeht, recommendatiok,' or favoring by t h e United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. DISCLAIMER Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document. Q ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Mr. Wayne Griffin, Mrs. Feddy Dickerson, Mr. Wade Warrant, and Ms. Brenda Boyle for their efforts in preparing and analyzing SIMCON coupons. Without their assistance this work could not have been completed.
The Waste Calcining Facility (WCF), located at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental L... more The Waste Calcining Facility (WCF), located at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), operated from 1959 to 1980 solidifying highly radioactive liquid waste until the New Waste Calcining Facility (NWCF) began operation. This process used a fluidized bed calciner with in-bed combustion. The WCF was "dusted" out using fluidizing air and transport air, and partially flushed with some heels remaining as operations were discontinued. The WCF remained shutdown, without maintenance, until about 1993. At that time asbestos removal was completed and it was scheduled for closure. A innovative method of closing a RCRA facility with mixed waste liabilities is described in this paper. Typical closures of highly radioactive process facilities involve great expense and hazardous removal and remediation of large volumes of waste. Advantages of landfill closure of the WCF are examined in time, personnel exposure and expense along with the lessons learned about the closure process and the physical manipulations of placing grout. Landfill closure is explained, along with the processes of preparing the source term and risk assessment, obtaining state acceptance and permits, preparing the facility for deactivation and the actual process of placing grout in the WCF for closure.
This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Govern... more 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 usefulness of any information, apparatus, product or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. References herein to any specific commercial product, process, or selvice by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. 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, make any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not neceSSariy constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or iii IV .
Strippable coatings, loosely adhered paint-like films, have been used for decades in the nuclear ... more Strippable coatings, loosely adhered paint-like films, have been used for decades in the nuclear industry to decontaminate radioactive equipment, prevent contamination and fix contamination in place. Decontamination of radioactively contaminated surfaces is an ongoing concern in the Department of Energy (DOE) and commercial nuclear industry. Typically, decontamination is employed to reduce worker exposure to radiation and radioactive contamination. Various types of strippable coatings are innovative decontamination methods that are continuing to be developed and used. Modern strippable coatings show high decontamination efficiencies and have overcome many of the shortcomings of the original coatings. Strippable coatings and self-stripping coatings now rival chemical and mechanical decontamination. Results from radioactive and non-radioactive testing at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) compare the effectiveness of several strippable coatings. Strippable coatings also have the advantages of less waste, non-liquid waste, less expensive, and are relatively simple to apply. A new strippable coating method, the ADA Technologies ElectroDecon method, is featured in this report. This method utilizes an electric current passed through the coating to draw contaminants from the surface. This method has shown excellent results in the decontamination of stainless steel and should be appropriate for other conductive materials. The ElectroDecon process has been tested with actual radioactive materials as well as simulated contamination.
The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) Radioactive Liquid Waste Redu... more The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) Radioactive Liquid Waste Reduction (RLWR) group, located at the Idaho Nuclear Technology Engineering Center (INTEC), continues to evaluate and demonstrate new waste minimization and decontamination techniques. Increased concern about secondary waste associated with traditional methods has caused INTEC to discontinue using old “reliable” methods. The RLWR group has been implementing various novel techniques for waste minimization. These newer techniques have application to most other DOE sites, especially for D&D projects. Several new methods have been demonstrated recently. A portable carbon dioxide (CO 2) blaster was evaluated and purchased for use at the INTEC. Protective removable and non-removable coatings are being used to prevent and even to decontaminate some items. PENTEK 604 is a decontamination coating that has been very successful, and is also self-removing. Several novel chemical methods, including some ...
International collaboration and partnerships have become a reality as markets continue to globali... more International collaboration and partnerships have become a reality as markets continue to globalize. This is the case in nuclear sector where over recent years partnerships commonly form to bid for capital projects internationally in the increasingly contractorized world and international consortia regularly bid and lead Management and Operations (M and O) / Parent Body Organization (PBO) site management contracts. International collaboration can also benefit research and technology development. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the UK National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) are internationally recognized organizations delivering leading science and technology development programmes both nationally and internationally. The Laboratories are actively collaborating in several areas with benefits to both the laboratories and their customers. Recent collaborations have focused on fuel cycle separations, systems engineering supporting waste management and decommissioning, the use of misti...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for protecting human health and the... more The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for protecting human health and the environment from the effects of accidental and intentional releases of radiological materials, including terrorist incidents such as a radiological dispersal device (RDD) or “dirty bomb”. A primary EPA responsibility is cleanup and restoration of urban areas which would be affected if such an incident were to occur. In order to prepare for such an event, the EPA’s National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) is conducting performance evaluations of commercial, off-the-shelf radiological decontamination technologies, such as those originally developed for the nuclear power industry and the U.S. Department of Energy. Desirable decontamination technologies must not only be effective in removing threat contaminants from typical building materials, but must do so without being destructive to building surfaces. Due to the large areas likely to be affected by such an event, the time requ...
A wide variety of contamination simulant methods have been developed by researchers to reproducib... more A wide variety of contamination simulant methods have been developed by researchers to reproducibly test radiological decontamination methods. Twenty years ago a method of nonradioactive contamination simulation was developed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) that mimicked the characteristics of radioactive cesium and zirconium contamination on stainless steel. This method involved baking the contaminants into the surface of the stainless steel in order to create a tenacious, tightly bound oxide layer. This type of contamination was particularly applicable to nuclear processing facilities (and nuclear reactors) where oxide growth and exchange of radioactive materials within the oxide layer became the predominant model for material/contaminant interaction. Additional simulation methods and their empirically derived basis (from a nuclear fuel reprocessing facility) are discussed. In the last ten years the INL, working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSR... more The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) is helping to protect human health and the environment from adverse impacts resulting from accidental and intentional releases of radiological materials, including terrorist incidents such as a radiological dispersal device ( RDD) or “dirty bomb”. In order to prepare for such an event, NHSRC is conducting performance evaluations of commercial, off-the-shelf radiological decontamination technologies, such as those originally developed for the nuclear power industry and the DOE complex. Desirable decontamination technologies must not only be effective in removing threat contaminants from typi cal building materials, but must do so without being destructive to building surfaces. Du e to the large areas likely to be affected by such an event, the time required to perform effecti ve decontamination and the cost of deployment are significant issues as well. An emph asis on “low-tech” method...
The processing of nuclear material from spent fuel has been a priority of nuclear science. Scient... more The processing of nuclear material from spent fuel has been a priority of nuclear science. Scientists have come up with ingenious ideas to try to resolve this issue. One of the first ideas was the bismuth/phosphate method for reprocessing the spent fuel. This was the primary reprocessing method for a long time and it was very effective at recovering plutonium. The government needed a fast production of plutonium in order to satisfy the need for nuclear weapons. Yet this method had a mayor flaw in that it did not recover the uranium. Once the need for the fast production of plutonium passed, scientists from different parts of the nation came together to find a more effective way to process spent fuel.
Radiological decontamination of surfaces is challenging. Cleanup tasks are typically visual or ev... more Radiological decontamination of surfaces is challenging. Cleanup tasks are typically visual or even chemically measured, but radioactive contamination is invisible and measured at extremely low levels. Different contamination events have lead to the development of hundreds of decontamination processes. Their selection balances criteria such as cost effectiveness and waste minimization. While testing on the actual system where the contaminations arises (as "field" radioactive specimens) is appropriate, doing so is expensive and time consuming. Simulating contamination with substitute contaminants requires a unique understanding of the system. This provides a less expensive, more controlled and often more informative selection method. However, not all simulation methods are reliable, reproducible, have a useful range nor are relevant to the target activity. To address these needs, a range of simulated contamination systems have been developed: ·SIMCON 1 – to simulate loose c...
Over the last 50 years, the study of radiological contamination and decontamination has expanded ... more Over the last 50 years, the study of radiological contamination and decontamination has expanded significantly. This paper addresses the mechanisms of radiological contamination that have been reported and then discusses which methods have recently been used during performance testing of several different decontamination technologies. About twenty years ago the Idaho Nuclear Technology Engineering Center (INTEC) at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) began a search for decontamination processes which could minimize secondary waste. In order to test the effectiveness of these decontamination technologies, a new simulated contamination, termed SIMCON, was developed. SIMCON was designed to replicate the types of contamination found on stainless steel, spent fuel processing equipment. Ten years later, the INL began research into methods for simulating urban contamination resulting from a radiological dispersal device (RDD). The initial work was sponsored by...
This report was .prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of t h e United States Gov... more This report was .prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of t h e United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, express or implied, or assumes a n y legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclased, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade marbe, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute. or imply its endorsemeht, recommendatiok,' or favoring by t h e United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. DISCLAIMER Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document. Q ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Mr. Wayne Griffin, Mrs. Feddy Dickerson, Mr. Wade Warrant, and Ms. Brenda Boyle for their efforts in preparing and analyzing SIMCON coupons. Without their assistance this work could not have been completed.
The Waste Calcining Facility (WCF), located at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental L... more The Waste Calcining Facility (WCF), located at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), operated from 1959 to 1980 solidifying highly radioactive liquid waste until the New Waste Calcining Facility (NWCF) began operation. This process used a fluidized bed calciner with in-bed combustion. The WCF was "dusted" out using fluidizing air and transport air, and partially flushed with some heels remaining as operations were discontinued. The WCF remained shutdown, without maintenance, until about 1993. At that time asbestos removal was completed and it was scheduled for closure. A innovative method of closing a RCRA facility with mixed waste liabilities is described in this paper. Typical closures of highly radioactive process facilities involve great expense and hazardous removal and remediation of large volumes of waste. Advantages of landfill closure of the WCF are examined in time, personnel exposure and expense along with the lessons learned about the closure process and the physical manipulations of placing grout. Landfill closure is explained, along with the processes of preparing the source term and risk assessment, obtaining state acceptance and permits, preparing the facility for deactivation and the actual process of placing grout in the WCF for closure.
This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Govern... more 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 usefulness of any information, apparatus, product or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. References herein to any specific commercial product, process, or selvice by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. 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, make any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not neceSSariy constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or iii IV .
Strippable coatings, loosely adhered paint-like films, have been used for decades in the nuclear ... more Strippable coatings, loosely adhered paint-like films, have been used for decades in the nuclear industry to decontaminate radioactive equipment, prevent contamination and fix contamination in place. Decontamination of radioactively contaminated surfaces is an ongoing concern in the Department of Energy (DOE) and commercial nuclear industry. Typically, decontamination is employed to reduce worker exposure to radiation and radioactive contamination. Various types of strippable coatings are innovative decontamination methods that are continuing to be developed and used. Modern strippable coatings show high decontamination efficiencies and have overcome many of the shortcomings of the original coatings. Strippable coatings and self-stripping coatings now rival chemical and mechanical decontamination. Results from radioactive and non-radioactive testing at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) compare the effectiveness of several strippable coatings. Strippable coatings also have the advantages of less waste, non-liquid waste, less expensive, and are relatively simple to apply. A new strippable coating method, the ADA Technologies ElectroDecon method, is featured in this report. This method utilizes an electric current passed through the coating to draw contaminants from the surface. This method has shown excellent results in the decontamination of stainless steel and should be appropriate for other conductive materials. The ElectroDecon process has been tested with actual radioactive materials as well as simulated contamination.
The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) Radioactive Liquid Waste Redu... more The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) Radioactive Liquid Waste Reduction (RLWR) group, located at the Idaho Nuclear Technology Engineering Center (INTEC), continues to evaluate and demonstrate new waste minimization and decontamination techniques. Increased concern about secondary waste associated with traditional methods has caused INTEC to discontinue using old “reliable” methods. The RLWR group has been implementing various novel techniques for waste minimization. These newer techniques have application to most other DOE sites, especially for D&D projects. Several new methods have been demonstrated recently. A portable carbon dioxide (CO 2) blaster was evaluated and purchased for use at the INTEC. Protective removable and non-removable coatings are being used to prevent and even to decontaminate some items. PENTEK 604 is a decontamination coating that has been very successful, and is also self-removing. Several novel chemical methods, including some ...
International collaboration and partnerships have become a reality as markets continue to globali... more International collaboration and partnerships have become a reality as markets continue to globalize. This is the case in nuclear sector where over recent years partnerships commonly form to bid for capital projects internationally in the increasingly contractorized world and international consortia regularly bid and lead Management and Operations (M and O) / Parent Body Organization (PBO) site management contracts. International collaboration can also benefit research and technology development. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the UK National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) are internationally recognized organizations delivering leading science and technology development programmes both nationally and internationally. The Laboratories are actively collaborating in several areas with benefits to both the laboratories and their customers. Recent collaborations have focused on fuel cycle separations, systems engineering supporting waste management and decommissioning, the use of misti...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for protecting human health and the... more The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for protecting human health and the environment from the effects of accidental and intentional releases of radiological materials, including terrorist incidents such as a radiological dispersal device (RDD) or “dirty bomb”. A primary EPA responsibility is cleanup and restoration of urban areas which would be affected if such an incident were to occur. In order to prepare for such an event, the EPA’s National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) is conducting performance evaluations of commercial, off-the-shelf radiological decontamination technologies, such as those originally developed for the nuclear power industry and the U.S. Department of Energy. Desirable decontamination technologies must not only be effective in removing threat contaminants from typical building materials, but must do so without being destructive to building surfaces. Due to the large areas likely to be affected by such an event, the time requ...
A wide variety of contamination simulant methods have been developed by researchers to reproducib... more A wide variety of contamination simulant methods have been developed by researchers to reproducibly test radiological decontamination methods. Twenty years ago a method of nonradioactive contamination simulation was developed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) that mimicked the characteristics of radioactive cesium and zirconium contamination on stainless steel. This method involved baking the contaminants into the surface of the stainless steel in order to create a tenacious, tightly bound oxide layer. This type of contamination was particularly applicable to nuclear processing facilities (and nuclear reactors) where oxide growth and exchange of radioactive materials within the oxide layer became the predominant model for material/contaminant interaction. Additional simulation methods and their empirically derived basis (from a nuclear fuel reprocessing facility) are discussed. In the last ten years the INL, working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSR... more The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) is helping to protect human health and the environment from adverse impacts resulting from accidental and intentional releases of radiological materials, including terrorist incidents such as a radiological dispersal device ( RDD) or “dirty bomb”. In order to prepare for such an event, NHSRC is conducting performance evaluations of commercial, off-the-shelf radiological decontamination technologies, such as those originally developed for the nuclear power industry and the DOE complex. Desirable decontamination technologies must not only be effective in removing threat contaminants from typi cal building materials, but must do so without being destructive to building surfaces. Du e to the large areas likely to be affected by such an event, the time required to perform effecti ve decontamination and the cost of deployment are significant issues as well. An emph asis on “low-tech” method...
The processing of nuclear material from spent fuel has been a priority of nuclear science. Scient... more The processing of nuclear material from spent fuel has been a priority of nuclear science. Scientists have come up with ingenious ideas to try to resolve this issue. One of the first ideas was the bismuth/phosphate method for reprocessing the spent fuel. This was the primary reprocessing method for a long time and it was very effective at recovering plutonium. The government needed a fast production of plutonium in order to satisfy the need for nuclear weapons. Yet this method had a mayor flaw in that it did not recover the uranium. Once the need for the fast production of plutonium passed, scientists from different parts of the nation came together to find a more effective way to process spent fuel.
Radiological decontamination of surfaces is challenging. Cleanup tasks are typically visual or ev... more Radiological decontamination of surfaces is challenging. Cleanup tasks are typically visual or even chemically measured, but radioactive contamination is invisible and measured at extremely low levels. Different contamination events have lead to the development of hundreds of decontamination processes. Their selection balances criteria such as cost effectiveness and waste minimization. While testing on the actual system where the contaminations arises (as "field" radioactive specimens) is appropriate, doing so is expensive and time consuming. Simulating contamination with substitute contaminants requires a unique understanding of the system. This provides a less expensive, more controlled and often more informative selection method. However, not all simulation methods are reliable, reproducible, have a useful range nor are relevant to the target activity. To address these needs, a range of simulated contamination systems have been developed: ·SIMCON 1 – to simulate loose c...
Over the last 50 years, the study of radiological contamination and decontamination has expanded ... more Over the last 50 years, the study of radiological contamination and decontamination has expanded significantly. This paper addresses the mechanisms of radiological contamination that have been reported and then discusses which methods have recently been used during performance testing of several different decontamination technologies. About twenty years ago the Idaho Nuclear Technology Engineering Center (INTEC) at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) began a search for decontamination processes which could minimize secondary waste. In order to test the effectiveness of these decontamination technologies, a new simulated contamination, termed SIMCON, was developed. SIMCON was designed to replicate the types of contamination found on stainless steel, spent fuel processing equipment. Ten years later, the INL began research into methods for simulating urban contamination resulting from a radiological dispersal device (RDD). The initial work was sponsored by...
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