The 12th International Conference on Environmental ... - Events

Session 17-18 Abstracts
6) DEVELOPING CERAMIC BASED TECHNOLOGY FOR THE
IMMOBILISATION OF WASTE ON THE SELLAFIELD SITE - 16049
Martin Stewart, Sam Moricca, Tina Eddowes, Yingjie Zhang,Eric Vance, Gregory Lumpkin,
Melody Carter, ANSTO(Australia); Mike James, Mark Dowson, Sellafield (UK)
National Nuclear Laboratory, in collaboration with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, is developing
hot isostatic press (HIP) based ceramic technology for the immobilisation of a diverse range of wastes arising from nuclear fuel
processing activities on the Sellafield site. Wasteform compositions have been identified and validated for the immobilisation of
these plutonium containing wastes and residues in glass-ceramic and ceramic forms. A full scale inactive facility has been constructed
at NNLs Workington Laboratory to support the demonstration of the technology. Validation of the inactive wasteform development
using plutonium has been carried out at ANSTOs Lucas Heights facility. A feasibility study has been conducted to evaluate
the construction and operation of a plutonium active pilot facility which would demonstrate the immobilisation of actual residues
in the NNL Central Lab. This could form the basis of a facility to treat the plutonium wastes and residues in their entirety. <strong>The</strong> technology
is being explored for the immobilisation of additional wastes arising on the Sellafield site taking advantage of the investment
already made in skills and facilities.
7) THE USE OF HOT-ISOSTATIC PRESSING TO PROCESS NUCLEAR WASTE FORMS - 16253
Martin Stewart, Sam Moricca, Tina Eddowes, Yingjie Zhang,Eric Vance, Gregory Lumpkin,
Melody Carter, ANSTO (Australia); Mike James, Mark Dowson, Sellafield (UK)
ANSTO has developed a combination of tailored nuclear wasteform chemistries coupled with the use of flexible hot-isostatic
pressing processing technology to enable the successful incorporation of problematic nuclear wastes into dense, durable monoliths.
This combined package also enables the design of wasteforms with waste loadings well in excess of those achievable via baseline
melting routes using borosilicate glass as hot-isostatic pressing is not constrained by factors such as glass viscosity, crystallisation
and electrical conductivity. In this paper we will discuss some of our experiences with problematic wastes e.g.: plutonium wastes,
sludges and HLW such as the Idaho calcines.
8) DESIGN INNOVATIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF ALPHA
CONTAMINATED UNSERVICEABLE GLOVE BOXES - 16224
R.K. Gupta, D.S Sandhanshive, S.R. Shendge, A.K. Singh, M.N.B. Pillai,
Arun Kumar, PP Mazumdar, Bhabha Atomic Research Centr (India)
With the maturing of nuclear industry, there is an added burden on the Back End of fuel cycle. Radioactive facilities and radiological
laboratories, commissioned decades ago, are in the need for refurbishment or shutting down. This has kept the waste managers,
the world over, busier than ever in finding out solutions towards safe handling and disposal of different types and categories
of radioactive wastes as an essentiality for environmental remediation. In the Indian context, several Pu-contaminated Glove Boxes
were occupying premium storage space in radiological laboratories pending a safe and viable solution for their final management.
This paper describes the steps adopted for managing such unserviceable Glove Boxes.
<strong>The</strong> first step consisted of in-situ encasement of individual Glove Boxes, encountering the challenges of low head room and
space congestion in these laboratories with cognizance to regulatory requirement related to radiation safety. <strong>The</strong> second step was
removal, transfer and placement of encased Glove Boxes in a dedicated facility under continuous surveillance. <strong>The</strong> glove boxes
will remain stored in this facility until arrangements are completed for dismantling and volume reduction in another facility which
is under design. <strong>The</strong> final step is the development of an appropriate technique for dismantling/cutting of Glove Boxes in an alphatight
facility constructed to prevent airborne activity, collection of cut pieces and storage in manageable containers. First two steps
in the overall management of glove boxes have already been successfully completed and the third, comprising of the development
and design of a dedicated cutting facility is underway. While the design and in-situ handling of Glove Boxes and the engineering
efforts of the first two steps have been adequately detailed in this treatise, the contents of the paper are largely devoted to describing
the possible options for cutting/dismantling/remote-handling of the Glove Boxes. <strong>The</strong> description also includes hands on evaluation
of tools and gadgets in a full-scale pilot set-up with a view to incorporating the most credible choice in an upcoming active
facility.
SESSION 18 - D&D OF POWER REACTORS AND RESEARCH REACTORS
1) TRANSPORT OF THE REACTOR PRESSURE VESSELS IN THE
GREIFSWALD NUCLEAR POWER PLANT - 16012
Ralf Borchardt, Energiewerke Nord GmbH (Germany)
Five WWER-440 reactors are being dismantled on the Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant (KGR) site.<strong>The</strong> strategy for the dismantling
of the reactor units 1 to 4 (operation time 12 - 17 years) was to cut and pack the components remotely. For this purpose
dry and wet cutting areas were installed. <strong>The</strong> remote cutting and packing of the reactor pressure vessel and its internals was successfully
tested with non-activated original reactor components of units 7 and 8 from October 1999 until July 2003. From August
2004 until July 2007 the internals from reactor units 1 and 2 were cut, packed and transported to the on-site Interim Store North
(ISN).
For the reactor 5 it was planned to transport the RPV in one piece and the reactor internals in shielding and transport containers
to the interim store for decay storage.
In December 2003 the RPV of unit 5 was lifted and transported to the interim store. From April 2006 up to July 2006 the reactor
internals of unit 5 were packed and transported to the interim store.
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