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

Abstracts Session 22
SESSION 22 - POSTER SESSION - FACILITY DECONTAMINATION AND DECOMMISSIONING
A) BUILDING 18: OPERATING FEEDBACK FROM CLEANING AND DISMANTLING
OF GLOVE BOXES AND SHIELDING LINES - 16046
Michel Jeanjacques, Marie Pierre Bremond, Laurent Gautier,Guy Viellard,
Eric Pichereau, David Estivié, Commissariat l’Energie Atomique (France)
This summary presents the clean-up and dismantling works on glove boxes and shielded lines in building 18. <strong>The</strong> Atomic Energy
Commission’s centre at Fontenay Aux Roses (CEAFAR) was created in 1946. A radiochemical laboratory devoted to R&D programs
focused on studies of irradiated fuel reprocessing processes, waste treatment processes and studies and production of
transuranic elements was built in the early 1960s. <strong>The</strong> R&D program was finally halted on 30 June 1995. <strong>The</strong> purpose of the building
18 clean-up program is to minimise the nuclear and traditional hazards and to reduce as much as possible the production of
high- and medium-level waste during subsequent dismantling work. <strong>The</strong> paper will deal with a short description of the operations
as well as the lessons learned and the feedback experience which could be of any help in on going or planned DD&R projects
B) AUTOMATED VEHICLE AND WASTE PACKAGE SURVEY SYSTEM - 16223
Arthur Desrosiers, Phillip Mann, Safety and EcologyCorporation (USA)
SEC provides radiological control services for the D&D of the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Oak Ridge TN. <strong>The</strong> demolition
of the structure of the building has been initiated. Building debris will be disposed in a waste management facility on the Oak
Ridge Reservation. This will require an estimated 70,000 truck shipments and each truck shipment must be inspected for radiological
contamination. <strong>The</strong> inspection process includes measurements with hand held survey instruments and preparation of a clearance
ticket.We developed a system for automatically generating the clearance ticket in order to reduce costs. <strong>The</strong> system automates
data collection and report preparation by using a programmable handheld data terminal (HDT) that acquires the instrument readings
and prints a preformatted clearance ticket. We estimate that the number of labor hours required to perform these truck inspections
will be reduced by 33% compared to previous methods.
<strong>The</strong> key to success for this project was developing a simple software interface that provides a graphic diagram of the truck and
the survey points, provides step-by-step directions and status during the inspection, and enters data onto a preformatted report that
can be printed directly from the HDT. Symbols differentiate the contact and smear measurements. <strong>The</strong> inspector simply positions
the instrument probe and presses a button on the HDT to acquire data. <strong>The</strong> HDT software evaluates each measurement and instructs
the inspector to continue taking measurements or respond to elevated levels of contamination. When the survey is completed, the
HDT provides a clearance message on the LCD screen and the inspector may proceed to the next truck survey. At the end of the
work turn, the stored results are printed for review and signature. Although the time required to complete the measurements is not
reduced, the time required to prepare documentation is drastically condensed. Although the initial implementation is limited to surveying
large trucks, the process may be extended to any repetitive waste management survey, such as inspections of shipping packages.
Future versions of the software may also be expanded to minimize the time required for each measurement.
C) TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE CHARACTERIZATION OF FOURIER TRANSFORM PROFILOMETRY FOR
QUANTIATIVE WASTE VOLUME DETERMINATION UNDER HANFORD WASTE TANK CONDITIONS - 16281
David Monts, Ping-Rey Jang, Zhiling Long, Olin Norton,
Walter Okhuysen, Yi Su, Charles Waggoner, Mississippi State University (USA)
<strong>The</strong> Hanford Site in western Washington state is currently in the process of an extensive effort to empty and close its radioactive
single-shell and double-shell waste storage tanks. Before this can be accomplished, it is necessary to know how much residual
material is left in a given waste tank and the chemical makeup of the residue.
<strong>The</strong> Institute for Clean Energy Technology (ICET) at Mississippi State University is currently developing an quantitative intank
inspection system based on Fourier Transform Profilometry, FTP. FTP is a non-contact, 3-D shape measurement technique. By
projecting a fringe pattern onto a target surface and observing its deformation due to surface irregularities from a different view
angle, FTP is capable of determining the height (depth) distribution (and hence volume distribution) of the target surface, thus
reproducing the profile of the target accurately under a wide variety of conditions. Hence FTP has the potential to be utilized for
quantitative determination of residual wastes within Hanford waste tanks. We report the results of a technical feasibility study to
document the accuracy and precision of quantitative volume determination using the Fourier transform profilometry technique
under simulated Hanford waste tank conditions.
D) THE EMERGENCE OF SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE WITHIN DECOMMISSIONING - 16059
David Adamson, Sellafield Limited (UK); Jonathan Francis,University of Central Lancashire (UK)
Despite the advance of sustainable practice and energy efficient techniques outside of the nuclear industry, at the start of the
21st Century there was a lack of published guidance aimed at their adoption at specifically nuclear facilities. Even with the establishment
of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, there is very little guidance published on how to adopt sustainable practices
during decommissioning.
<strong>The</strong>re have been instances where energy efficiency had affected design and operations decisions. Projects aimed at responsible
housekeeping, switching off lights, and changes to the nuclear ventilation design philosophy illustrate a desire for action, but
these activities were championed by interested and motivated employees. Sustainable practice had not at that time received a strategic
lead that resulted in a management structure to enable a coordinated and concerted effort in sustainable practice. This paper
traces the progress during the 20th and early 21st Centuries, whereby sustainable practice is now established within a much firmer
foundation of case study, guidance and organisational structure; to embed sustainable practice within the United Kingdoms current
decommissioning programme. It looks at the development of relevant literature and, through interviews with key managers and
external stakeholders, demonstrates (i) the degree to which two essential guidance documents (the NiCOP and CIRIA SD:SPUR)
are permeating the industry, (ii) how the current work of the Characterisation and Clearance Group has evolved to influence the
decontamination and dismantling planning procedures and (iii) the transition from identifying free-release materials to actually
releasing them for re-use in the community.
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